Snowbird Ski Holidays

Long wait for the tram and some lifts, busy mountain. Steep runs, would not recommend for beginners at the top. Good ski in ski out and great for intermediate and advanced.

Great resort. The back basin is really great fun and the place the head at first, but don't bother with the cable car (tram), it's too slow and the queues too long. Great mix of terrain and plenty of modern fast lifts. The magic carpet through the tunnel to the back basin is an interesting feature. But be warned, it gets crazy busy at the weekends (think 3 valleys at Feb Half term), as Salt Lake City descends, the locals set out before 07:00 to drive up. It's linked to Alta, but be warned if you cross between it counts as a second day on your pass!!!!

Serious ski area which you could spend days exploring. We would have taken a guide had the snow been worth it. You could find your way around skiing blues but that would miss the whole point of the considerable off-piste and hidden trees and chutes. Alta which is linked and fractionally higher also a great ski area (no snow boarders). In both resorts it may be worth assessing the local grading, Snowbird could catch you out. Alta doesn't bother with double black, just some blacks are more difficult! As always. it's relative to the resort. In marginal conditions, these places hold their snow far better than Park City/ Canyons due their elevation. Would probably stay here for a few days on another trip, not a lot of variety dining wise but the Cliff was putting on some decent evenings to mix things up.

Well actually Snowbird & Alta. This is a little more expensive than Park City, as the only sensible accommodation appears to be The Cliff Lodge, a concrete monstrosity of a hotel that turns out to be both smart and comfortable inside. The views from the excellent rooms are superb and the service good. Furthermore, unlike most of the US, it is ski-in/ski-out. Snowbird consists of several north-facing valleys connected by a tunnel and magic carpet to a south-facing bowl called the Mineral Basin. The snow on the north side, which is extensive enough and demanding enough to keep you quiet for a good while, tends to hold up very well indeed. The Mineral Basin has some good skiing but there are few trees so either the snow gets spoilt (by Utah standards) by too much sun or the visibility and contrast are less good in poor weather. There is some extremely demanding skiing especially on the north side. We were advised by a staff member that the trail grading was not an absolute measure of difficulty but relative to the terrain of the whole hill; I can believe this! There is an option to ski both Snowbird and Alta on a combined pass. Alta does not allow snowboarders and uses French-style electric gates to read the pass. This year, its snow was perhaps not quite as good despite low temperatures, but again there is a good variety of cruising and demanding terrain. Some areas can be quite restricted because of the avalanche risk. To get from Snowbird to Alta, you have to ski via the Mineral Basin and occasionally the top of the hill and tunnel are closed owing to wind, so the value of the combined pass may be questionable. There is a bus service between the two and it is possible and legal - although very difficult - to ski back to Snowbird without a combined pass. Overall, Snowbird is magnificent with a good variety of demanding skiing and a reasonable amount of intermediate. My only gripe is what they call the "Tram". This is a large gondola lift of which they are inordinately proud but like so many in France it dumps a large number of dithering skiers at the top of the hill with 2 narrow tracks to ski down. Alta is more old fashioned in many ways but again has a good variety of terrain and excellent service. The combined area is undoubtedly one of the best ski areas in the world. At Alta, look out for the "Wild Old Bunch", a group of 70, 80 and 90 year old skiers who, as one of them said to us on a lift "Don't always hear you coming!"