Solitude, UT: 12/15/18

I skied the last two days at Solitude, which is now part of Ikon Pass and most people here in BCC have been raving about how it's transformed their winter lives locally: unlimited skiing at Solitude and five to seven days each (depending on which version you bought) at Brighton, Deer Valley, Alta, and Snowbird. Must be nice to have those kind of options within a 30- to 40-minute drive!

Following Thursday's eight-inch storm, we're in for a stretch of high-pressure/sunny and dry. Conditions are nice except on heavy-traffic trail sections. No magazine-quality pix, so apologies in advance to Raising Arizona.

The only downside to the new Ikon Pass world is that Solitude is noticeably busier on weekends; weekdays it's nice and quiet as before-- walking to the lifts from the main village with no one around:



Another big change since I was last here two years ago is that they replaced the summit chair and moved it lower on the mountain, which allows you to take the Apex lift to connect to the summit: two high-speed lifts to the top.





We did three fun runs through Honeycomb Canyon, which was in good shape for early season. Unfortunately, due to the low sun, it was mostly in the shade, so not conducive to great pix. Not sure what happened to the map at the summit gate:



Our favorite frontside sector is off the Powderhorn chair with soft baby bumps most of the way down:









Stopping for lunch at the midmountain Roundhouse is great because they have a Himalayan/Indian-inspired menu at reasonable prices -- sure beats burgers and fries.



Working with the naan bread:



Also worth noting was a Crazy George sighting. He's been an institution at Solitude for years and used to wear a Tom Sawyer straw hat and overalls; he's changed over to this fashion choice:

Nice report! We loved solitude when we visited a few years ago. Honeycomb Canyon is among the most beautiful places I’ve skied. I remember loving the glades off the back of powderhorn and to the left of the summit lift. I’d like to go back and hike some of the ridges.

Also, glad you covered the food at the roundhouse. It was fantastic and very unique!

If I lived in SLC this. Would be where I had my pass

I’ve skied about 10 days there at it’s got a good vibe and plenty of great terrain

I always try to ski there on Sundays.  The Mormons are all at church and I’ve always been able to park in the first row.

Thanks for the pics!

Hoping to get in a good day for Honeycomb Canyon in April during a longer stay in Alta.  My ski buddy ended up getting an Ikon pass too.  We went one day mid-season a few years ago but it happened to be a low snow year.  Wasn't worth the effort of going into Honeycomb.  We were with locals, one of whom had been a Solitude host for a while.  That was also before the Summit lift was upgraded.

A couple pix from the gut of Honeycomb Canyon after traversing out along the edge. Conditions there were nice

Looks great I like the small bumps too.

Bryan is digging life I guess.

So if all the places on the mega passes are more crowded on the weekend is the ski business growing or are independent hills deserted?

Harvey wrote

So if all the places on the mega passes are more crowded on the weekend is the ski business growing or are independent hills deserted?

To clarify, the Saturday I was at Solitude was comparatively more crowded (than before Ikon Pass), but still the longest line I encountered was three minutes at the Moonbeam lift, which services beginner/lower-intermediate terrain; everything else was ski-on. Locals said the only really hideous crowding was on opening day.

Harvey wrote

So if all the places on the mega passes are more crowded on the weekend is the ski business growing or are independent hills deserted?

Remember it's still early season.  Need to wait until mid-Jan when all the terrain is open before the true impact of Ikon can start to be clearer around SLC.

Utah and Colorado , Tahoe, and so on each have their own unique regional characteristics.  Just as NY State, VT, and NH are different in terms of who skis there the most.