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Utah Ski Resorts?

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2_fadez
Posts: 7780 - Karma: 4,183
My family is planning on going out west over christmas break for some skiing. We want to hit up Utah, since we have never skied that state before, but are pretty much completely uneducated about any of the resorts, mountains, terrain and such around there.

Is there a chain of like 3 or 4 mountains that are relatively close to each other, near Salt Lake City? (we'd probably be flying in there)

Also, what are the best places for tree-skiing and powder (we don't care about parks)?

Lastly, is Powder Mountain in Eden good skiing? Have not heard anything about the place, but when I have mentioned it to people, they seem to love it - just want more info.
Oct 24 2011 4:09PM
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pelle_munch
Posts: 4110 - Karma: 503
PC, Canyons, Alta, snowbird all in the SLC area. pretty sure you can get a dicounted ticket for all 4, but i'm not sure
Oct 24 2011 4:14PM
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gr4
Posts: 1499 - Karma: 945
there's seven mountains within 30 minutes of slc. 4 in the cottonwood canyons and 3 in park city.
Oct 24 2011 4:17PM
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Scott0_robot0
Posts: 3291 - Karma: 212
pc and canyons arnt really in slc area... brighton solitude and snowbird and alta are in slc area. and if you just want some fun terrain especially trees i would go to brighton it isnt as steep as other resorts but its fuckin fun. if you want something steeper with alot more to adventure to i would go snowbird. i wouldnt go to the canyons or pc they are fun but not what you are looking for.but like i said if i were you i would choose out of brighton alta snowbird and solitude imo brighton and alta get the best snow.
Oct 24 2011 4:19PM
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pelle_munch
Posts: 4110 - Karma: 503
Close enough
Oct 24 2011 4:22PM
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2_fadez
Posts: 7780 - Karma: 4,183
Anyone know how far Powder Mountain is from PC and Canyons?
And how different is the skiing/terrain at each of these places?
Oct 24 2011 4:41PM
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Scott0_robot0
Posts: 3291 - Karma: 212
iv benevr been to powder mountain but iv heard they get good snow but have flater terrain, but also its going to take you a good hour or more to get there.
Oct 24 2011 4:52PM
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Merrill
Posts: 253 - Karma: 71
Powder mountain is a lot of fun if you are willing to make the drive because you can pretty much have fresh turns all day long when it snows. Me and my friends have been several days after storms and could still find sections that were for the most part untouched.
Oct 24 2011 5:05PM
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yeahno
Posts: 4008 - Karma: 3,414
I went to solitude and brighton. I went and they had amazing snow. best four days of my life.
Oct 24 2011 5:09PM
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ktd619
Posts: 927 - Karma: 96
I have a utah question as well.....2 days of alta or 1 day of alta and 1 day of snowbird
Oct 24 2011 5:10PM
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blackbetty
Posts: 65 - Karma: 11
check them both out.  you could always get the Alta/Bird pass for 2 days and them both each day
Oct 24 2011 5:35PM
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Jonzo
Posts: 103 - Karma: 21
Powder is a solid hour north of SLC. They have tons of terrain, but most of it is unaccessible by chair. This place is extremely cool as you can ski "in bounds" down to the access road, get picked up by a shuttle, and get ferried back to the base chair. We found some very cool spots outside the ropes, but I wouldn't recommend it without an avy beacon and the other essentials. Also, you can pay for a cat ride for $12 which will take you up to the top of Lightning Ridge, and if you're willing to hike a bit, you can hike up James Peak (30 mins) for a very nice run.

Added plus when driving to Powder if you have to go right past In N' Out burger!

As others have point out, go to Brighton, Snowbird, an Alta for a quick 1-2-3 knockout of Utah. Personally I enjoyed Brighton the most since you can access some nice zones right off the lift, or find some very sick stuff if you befriend a local / have a local friend.

