Alta 2/5,8,9; Snowbasin 2/7; Solitude 2/10; Snowbird 2/11

Alta 2/5,8,9
Snowbasin 2/7
Solitude 2/10
Snowbird 2/11


     By all accounts, this has been a challenging ski season not just for the northeast but for Utah as well. Base depths were significantly below normal, and high pressure has kept the mountains dry for large chunks at a time. Locals were downright apologetic for the conditions during my stay. While my week might have been below average for Utah standards, there was still good skiing to be had. Considering the season back east, no apologies were needed.



Sunshine Bowl at Solitude


     I stayed in Sandy, a suburb south of Salt Lake City. Sandy isn’t a charming ski location, and aside from the Wasatch dominating the horizon it could be Anywhere, USA. That said, it offered the convenience of being close to the Cottonwoods at a reasonable price. When I wanted the ski town atmosphere I just drove over to Park City until I had my fill.
     
     For the duration of my trip, I had no agenda other than to ski wherever the conditions might be best. I started at Alta since it had received a minor snowfall a few days before my arrival. I combed the mountain looking for leftovers with little success. At least the sun offset the chill in the air and made for nice photos.



Catherine's area at Alta


The top of Sugarloaf at Alta


     Snowbasin hadn’t seen any fresh snow for a while so I decided to capitalize on its eastern exposure and ski there on the warmest and sunniest day. The groomers were exceptional, especially off of the Strawberry Gondola. Off-piste was highly variable but satisfying nonetheless.



View of Snowbasin from the John Paul Lodge


About to drop into the Middle Bowl Cirque at Snowbasin


     Mid-week brought a few inches of snow to the Little Cottonwood, so I went back to Alta to find the best conditions of the trip. I found some boot deep along ridges in Wildcat and somewhere west of Extrovert.



Fresh snow in the Wildcat area of Alta


Fresh snow at Alta


     While riding the Supreme lift, I spotted a friendly porcupine that was snacking on an apple. Skiers were gathering around it so I stopped on the way down to take pictures. Not captured was when the porcupine climbed up the skier’s leg and she had to forcefully shake it off!





     Seeing most of the fresh snow was getting skied off at Alta, I went over to Solitude to find some leftovers. Honeycomb Canyon had some nice snow, but the best runs were in the largely untouched chutes past Corner Chute.



Honeycomb Canyon from the Summit of Solitude


Corner Chute on the far right.


     I almost didn’t go to Snowbird because locals were saying it hadn’t been skiing as well as some of the other Cottonwood resorts. In the end, I’m glad that I went because there was some decent skiing. Chalky snow was plentiful in the Mineral Basin, off of Little Cloud, and in the Cirque.



The Cirque area at Snowbird


Below Road to Provo at Snowbird

Ha! That Porcupine is awesome!

Some video other skiers captured of the porcupine:

Unimpressed with the apple, the porcupine goes for some leg.

Sounded like the conditions I found in Tahoe. Glad you got to The Bird. The Cirque looks a little anemic, but at least you can ski it, and the snow stays nice and dry.

Nice TR, beautiful photos, thanks.

mattchuck2 wrote

Ha! That Porcupine is awesome!

They are cool to look at....I had a yellow lab once that had a run in with one...he didn't think they were so cool...nothing a pair of plyers and some yelping couldn't fix

Cool pix btw

That's a great TR. Nice photos! Thanks for posting.

amazing pic!  thanks for the beta..

[updated the thread title for clarity]

Thanks all!

Powderqueen--  Conditions definitely looked similar to your trip to the Tahoe areas early in the month: chalky surfaces, below normal coverage, and a mid-trip snowfall to help liven conditions.