J2Ski Forum Posts and Replies by dustyfog

Thanks for your generous sentiments. Boy does make his father proud, especially way he handles intimidating terrain...in style..

The boy gets separated from the man when the terrain gets gnarly, steep and intimidating. That is where the young lad shines and the man's (i.e. Dad's) weaknesses come to the fore...

Here is a video of Dad working to get on his edges early, and you can see how hard it is for someone who put on skis at the age of 46, (now just shy of 49) progresses in his 3rd year, i.e. 4th season. But Dad keeps trying but gap vs son is increasing.
This is a self-analysis clip so it most assuredly can be skipped...it is at Whistler-Blackcomb, some parts in slow-mo so Dad can see if he is inclining his knees to get on edge early and not pivoting/skidding the turns, that was the goal here...

Great place, biggest in the Americas, huge runs, steeps which intimidate the experts, glacier runs to die for, chutes you can die in, snow as good as Utah (when we were there), and a kid's playground. Good village, lots of aussie and european transplants. Seemed pretty popular with people from the Far East and UK and Germans too. We got great snow pretty much every day and we loved every minute of our 10 days of relentless skiing, and if my boy could have, he would have kept on skiing!

Excellent TR, very informative about a place which I have never been. Goes to show, the attitude to skiing can make most conditions "ideal". One q: how would you compare Le Plagne to Tignes or Val d'Isere or Verbier or Chamonix ?

While hardcore skiers online scorn Deer Valley, Utah, many great and hardcore skiers with families genuinely like DV.

First here is a short clip (2mins) of why: skiing immaculately groomed pistes just like Austria, France or Switzerland.


Then, on-mountain lodges are relatively clean (for America), food is better than most places (Snowbasin is the Gold Standard for this in the US), and there are people to help you if lost, need help getting skis etc.

The cons are the lift tickets are the most expensive in Utah and probably higher than anywhere else in the USA, and on-mountain lodging is expensive, but if one is smart, deals do abound. It is not necessarily more expensive to stay on-mountain in DV versus Alta.

Enjoy. DV is like a sure thing, the way they manage the mountain, you know skiing can be effortless and relaxed. But don't be fooled, their Blue runs are big, long and some are seriously steep, and they have some genuine expert terrain in Empire Canyon, areas called Centennial and Daly chutes etc. (I have not done them, the young lad in clips has naturally)

DV consistently polls as the most popular destination for skiing with families in the US, and this is giving you hints as to why. Note there is this usual economic class junk which permeates many an online discussion of DV, and that is quite un-American so to speak, I mean the raison d'etre is individual enterprise and celebration of success when earned. DV grooms immaculately, and it's a place that is crowded, commands real estate prices which are significantly more expensive than most other ski resorts anywhere, and that is a matter of supply and demand. So that "noise" aside, if one is looking for a relatively hassle free, good-sized mountain with long cruisers (by American standards) and steeps, plus enough gnarly terrain for most skiers, than DV is a great place to go. Park City, the downtown is 5-10mins drive away, and the scenery is reasonably pretty from the top. And the service in general is very good.

Utah is the best place to ski in the US, easiest access from the East Coast to SLC, and from the West Coast, that's a blink of an eye away. You have basically storied ski areas with incredible amounts of snow : Alta, Snowbird,Solitude, Snowbasin, Park City, Deer Valley, Brighton, Powder Mountain. All within a 55 mile radii quarter circle of SLC. You will find beautiful terrain, serious powder, and hard core back-country, what you call off-piste, with chutes, bowls, trees etc. There is more to ski here than a lifetime's worth.

Colorado is higher, less snow, more trees, and much harder to get to in general or you drive 3hrs plus from Denver on the infamous I-70.

Mammoth has a lot of snow, that is California as does Squaw right now.

Other options are Revelstoke, Whistler-Blackcomb or Lake Louise in Canada.,

I have TR's here of Alta and Snowbasin.
Good luck.

Another step on the stairway to heaven.

Snowbasin is known (now there lies a contradiction) as Utah's secret. It is 55miles directly north of Salt Lake City. Now the Cottonwood Canyon ski places : Alta/Snowbird(Little CC) are legendary and have on mountain lodging at the base; Solitude/Brighton(BCC) not as popular as LCC but really nice too, and these get the most snow, and are roughly 40-45 miles directly E-NE of SLC. The Park City resorts are Canyons (Utah's largest); Park City Mountain Resort and Deer Valley (the best groomed place), are 45-50miles NE of SLC. All are good and we have skied Alta, Solitude, Deer Valley and now Snowbasin.

We have a long way to go before we explore all the terrain anywhere but this poster's view is Snowbasin is the best, his son who is the main skier thinks its a toss-up between Snowbasin and Alta.

The thing is Snowbasin is known to Utah locals, and it is characterized by
(a) No on-mountain or base lodging; nearest lodging is 10minutes+ away but shuttles get you there real quick.
(b) longest continuous inbound vertical in Utah.
(c) Varied terrain, big long runs, serious chutes and powder bowls all inbounds.
(d) best mountain lodges to rest, eat, relieve in North America, probably anywhere.

The slopes are never seriously crowded, and we skied through what Utah folks think is seriously tough conditions : Day 1 crust, rain, winds (and son closed each gondola!) Day 2: frozen hardpack, could not buy an edge, and we did some seriously extreme terrain, Winds, loved it and the usual gondola closings occurred vis-a-vis young skier; Day 3: Beautiful overnight 8-10" and then snowing all day, dry utah powder, wind-buffed ice-cream snow, and a bit of serious fog rolled in while we were on the women's downhill, visibility 5ft or so, son in middle, Jim in front and Dad bringing up rear, with vertical distance between skiers less than 6 ft (it's reportedly 42deg pitch at the top of Women's Downhill run), and we revelled in it...just one huge adventure. Son closed lifts again!

Folks, Utah is the easiest place to get to ski in the US, and is the "greatest snow on earth" (their trademark, not mine), and you can ski free the day you land in any of the Park City resorts. I would visit Alta and Snowbasin once in this life at least, once there you will be hooked.

I believe only interior BC, and Mammoth Mountain get more snow.

Europe is different and definitely way less snow, and not dry fluffy powder like Utah.
We loved Lech-Zurs though a lot, beautiful place to ski.