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Solitude - good deal when backcountry skiing?
Me and some friends are going to SLC around 20. December for 2-3 weeks for
skiing/snowboarding. As we wanna do some off-piste/backcountry skiing (is there a difference btw? Is offpiste patrolled and backcountry not? Sorry, might be different in Europe) and on a shoestring as well, we we're thinking about getting the Deal at Solitude: 6 days for $36/each So do you think it's worth it? I mean will we get an easy access to the lifts when we ski down? Honeycomb? Or is it better to get single ride tickets (I know they got those at Brighton)? What about the other resorts around (even in the north like Powder Mountain)? Does somebody have a better suggestion than Solitude? Thanks, Sandi |
#2
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Solitude - good deal when backcountry skiing?
Sandi M. wrote:
Me and some friends are going to SLC around 20. December for 2-3 weeks for skiing/snowboarding. As we wanna do some off-piste/backcountry skiing (is there a difference btw? Is offpiste patrolled and backcountry not? Sorry, might be different in Europe) and on a shoestring as well, we we're thinking about getting the Deal at Solitude: 6 days for $36/each So do you think it's worth it? I mean will we get an easy access to the lifts when we ski down? Honeycomb? Or is it better to get single ride tickets (I know they got those at Brighton)? What about the other resorts around (even in the north like Powder Mountain)? Does somebody have a better suggestion than Solitude? SLC on a shoestring budget? Stay in Sandy (at the base of Little Cottonwood Canyon & Big Cottonwood Canyon), buy your discount tickets at this place: http://www.canyonsports.com/tickets.html before going up the canyon, and go where the best snow is. That may mean going to Park City, Snowbasin or Powder Mountain, or maybe even Sundance. Don't lock yourself into a particular plan - you may find that you can't even get up the canyon if it really dumps, in that situation drive around to one of the resorts you *can* get to. The deal you talk about is $10/day cheaper than buying them on a day-by day basis. $60 is $60, but the way I'd play it is to remain flexible. Do you have to use them on consecutive days? If not it's probably a viable way to go - three weeks in SLC, every third day at Solitude. There is easy access out of Honeycomb canyon via the lift they put in a few years ago. Much to the consternation of the locals. You could probably yo-yo Honeycomb for six days straight and never take the same route twice. BTW, Solitude sells tickets by the ride too. $55 for ten rides. If you're serious about spending most of your time backcountry that may be the way to go. Powder Mountain has cheap cat skiing - you might want to check that out one of the days you're there. good Luck. Have fun. //Walt |
#3
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Solitude - good deal when backcountry skiing?
SLC on a shoestring budget? Stay in Sandy (at the base of Little
Cottonwood Canyon & Big Cottonwood Canyon), buy your discount tickets at this place: http://www.canyonsports.com/tickets.html before going up the canyon, and go where the best snow is. That may mean going to Park City, Snowbasin or Powder Mountain, or maybe even Sundance. Don't lock yourself into a particular plan - you may find that you can't even get up the canyon if it really dumps, in that situation drive around to one of the resorts you *can* get to. Well I found a cheap place to stay in downtown. I know that Sandy is pretty good located, but I cannot find any affordable places to stay there(well they only one I found looks kind of crappy...). And for skiing Powder mountain SLC is probably a bit too far away, so I'd prefer to stay somewhere there. I heard that Powder Mountain's supposed to be really good and that Park City has some decent backcountry as well (...experiendes...), but the snow seems to be better in Solitude, right? The deal you talk about is $10/day cheaper than buying them on a day-by day basis. $60 is $60, but the way I'd play it is to remain flexible. Do you have to use them on consecutive days? If not it's probably a viable way to go - three weeks in SLC, every third day at Solitude. Thanks, I already knew the page for affordable tickets. The good thing is that you DON't have to use them on consecutive days, so it seems to be a good deal! And we're still flexible... There is easy access out of Honeycomb canyon via the lift they put in a few years ago. Much to the consternation of the locals. You could probably yo-yo Honeycomb for six days straight and never take the same route twice. Ah, saw it on the trail map! Right, looks awesome! But what about the other resorts? Are there some where you will end up on a lift after a backcountry ride and be able to make more than just one run?Or will you end up in the middle of nowhere and need to find a way back out of the middle of nowhere? What about Snowbird and Brigton (too easy?)? BTW, Solitude sells tickets by the ride too. $55 for ten rides. If you're serious about spending most of your time backcountry that may be the way to go. Powder Mountain has cheap cat skiing - you might want to check that out one of the days you're there. That sounds awesome! good Luck. Have fun. //Walt Thanks :-) |
#4
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Solitude - good deal when backcountry skiing?
