Deer Valley Buys Solitude

PowderAssassin wrote

PeeTex wrote

And you'd be broke real fast, that is unless you could teach cows to ski. 500' of low altitude, low angle vertical - I don't care how much lake effect glob they get.

Oh and I disagree about it being "low angle". It's a good/fun consistent pitch for majority of powder skiers. You sound like those jackson hole types talking about grand targhee..Hey have fun at your powder hour at Jackson....we'll keep grand targhee and it's "low angle" pow for ourselves. LOL Youre just trying(and failing) to sound core and macho. You're the guy that sits at the top of a trail and with great snobbery douche baggery says "that black wouldn't even be a green at so and so mountain"

Hold on buck-o, I'll take Targhee over Jack's hole any day, I'll take Bridger over Big Sky - but you see, I have been to those places where as you can barely afford to drive to Snow Ridge. But if you really want to know - I prefer places where there are no lifts at all and you only get a couple of runs in a day.

I think that Targhee and Solitude have similar vibes. I'm fearful that will change with DV owning it.  I skied Solitude two days last season and really enjoyed it.  Really nice mix of terrain.  Good fast cruising on the front.  The canyon which is really cool stuff.  My favorite was the Navarone gate off the front into the back end of the canyon.  Also some nice bumps and trees.  alta / bird is my favorite but Soltide would be perhaps a better locals mt.

Unfortunately I see things like pay parking, $50 lunches, and $100 lift tickets in its future.

You have to think the potential of the interconnect is driving this buy.

Welcome Bryan.

BryanLuftglass wrote

I don't plan to move anytime soon, if ever.  So whatever appreciation occurs, if any, is sort of moot.  Then again...if the DV purchase starts mucking up the jewel we have here, I might be forced to reconsider.  I hope they don't, but I'd expect to see more crowds on the slopes.

Regardless of how it plays out, you live in an incredible place and will have prime access to a great mountain. I'm guessing you'll do a lot of gettin while the gettin is good.

Yes Harvey.  It's heaven here. I'm just working my way through my first Fall season.  The biking here and at the top of the pass and across the pass above DV and PC is as amazing as the skiing.

And to think my 2nd wife threw this all away.   Ironically (or maybe not) my divorce became final the same day this was announced.

Yes - welcome.
You did pick and wonderful place to live.
I don't think I ever had a bad day at Solitude.

PeeTex wrote

Oh and I disagree about it being "low angle". It's a good/fun consistent pitch for majority of powder skiers. You sound like those jackson hole types talking about grand targhee..Hey have fun at your powder hour at Jackson....we'll keep grand targhee and it's "low angle" pow for ourselves. LOL Youre just trying(and failing) to sound core and macho. You're the guy that sits at the top of a trail and with great snobbery douche baggery says "that black wouldn't even be a green at so and so mountain"

I only have 1 day of experience at GT but I couldn't see what all the fuse was unless you went mid-week and had the place to yourself. I found that the place got tracked out reasonably fast on a weekend, as fast as Jackson Hole actually. Granted, with only one day, I had no knowledge of the place and vis was terrible when I was there, so perhaps an unfair judgment. But GT has been held up as some holy grail of powder paradise that some prefer over JH and I just don't see it. Even if GT was untracked powder all day (it's not) and JH was only one or two runs on untracked before it gets tracked out (you can get a heck of a lot more than that!), even if that was the case, I'd take limited powder with better terrain over unlimited powder without many interesting terrain features. I'd never take a trip out west counting on powder... terrain and seeing new and interesting places is the reason to travel, IMO.

So anyways, if Solitude is to Alta/Bird as GT is to JH... then perhaps my ah shucks about this sale isn't really a big deal. But I suspect the comparison isn't quite on point but rather focusing on the vibe. I did appreciate the vibe at GT. But in all honesty, I still preferred JH... and any one that knows me can attest to my preference of ski areas being decidedly against big resorts by default. So, yea.

riverc0il wrote

So anyways, if Solitude is to Alta/Bird as GT is to JH... then perhaps my ah shucks about this sale isn't really a big deal. But I suspect the comparison isn't quite on point but rather focusing on the vibe. I did appreciate the vibe at GT. But in all honesty, I still preferred JH... and any one that knows me can attest to my preference of ski areas being decidedly against big resorts by default. So, yea.

As I said about a girl friend once, - "I wouldn't kick her out of bed for eat'n crackers"
They are both great places.

I've spent 3 weeks at Targhee and I've never seen it get tracked out in a whole day.  In the afternoon hit the Blackfoot lift and keep traversing skiers right.

It can be tough to see when it's puking snow which is pretty often.  I plan to retire in Driggs and ski powder.  I love that place.

riverc0il wrote

I'd never take a trip out west counting on powder... terrain and seeing new and interesting places is the reason to travel, IMO.

If you book at the last minute(ie the day before) for a trip you can count of powder. You can look at a 7 day forecast before deciding if you want to fly. This costs a fortune for a plane ticket and is not doable for most people due to work. That's why you really have to live out west near the resort to really experience all that powder all the time. When you go out west you can count on good packed powder. But there's no guarantee it's snowing at the resort the few days you're there per year obviously.  The people out there complain about bad conditions when out east they'd be raving about how good it is. They're spoiled rotten. Sort of like people in san diego complaing about june gloom. lol

Coach Z wrote

 I plan to retire in Driggs and ski powder.  I love that place.

