After visiting my friend Ed in Park City, where I skied Deer Valley and Alta, I began to make my way back to Oregon, so Snow Basin was next. Snow Basin is about 30 minutes outside Ogden. It is a super easy drive from downtown. I’d been there maybe 8 years before and had fond memories of it. It is even more luxuriously appointed than Deer Valley. The lodges are over the top beautiful with chandeliers, comfortable couches and roaring fireplaces. All for the plebeians just like me. No membership required!
They’ve even raised the bar in the bathroom. They have country club style hand towel dispensers!
The terrain and snow quality is top notch, too. Snow Basin was designed by Alf Engen, who designed the trail system at Alta. His trail design takes advantage of the natural contours of the mountain, instead of just chopping straight trails. So the experience is more flowing and natural. They have two gondolas and a number of chairlifts. Lots of room to spread out.
Snow Basin also has a convenient parking system like Big Sky. No matter where you park, there is always a shuttle coming to whisk you right in front of the lodge. And no reservations nor any payment needed!
I skied a couple of days in February at Deer Valley, UT. It’s in Park City, about an hour away from Salt Lake City. My buddy Ed lives steps from the base at Park City Mountain Resort. This year, the region has had one of its coldest and snowiest seasons in 10 years. Residents are constantly digging out!
The walk to my car from Ed’s house. Lots of snow!
One of the convenient aspects of the town is its free bus service. The nearest stop was a 5-minute walk from Ed’s house. And within 15 minutes, I was at the Deer Valley base lodge.
I skied one day by myself. I found lots of powder and some tree runs. One steeper run was in the middle of a pine forest, where I encountered 4 kids, one of which was stuck in a tree well! I helped them out. Later, I ran a super easy peasy stand of aspen trees. The snow was so gentle and soft!
Deer Valley prides itself on grooming, and it’s true they do a good job. I’ve been there a few times, and I kind of had moved it down my list because I like fresh, ungroomed snow. But I learned this time that the trail crew leaves quite a few areas untouched for skiers like me. And, my friend Ed showed me some places at Deer Valley away from where the crowds are. I left with a renewed rating for Deer Valley!
The 2nd day it was fully sunny. No new snow, but plenty of fun and it’s always welcome when there is a sunny day with no wind!
Another thing worth mentioning! There was a World Cup Tour freestyle competition going on. Dual moguls and inverted aerials. I mentioned online that on my 1st day I accidentally blundered into the setup for the moguls run, and ran it. And Hannah Kearney, the Olympic gold medal moguls champion, saw my post and “liked” it! That was super fun!
Skis du Jour were my Line Sakanas. I LOVE these skis! They are great in powder but carve trenches, too! I think they are the most fun skis I have ever owned. If you ever get a chance to try a pair, DO IT!
I took a week to visit Utah in the spring! Alex and I packed up the car and headed out.
I took a week at the end of March to ski the Wasatch Mountains and ski in Park City Utah and also camp in the Moab, Utah region! My friend Ed lives right at the base of Park City Ski Area so I simply had to go out for a visit. I brought Alex along – Alex and I have been ski buddies all this season. Time to ski a real ski resort…and enjoy some desert sun too!
The weather leading up to our visit was all over the place! It was 45 degrees in Portland, and 65-70 degrees in Idaho and Utah, yet it snowed two feet in Utah seven days before we got there. It is a 13-hour drive from Portland to Park City. We planned to ski and also visit Arches National Park and the Moab region all in one week!
It would be winter on the mountain and summer in the canyons! Ed’s got a camper van so this was to be a certain boys week! Alex and I headed out on a Sunday starting at 6:00 a.m. Sure enough in Idaho and then in Park City it was over 65 degrees. We got to Ed’s house and unpacked.
Then, we walked around the Old Town part of Park City and had some pizza and beers. Park City is very much a “liberal” enclave in otherwise conservative Utah. But after the 13-hour drive and meal we had to call it quits – tomorrow is a ski day!
The forecast called for up to five inches of snow on Monday. We didn’t believe it. Although it had snowed up to two feet earlier in the week, the slopes looked pretty pathetic when we arrived. So with the warm temps we kind of thought it was impossible to snow that much Monday. But this is the Wasatch.
Monday it did snow. We awoke to a big snowstorm! I couldn’t believe it. And, we had free passes to Deer Valley Ski Resort. What more could you ask for!? The forecast said it would be windy so we did not hurry up. That was a good move! Once we got there, lifts that had been closed were opened! The wind had totally calmed down.
Nothing like FREE skiing in Utah! We took Alex all over Deer Valley, exploring this mega resort. It may not offer the world class big mountain terrain of Snowbird or Alta, but for today, it’s all we can handle anyway. Just perfect, and minutes away from Ed’s house.
I got a video of Ed and Alex skiing through the trees. Fun!
We were planning to pack up Ed’s camper van and head to the canyon lands Tuesday and Alex had ideas about packing Monday night. I told him, he’d be barely able to walk after the Utah skiing and he sure was wobbly legged after the afternoon! We tried to ski as much of the lift system as possible. We were totally fortunate…
We even had some tree skiing! Just to think it was 65 yesterday!
Tomorrow we switch seasons – we are off to Arches National Park, and Moab Utah!
Cabin Fever Chronicles - Getting Outdoors with Rod 