Sandi M. wrote:
SLC on a shoestring budget? Stay in Sandy (at the base of Little Well I found a cheap place to stay in downtown. I know that Sandy is pretty good located, but I cannot find any affordable places to stay there(well they only one I found looks kind of crappy...). Try this place: http://www.utahvacationhomes.com/default.aspx We rented one of their units last December - quite affordable, convienently located. I heard that Powder Mountain's supposed to be really good and that Park City has some decent backcountry as well (...experiendes...), but the snow seems to be better in Solitude, right? Higher elevations generally mean better conditions, especially in early & late season. Alta & Snowbird get the most snow, followed by Solitude and Brighton. But if you're looking for freshies, what's important is where the last storm tracked, not where the seasonal average is highest. Hence my advice to park yourself in Sandy and stay loose. The deal you talk about is $10/day cheaper than buying them on a day-by day basis. $60 is $60, but the way I'd play it is to remain flexible. Do you have to use them on consecutive days? If not it's probably a viable way to go - three weeks in SLC, every third day at Solitude. Thanks, I already knew the page for affordable tickets. The good thing is that you DON't have to use them on consecutive days, so it seems to be a good deal! And we're still flexible... You could do much worse than spending three weeks in SLC and skiing Solitude every third day. Are there some where you will end up on a lift after a backcountry ride and be able to make more than just one run? Or will you end up in the middle of nowhere and need to find a way back out of the middle of nowhere? Generally "backcountry" means that there are no lifts. But if you are looking for large swaths of ungroomed natural snow on natural terrain that's accessible via lifts, yes that's readily available. Especially at Alta. What about Snowbird and Brigton (too easy?)? "Snowbird" and "easy" are rarely used in the same sentence. Brighton has abundant easy terrain, but there's some challenging terrain there too if you look for it. Don't ever go to Brighton on a Saturday. //Walt |
#5
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Solitude - good deal when backcountry skiing?
Walt wrote:
Sandi M. wrote: SLC on a shoestring budget? Stay in Sandy (at the base of Little Well I found a cheap place to stay in downtown. I know that Sandy is pretty good located, but I cannot find any affordable places to stay there(well they only one I found looks kind of crappy...). Try this place: http://www.utahvacationhomes.com/default.aspx We rented one of their units last December - quite affordable, convienently located. looks nice, but as everywhere they're rising the prices during the holidays. Think we stay in SLC downtown. Haven't checked it out, but there's supposed to be a good bus system to the resorts as well, right? If not- we got a car I heard that Powder Mountain's supposed to be really good and that Park City has some decent backcountry as well (...experiendes...), but the snow seems to be better in Solitude, right? Higher elevations generally mean better conditions, especially in early & late season. Alta & Snowbird get the most snow, followed by Solitude and Brighton. But if you're looking for freshies, what's important is where the last storm tracked, not where the seasonal average is highest. Hence my advice to park yourself in Sandy and stay loose. The deal you talk about is $10/day cheaper than buying them on a day-by day basis. $60 is $60, but the way I'd play it is to remain flexible. Do you have to use them on consecutive days? If not it's probably a viable way to go - three weeks in SLC, every third day at Solitude. Thanks, I already knew the page for affordable tickets. The good thing is that you DON't have to use them on consecutive days, so it seems to be a good deal! And we're still flexible... You could do much worse than spending three weeks in SLC and skiing Solitude every third day. Are there some where you will end up on a lift after a backcountry ride and be able to make more than just one run? Or will you end up in the middle of nowhere and need to find a way back out of the middle of nowhere? Generally "backcountry" means that there are no lifts. But if you are looking for large swaths of ungroomed natural snow on natural terrain that's accessible via lifts, yes that's readily available. Especially at Alta. What about Snowbird and Brigton (too easy?)? "Snowbird" and "easy" are rarely used in the same sentence. Brighton has abundant easy terrain, but there's some challenging terrain there too if you look for it. Don't ever go to Brighton on a Saturday. The "easy" was related to Brighton only. Yeah, I heard that it's kind of crowded on weekend. We'll avoid going there on weekends! //Walt |
#6
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Solitude - good deal when backcountry skiing?
Sandi M. wrote:
Walt wrote: Sandi M. wrote: Try this place: http://www.utahvacationhomes.com/default.aspx We rented one of their units last December - quite affordable, convienently located. looks nice, but as everywhere they're rising the prices during the holidays. Yeah, Xmas week + skiing == high prices for accomodations. Think we stay in SLC downtown. Well, there's definitely better food to be had in SLC proper. Haven't checked it out, but there's supposed to be a good bus system to the resorts as well, right? If not- we got a car I'd plan on using the car. There is a bus that goes up the LCC & BCC canyons, which is handy for when the road is closed to non-4WD vehicles, but other than that I would plan on renting a car and driving. You don't want to spend 3 hours on the bus everyday. The "easy" was related to Brighton only. Yeah, I heard that it's kind of crowded on weekend. We'll avoid going there on weekends! It's the only SLC resort where kids ski free. Throngs of Mormon families show up by the busload on Saturday. Sunday, they're in church, so that day's not too bad. Especially if you're planning on spending the day off the beaten path. HINT: check out the Sol-bright trail. |
#7
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Solitude - good deal when backcountry skiing?
