My school used to hold ski trips. Being a
public school and thus
short of money, we would forgo the
semi-decent skiing to be found in places like
Vermont, and my class would instead find ourselves on such dubious "mountains" as
Blue Mountain.
I never truly enjoyed these ski trips. You know how
Plato was getting all
philosophical 'n' shit in some
allegory?
That was fucking me! I had seen the light.
In any case, I did have fun listening to my classmates brag about how they had mastered the "double black diamond!" For my part, I had difficulty distinguishing one icy
incline from another on that
bleak hill.
You see, when I was
little, my family would fly out 2,500 miles to
Salt Lake City, Utah for
winter break and spend a week enjoying the mountain. At first, we simply rented a small house in Salt Lake City. After a few years, however, we caved in and bought a
timeshare; there was a
hotel right on the mountain that relieved us of driving the miles of icy mountain roads to and from the resort.
Snowbird is a ski resort in
Little Cottonwood Canyon, located near Salt Lake City, Utah. It's a mere 35 minute drive from
Salt Lake International Airport, and has plenty of lodging both on- and off-mountain.
The skiing there is absolutely phenomenal. An outdoor magazine recently rated Snowbird the
number two ski resort in North America, next to one in
British Columbia. The honor is well deserved.
Snowboarders, partly due to the rising popularity of the sport, are now given full access to the lifts and rides. Runs range in difficulty from 10 degrees to above 50 (overall). Two
halfpipes and smallish (10 objects)
terrain park were featured last time I was there. They have since added more
rails,
tabletops,
jumps and
pipes.
The snow itself is excellent. Snowbird usually gets over 500 inches of
powder per winter. It's not unusual to wake up and find the mountain got a foot of snow while you were asleep and now the mountain looks absolutely perfect. Until you reach it, of course... As for temperature, it can vary from negative (with
windchill) to relatively balmy (50 degrees in March). Then again, my family have seen it get up to
80 degrees. In March. On the mountain. Needless to say, the runs got a bit...runny, if I may make a small pun. Slushy, to say the least.
Statistics:
* 500 inches of snowfall annually
* 3,240 ft vertical drop
* Snowbird has
a relationship with their next-door-but-separately-owned
ski resort, Alta, to provide over 5000
acres of snow on ONE
ski pass. Unfortunately, snowboarding is not permitted at Alta.
* 2,500+ skiable acreage on Snowbird (not including Alta)
Longest Descent: Gad Valley, 3.5 miles
Longest Designated Run: Chips Run, 2.5 miles
Steepest Run: Great Scott, 40-50% grade
Prices:
A few of the most important
lift ticket prices below:
- Daily:
- Adult : $ 42 per pass
- Kids : $ priceless (free)
- Unlimited Season:
- Adult:
- Alta-Snowbird : $1300 per pass
- Snowbird Only : $ 999 per pass
- Student:
- Independent
- College: $ 549 per pass
- K-12 : $ 199 per pass
- Requires adult pass purchase
- College: $ 449 per pass
- K-12 : $ 99 per pass
- Special:
- Before Nov. 22:
- 10 day chairlift-only : $ 299 per pass
Lodging:
Assuming you're
coming from out of town, rather than staying for extended periods of time, you have a few major options: You can stay at the base of the mountain in a building of some kind. Or your car, if you're that sort of person. The Cliff Lodge is right at the foot of the Snowbird runs, so you can
literally walk out into people skiing the
bunny slopes. In your pyjamas. In sandals. And yes, I have done that.
Don't ask why.
Please.
If you can manage it, I'd recommend the latter option. The Cliff Lodge, besides being closer and somewhat
classier has another thing going for it: An arcade in the basement!
Hot damn! They've got
pool,
air hockey, police shooters, the works. Oh, yes, that brings me, somehow, to my next point:
Fooood!
If there's one thing you shouldn't
skimp on in your travels at Snowbird (indeed, anywhere) is the food. The Cliff Lodge has a
5 star restraunt on the top floor. You can drive down to Salt Lake City if you wish for more good foodness.
On the mountain, you'll find that for lunch, you'll be stopping by a handily-located Mid-Gad Lodge. They have cheap but
hearty meals,
fruit,
energy drinks, sodas, and more. They almost always have
hot soup and bread...
EAT IT!
FOOD FOOD FOOD! FOOD MAKES YOU STRONG! STRENGTH CRUSHES MOUNTAINS! FOOD!
OK.
Enough silliness. Here's some nifty
miscellanea for you to chew on:
Snowbird is somewhat famous for having
HELICOPTER skiing. Yes, that's right. You hire a helicopter to fly up to the top of some
god-forsaken mountain that hasn't been touched since the last big storm, they push you out, and you hope to land right. If you do, you then ski down, call the helicopter, and get taken either to another mountaintop or the lodge. OK, sometimes, if you pay them a little bit extra, they'll let you out more gently.
Whatever.
With the introduction of a
terrain park trixx ain't just for kidas...
Lessons are also available, both
public and
private, for skiing and snowboarding. I highly recommend them, even if you've skiied other places; they can help you ski anything from
green circles to
double black diamonds. Well worth it; a full day's private lesson is only $120. Just you.
Final Thoughts:
Good god, this writeup was a bad idea! Now I want to go to Snowbird sooooo badly! It's a pity I'm
flat broke, otherwise, well, I wouldn't be here to finish this node. Snowbird is one of the best vacations you can take; you'll have fun, outside, getting exercise and breathing fresh air.
What more can you ask for? If you can afford it, do it! Bring a friend! Bring the family! You'll love it.
I've also had good experiences skiing in
Big Sky, Montana. I'll node my experiences in
Vermont when I actually get to go. Peace.
Directions:
From
Salt Lake City Airport:
Driving Directions: Take Interstate 215 south, exit at 6200 South (exit #6), then east on Wasatch Blvd., following the signs to
Little Cottonwood Canyon.
33 mi. / 53 km.
Sources:
http://www.onthesnow.com/apps/packages.pl?s=55&c=404 : Prices for going to/staying at Snowbird
http://goamericanwest.com/utah/skisnowbird.shtml : Directions, Fooding
http://www.snowbird.com : The Official Website
Pretty pictures!
http://www.snowbird.com/pages/news_images/images.php?season=winter