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Utah Ski Trip

Day 0 - BOS to SLC

Rental Car, Hertz was a bit of a mess. They didn’t have me on the board or the exact car we rented but we got a Subaru Ascent and it was able to fit us all and our gear in just fine.

Day 1 - ~Brighton~ Solitude

Early morning we tried to go to Brighton. The UDOT had the Traction Devices Required all day as the snow was coming down heavy. The rental car had All-Wheel Drive and M+S tires so it passed the inspection to head up SR-190 to Brighton.

Once up the road it quickly became apparent why they were needed. Our car was doing fine, but several cars were fishtailing, loosing grip, or failing to get going once stopped.

There was a bright yellow lifted and knobby tired Jeep (the extended Wrangler version) that had stopped and was spinning their wheels trying to get going right before the “S” hairpin.

There was a cool section of road that reminded me of Maui with a cut right along the edge of the cliff, but formations remained on both side of the road.

The driving estimate was stuck on 50 minutes and the total drive up to Brighton took over an hour 20 due to conditions and traffic.

We had some disappointment as the road came to standstill right at the entrance to the town of Brighton. The reason being that they had filled up on parking (no reservation was required) and we had missed it with our slightly later than normal departure time.

Some folks were letting friends out and driving away while others just gave up and drove back down the road.

Once it was our turn to make the loop to head back down we decided to go to Solitude, which was only about 10-15 minutes back down the canyon road from Brighton.

At Solitude we had a great time in the powder and the snow just kept falling all day. Even with limited lifts and terrain open, the mountain felt fairly empty and we were able to avoid crowds all day.

The snow was push and piled up be the end of the day and our legs were feeling it after only a few hours of skiing.

The drive back down was really cool to see the impact of the snow on the scenery (driving was just fine, UDOT cleaned it up fast and well)

  • Mexican Place for dinner

Day 2 - Brighton

  • Earlier drive up
  • Parked right near the main lodge
  • It was a bit bigger than Solitude, but still limited on open terrain and lifts
  • Big snowboarding mountain, lots of them and park terrain, was one of the first to allow the sport in Utah
  • Had boards lining the stairs from first to second floors
  • Good skiing and the snow was still soft and fluffy, though a few places where getting scrapped down to the hard-pack base
  • Drive there and back was closer to 35 minutes
  • The Porcupine for Dinner
  • Theragun was paying dividends

Day 3 - Snowbird

  • Drive up to Snowbird was just slightly longer than the other mountains as it was in a different canyon (Little Cottonwood)
  • Parked in the normal lot and had a short shuttle ride to the main base
  • Immediately boarded the Tram and went to the top
  • It was such a cool view and was the highest peak we’d be on all week
  • Snowbird was long and difficult (first run down was ~3 miles)
  • We eventually found our way to a little baby chute and it was turn or fall down and hit a rock, got down it fine (slow, but fine)
  • Rest of the day was spent going to different areas
  • There were lots of photographers on the mountain that you could go and find in the lodges and purchase if you wanted, neat concept
  • On the way in I saw a hat I liked, but didn’t get back there after
  • We actually did the most vertical of the trip this far despite doing far fewer runs
  • I think Snowbird was favorite mountain, just due to it size and verity of terrain as you progress down the mountain on a single run
  • I was able to hop into more natural or mogul-like runs for a bit then take a break on easier groomed trails
  • Brewery for dinner down near the Delta Center
  • It was a chain but it had good food and a good selection of beers, both theirs and other
  • Mammoth game was a lot of fun. Seats were padded (nicer than TD) and the team came out under an ice cave? that came down from the rafters
  • They won the game handily (“Tusks Up!”)
  • We checked the parking situation for Friday (you need to reserve online on Friday/Saturday/Sun for Brighton), it was sold out but we kept checking

Day 4 - Day Off

  • Lazy morning and chill out the house until noon
  • Morning hot tub for the legs
  • Drove to Park City during the snow and it was only bad going through the passes
  • Went to High West Saloon and grabbed a flight of whiskey and some food, wings were particularly good
  • I had the Prisoner’s flight (or 2). The older (2023) needed some time to breath before it toned down the burn. The other (2025) was really good from the onset. Both had slight port-like profile
  • Walked around the town
  • It was pricey, but very nice. You could ski right into town and take a lift back to the mountain
  • Made Pasta at house and housed it. I should make that again in Maine

Day 5 - Solitude Part 2

  • Headed to Solitude, on the way we saw that reservations were required for Solitude as well (we thought it was just Brighton), luckily they had availability and an internet connection to book as we drove
  • Skied a great day at solitude.
  • They opened up the Summit and Sunrise lift
  • Lots of good terrain open and some fun open areas in the bowl at the top that was not covered enough earlier in the week.
  • Stopped at the Roundhouse on mountain lodge for some beer/lunch
  • Cool space on the second floor with a big round fireplace in the middle with a bar around it
  • Pat tweaked his ankle on a run and our legs were getting cooke anyway
  • Some how this day topped out the vert totals for the week
  • Ordered Pizza In

Day 6 - Antelope Island and Home

  • Didn’t have plans for the day, but our flights were not until 5:30 PM and 8 PM so we thought to check out Great Salt Lake
  • We packed cleaned and grabbed lunch at a place that sold little bread balls filled with savory or sweet fillings, kinda like a Chubby I think (Hruskas is the name of the spot)
  • I found Antelope Island Park, which is about 40 minutes North of SLC Airport and is a Bison preserve and working farm area
  • You can drive around ($15 entrance fee) and look at stunning views of the surrounding mountains (all sides really)
  • There were Bison all around the park, some near the road but most kept a distance away
  • Lots of people running, biking, picnicking, and enjoying the scenery
  • There was a little hike that we did about half of
  • Then it was off to the airport for home