Sandi M. wrote:
As we wanna do some off-piste/backcountry skiing (is there a difference btw? Is offpiste patrolled and backcountry not? Sorry, might be different in Europe) Not only no formal prepared runs in the backcountry, but no lifts either... Pete. -- Peter Clinch Medical Physics IT Officer Tel 44 1382 660111 ext. 33637 Univ. of Dundee, Ninewells Hospital Fax 44 1382 640177 Dundee DD1 9SY Scotland UK net http://www.dundee.ac.uk/~pjclinch/ |
#8
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Solitude - good deal when backcountry skiing?
But in Solitude there seems to be one at least :-)
Peter Clinch wrote: Sandi M. wrote: As we wanna do some off-piste/backcountry skiing (is there a difference btw? Is offpiste patrolled and backcountry not? Sorry, might be different in Europe) Not only no formal prepared runs in the backcountry, but no lifts either... Pete. |
#9
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Solitude - good deal when backcountry skiing?
Sandi M. wrote:
Peter Clinch wrote: Sandi M. wrote: As we wanna do some off-piste/backcountry skiing (is there a difference btw? Is offpiste patrolled and backcountry not? Sorry, might be different in Europe) Not only no formal prepared runs in the backcountry, but no lifts either... But in Solitude there seems to be one at least :-) No. Honeycomb Canyon is not backcountry. It's inbounds lift-served off-piste. It's patrolled and avalanche controlled, but no pistes or grooming. (Actually, I think they run a groomer up the runout on occasion) Sounds to me that "off-piste" is what you are looking for, not necessarily "backcountry". There's a lot of that at the resorts around SLC. As I understand it, "off-piste" has different implications in Europe vs. the US. I won't speak for Europe, but the US/Canada has the following: In-bounds - this is the general area available for skiing. It's patrolled and avi controlled. Some of it may be prepared piste with marked trails, other parts may be completely wild including cliffs, trees, rocks and other natural hazards. Nobody will yell at you or pull your ticket for skiing the off-piste areas. If you get injured off-piste, the patrol will come and get you (eventually). In-bounds (closed) - A ski area may close off some of their area for whatever reason (lack of snow, unsafe condidions, etc.) Often there will be some areas that are permanently closed. Skiing an area that is closed is illegal. Out-of-Bounds - A ski area will have a boundary, usually marked. If you leave the ski area, you are on your own - no avi control, no rescue, etc. It is usually illegal to cross the boundary except at certain spots; there are specific gates that you must go through to leave the ski area legally. Sometimes these gates are closed. Lift served out of bounds exists at some resorts. Backcountry - No lifts, no patrol, no avi control, no nothing. You're on your own. Maybe a helicopter to get you there and back if you're rich. //Walt |
#10
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Solitude - good deal when backcountry skiing?
Sandi M. wrote: Me and some friends are going to SLC around 20. December for 2-3 weeks for skiing/snowboarding. As we wanna do some off-piste/backcountry skiing (is there a difference btw? Is offpiste patrolled and backcountry not? Sorry, might be different in Europe) and on a shoestring as well, we we're thinking about getting the Deal at Solitude: 6 days for $36/each So do you think it's worth it? I mean will we get an easy access to the lifts when we ski down? Honeycomb? Or is it better to get single ride tickets (I know they got those at Brighton)? What about the other resorts around (even in the north like Powder Mountain)? Does somebody have a better suggestion than Solitude? Thanks, Sandi Backcountry means just that. You generally don't buy lift tickets if you are doing backcountry skiing. You hike to where you want to go. If Solitude lets you buy single ride tickets you could use those to access the backcountry. There are usually gates at many of the ski areas where you can access the backcountry. However, if you are planning on doing this, you better know what you are doing and from the sound of your post, it doesn't sound like you do. Remember, in the backcountry, you are responsible for your own rescue which can get very expensive if search and rescue needs to be called in. You will need proper equipment including shovels, avi trancievers and probe poles at a minimum. Plus the knowledge of how to use them, how to read the terrain and how to choose a proper route. If you don't have this equipment and knowledge then don't go into the backcountry. If you haven't had an avalanche awareness course and some training on how to use an avi trancever then you should stick to inbounds skiing. |
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