You spent three weeks there - there is not much there. The cost of living is dirt cheap. I think it would be pretty good if you can take the ranch life all the time. What concerned me about retirement there was all the things you may want relatively close - particularly as you get older, decent grocery store, medical care, cultural entertainment. The summer hiking and scenery would be awesome. However the biggest city - Poky, is 2 hours away and the airport there is a joke. I know my wife would go crazy, she is talking about getting a house closer to a major city now and moving back to civilization.

Driggs has a hospital, big grocery store, multiple golf courses, enough businesses to not have to drive far for anything especially compared to where we live now.  The cost of living is low and it's fairly dry with the water coming from the nearby mountains.

I'm not looking for a huge resort to retire at.  The quality of the skiing and snow is key and you would be hard pressed to find better snow.  They have a nice ski school where I could teach a few days a week.  I really like the vibe there.  When I worked at Killington I preferred Pico.  GT is Jackson's Pico.

Closest city is ID falls not Pocatello though Jackson is actually closer but a pass is in the way.  Jackson has plenty of Culture.

Neither my wife nor I are to interested in city stuff.

Coach Z wrote

Driggs has a hospital, big grocery store, multiple golf courses, enough businesses to not have to drive far for anything especially compared to where we live now.  The cost of living is low and it's fairly dry with the water coming from the nearby mountains.

I'm not looking for a huge resort to retire at.  The quality of the skiing and snow is key and you would be hard pressed to find better snow.  They have a nice ski school where I could teach a few days a week.  I really like the vibe there.  When I worked Killington I preferred Pico.  GT is Jackson's Pico.

Closest city is ID falls not Pocatello though Jackson is actually closer but a pass is in the way.  Jackson has plenty of Culture.

Neither my wife nor I are to interested in city stuff.

Well it must have changed, but it was 20 years ago when I was there so it probably has.

Agreed 20 yrs ago there was almost no town there.

PeeTex wrote

Well it must have changed, but it was 20 years ago when I was there so it probably has.

I thought that you couldn't outdo your silly comment about Solitude's property values, but this is even better. "Driggs sucks" -- based on a visit from 1994!

You're a one-man signal-to-noise wrecking crew.

psssst.....Coach.....Eden valley, Utah......don't tell anybody........

bumps wrote

PeeTex wrote

Well it must have changed, but it was 20 years ago when I was there so it probably has.

I thought that you couldn't outdo your silly comment about Solitude's property values, but this is even better. "Driggs sucks" -- based on a visit from 1994!

You're a one-man signal-to-noise wrecking crew.

So you think property values are on the rise at Solitude, have at it - buy 2.

As far as Driggs goes, I freely admit my data is dated, so what's your problem?

riverc0il wrote

I only have 1 day of experience at GT but I couldn't see what all the fuse was unless you went mid-week and had the place to yourself. I found that the place got tracked out reasonably fast on a weekend, as fast as Jackson Hole actually. Granted, with only one day, I had no knowledge of the place and vis was terrible when I was there, so perhaps an unfair judgment. But GT has been held up as some holy grail of powder paradise that some prefer over JH and I just don't see it. Even if GT was untracked powder all day (it's not) and JH was only one or two runs on untracked before it gets tracked out (you can get a heck of a lot more than that!), even if that was the case, I'd take limited powder with better terrain over unlimited powder without many interesting terrain features.

I skied two powder days at Targhee (Friday/Saturday) and two powder days in JH (Saturday/Sunday) and I agree with Rivercoil. Targhee got tracked out just as fast as JH (and we had someone who claimed to know Targhee showing us spots). If that's the way it goes, I'd rather take the Phenomenal Terrain of Jackson Hole over the mediocre terrain (relatively speaking, of course) of Targhee.

As far as living in Driggs or Jackson, I'd rather live in Jackson because there's more shit going on. Driggs wasn't awful, but it wasn't Jackson. Yes, Driggs is cheaper, but there is no income tax in Wyoming, too... Which is important when I win the lottery.

Coach Z wrote

I'm not looking for a huge resort to retire at.  The quality of the skiing and snow is key and you would be hard pressed to find better snow.  They have a nice ski school where I could teach a few days a week.  I really like the vibe there.  When I worked at Killington I preferred Pico.  GT is Jackson's Pico.

Neither my wife nor I are to interested in city stuff.

Coach... you should check out Mission Ridge as a potential retirement spot.  The AARP has rated Wenatchee as one of the 10 best retirement towns in the country.  No state income tax, declining property taxes (thanks to legal pot), and a multitude of outdoor opportunities within a short local commute (in addition to the ski area).  Wenatchee is also a short drive to many premier spots in Eastern BC.  We can get to Roslyn (Red Mountain) is less than 4 hrs, and Nelson (Whitewater) in under 5 hrs.  It's less than a days drive to get to Whistler, and Revelstoke.

Chris,
Thanks. Never heard of mission ridge. I'll have to check it out. Not looking to move yet though although I have been semi retired for a long time.

PeeTex wrote

Chris,
Thanks. Never heard of mission ridge. I'll have to check it out. Not looking to move yet though although I have been semi retired for a long time.

Sure thing.  I was in the same boat until my wife got a job offer out here.  I had really never heard of Mission Ridge.  As soon as I saw the mountain, I was hooked on Wenatchee.