Hope that helps bro!
Oct 24 2011 6:17PM
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Jonzo
Posts: 103 - Karma: 21
Powder is a solid hour north of SLC. They have tons of terrain, but most of it is unaccessible by chair. This place is extremely cool as you can ski "in bounds" down to the access road, get picked up by a shuttle, and get ferried back to the base chair. We found some very cool spots outside the ropes, but I wouldn't recommend it without an avy beacon and the other essentials. Also, you can pay for a cat ride for $12 which will take you up to the top of Lightning Ridge, and if you're willing to hike a bit, you can hike up James Peak (30 mins) for a very nice run.

Added plus when driving to Powder if you have to go right past In N' Out burger!

As others have point out, go to Brighton, Snowbird, an Alta for a quick 1-2-3 knockout of Utah. Personally I enjoyed Brighton the most since you can access some nice zones right off the lift, or find some very sick stuff if you befriend a local / have a local friend.

Hope that helps bro!
Oct 24 2011 6:17PM
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2_fadez
Posts: 7780 - Karma: 4,183
Thanks for helping out guys. Anyone else got any input as to which to choose?
Oct 24 2011 7:53PM
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SPskier543
Posts: 2413 - Karma: 324

your family will probably like PC a lot, so i would stay there and ski pc and canyons a little, then head over to alta or snowbird on daytrips. Alta/SB are only like 40 min. away which isnt bad at all from PC. and PC is a pretty cool area,

Oct 24 2011 8:13PM
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eheath
Posts: 61601 - Karma: 123,020
alta-snowbird-brighton solid 3 days
Oct 24 2011 8:19PM
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BskiP
Posts: 1369 - Karma: 223
This! or anywhere in the cottonwoods. you really cant go wrong.
Oct 24 2011 9:02PM
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PANDA_SWAGGA
Posts: 490 - Karma: 16
Alta fo sho
Oct 24 2011 9:25PM
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jblaski
Posts: 5566 - Karma: 1,078
It all depends on what your family want to ski.

If you just want to crush groomers all day, then go to Canyons. It's the largest resort in Utah, and has a ton to ride. Their park is pretty creative and usually a ton of fun. Plus, there's some fun stuff to explore in the trees. It's big enough, that it doesn't feel super crowded all the time.

If you're looking for more natural terrain, then the Cottonwoods are the way to go. I'm a little biased, but I love Snowbird. You really can't go wrong with any of the 4, they're all super fun and have great terrain.

I haven't personally been to Powder, but I have heard nothing but good about it. Being a ways away from SLC, it has much smaller crowds, and everything gets tracked out less.
Oct 24 2011 9:57PM
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dirty.
Posts: 736 - Karma: 69
Sounds like you want to hit alta/snowbird (big, steep terrain, lots of snow, crowds) or brighton/solitude(less crowded but smaller and less gnarly terrain) both are great. and then definitely get up to powmow for a day. great for a family or people that arent necessarily there to shred the gnar. although there is gnar to be shredded. its huge, one of the biggest in the country as far as skiable acres and NO ONE goes there, even when its dumping. its got plenty of mellow tree runs that stay fresh for days and all sorts of different stuff, hit up "powder country" and take the shuttle back to the lifts.
Oct 24 2011 10:13PM
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monkatizer
Posts: 4704 - Karma: 1,518
alta/snowbird, solitude, brighton would be your best bets for pow. canyons has a shit load of everything but expect long ass lift lines. PC has just about everything too and slightly better liftlines?
Oct 24 2011 10:21PM
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SPskier543
Posts: 2413 - Karma: 324
PC has worse lift lines, canyons is only bad in the morning when everyone is at the bubble or gondola. Inwas out there Christmas break and presidents day weekend and besides the morning rush, I lapped runs through single lines without waiting more than a minute. Same with PC, just got to know where to go and You'll be good
Oct 24 2011 10:26PM
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The_District.
Posts: 157 - Karma: 20
Come ride Brighton dude you will have an awesome time.
Oct 25 2011 12:43AM
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