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I decided a drive up to Brighton Resort last week was in order. At just 16 miles from the mouth of Big Cottonwood Canyon and less than 30 minutes from downtown Salt Lake City, getting to Brighton and other resorts near by doesn’t get any better than Utah.
While up there the snowguns were blasting a number of runs including the beginner slope and the terrain park area. I got a sneak peak at a couple of new features which were donated including a pyramid box by Milosport and a massive wall from The Truth. A third feature which looked a lot like the lift towers from the old Milicent lift had just rolled up and was on the back of a truck trailer.
Although the snow has yet to arrive in force they are continuing to make as much snow as possible so that when the storms come opening day will shortly follow.
I was checking out the Park City Mountain Resort blog and saw that they will be opening tomorrow morning. Being that it’s black Friday I wonder how many people will have to choose between shopping for the best deals of the year or first turns of the year? If you’re a dedicated skier and a proficient shopper you’ll get the shopping done by 8am, head to PCMR to catch Payday lift when it opens at 9am.
The cold temps (6 degrees at my house this morning) have been favorable for snowmaking as all of the resorts I’ve seen this past week have been getting as much of the white stuff made that they can. Although it doesn’t look much like winter to me with brown the dominant color except the ski runs, making turns on the white ribbon is going to be much better than sitting on the couch in a turkey coma wishing it would snow. So get off the couch and get up to Park City tomorrow.
Also, Snowbasin is supposed to open on Saturday. All other resorts are TBA.
If you’ve ever been to the Alta Lodge there are three things you’ll likely not forget.
- The character wooden steps that descend from the main road in a seemingly never ending drop to the lodge, adorned with ski images of years gone by. It’s almost reminiscent of going down a mine shaft of Alta’s glory years.
- The aged lobby that gave you the feeling that you just went back in time a couple of decades but that you’re “home”
- The proximity to and the views of Alta’s famous run High Rustler.
Built in 1939 the Alta Lodge has long been a favorite for skiers headed up Little Cottonwood Canyon. As you descend the steps from the road the sides of the tunnel walls are lined with photos of long ago powder days and even one very old image of the lodge itself. 
There’s no doubt that this is a skiers lodge, not a destination 5 star hotel for the rich and famous. It’s a cool place to be weather during the winter or the summer.
New for this season skiers will be entering an entirely remodeled lobby and deck room. The new look and feel reminded me of a swanky boutique hotel at Squaw Valley that I stayed at a few years back. It’s very comfortable and definitely more of a modern feel. The front desk looks more up scale boutique than a skiers lodge, but it’s still run and operated by people with a passion for skiing. You can see it in their eyes.
Next time you’re up Little Cottonwood Canyon, be sure to check out the Alta Lodge.
CONTEST
We’re giving away lunch for two to the Alta Lodge (I didn’t mention that they have a great restaurant) for the first person who can comment with the correct number of steps that you must go down to get from the road to the entry of the Alta Lodge. Good luck.
For many years it seemed the only thing to change at Alta was the daily messages on the lift ticket, many of them wishing happy birthday to long time Alta skiers. Over the past few seasons Alta has received a face lift of sorts with new lifts, a fantastic new mid mountain lodge and additional snowmaking to name just some of the upgrades. This season the lift tickets will be getting more than a daily message change.
New this year all of the ski products (season passes and lift tickets) will have an RFID (radio frequency identification) chip embedded in it to allow access through entry gates to the lifts. I was up at Alta the other day and saw them building up the snow at the base of the Collins lift to install the gates and to test them.
10 year Alta local Matt Rink told me that he was impressed by the speed at which the gates opened and how easy it was to move through them.
“That was while on dry ground and walking through. I can’t wait to ski through the gates. It’s going to be awesome.”
In speaking with Alta’s Connie Marshall she said that the primary reason for the new system was to provide an easy and customer friendly method of getting skiers onto the lifts. It eliminates the need to manually check a person’s pass each time they come through the lift line.
Alta’s general manager, Onno Wieringa, remarked:
“For those of you familiar with similar systems, you’ll be glad to hear that our system will have two antennas for each gate for optimal reading and authorization. Also, instead of a turnstile entrance, we have chosen to install a gate entrance, which is engineered to open outward, away from the skier, allowing a wide entry for skiers to proceed.”
Lift tickets this season will be $59 which includes the cost of the Alta Card that contains the RFID chip. After your first day of skiing you’ll then pay only $54 to load another day onto the card. Skiers can use the same card all season. According to Alta, skiers will have the opportunity to load more ski days to their card online, saving time at the ticket window when you’re in a hurry to get first chair on Collins.
I’m anxious to see how the system is received….now all we need is a powder day.
…skiing? As amazing as it sounds it seems that nearly everytime a ski film comes out from the depths of “Hollywood” that they screw things up with drama and a story line that isn’t about skiing. But from the looks of it the soon to be released film STEEP, which is more of a documentary than a film, will be true to the sport.
With footage and interviews of skiers like Seth Morrison, Shane McConkey, Bill Briggs, Ingrid Backstrom, Glen Plake and the late great Doug Coombs to name a few I’m stoked to see this film. It better come to Utah but the locations of it’s public premier have yet to be named.
For now, enjoy the trailer.
The Utah Division of Motor Vehicles launched two new license plates today, an updated version of the former Centennial plate featuring Delicate Arch, and a new ski plate with Ski Utah’s world famous registered trademark, ‘Greatest Snow on Earth.’ The plates were launched as part of the Utah Office of Tourism’s new ‘Life Elevated’ campaign.
The ski plate features the majestic Wasatch Mountains with the figure of a skier in front of them. The skier is Utah resident and three-time Olympian, Heidi Voelker. Voelker’s image will be both the first live human and first woman ever to be featured on a United States license plate. “I have been anticipating the launch of this plate for a long time,” said Voelker, “I can’t wait to stop at a red light and notice that I am the skier on the plate in front of me.” Voelker also commented that she plans on buying a new vehicle in the spring and will definitelyget the new ski plate at that time.
The Utah ‘Ski’ license plate was first instituted in 1985 when the state had an average of 2.4 million skier days. Since then, Utah has grown to be the third most skied state in the United States and hosted over 4 million skier days in the 2006-07 winter season. Last winter was the state’s fourth consecutive record breaking year for skier visits. “We are thrilled by the new plate,” said Ski Utah president, Nathan Rafferty. “The plate symbolizes the importance of skiing and winter-related tourism in Utah. Not only do we have The Greatest Snow on Earth, but our local ski industry constantly strives to be the best in the world, putting Utah on the map as a key destination.” Utah’s incredible accessibility, breathtaking landscape and Greatest Snow on Earth are what continue to attract skiers to the area.
Stay tuned for Ski Utah to launch a season-long license plate poker contest in celebration of the new license plates.
Ski Utah is the marketing firm owned and operated by the 13 statewide ski resorts that make up the Utah Ski and Snowboard Association. The organization has been creating brand awareness of and demand for the Utah wintersports product since its inception in 1978.
For media information, contact Jessica Kunzer at 801.433.2016 or by
email at jessica@skiutah.com.
Well, the season is fully upon us now. Time for the snow to catch up. 
Solitude opened their gates Friday, November 16th to a large crowd of eager skiers and snowboarders. The fact that only two runs were open didn’t make a difference to anyone as smiles graced the faces of everyone that was on the mountain. It is no secret that there isn’t a lot of snow up in the mountains, but that didn’t stop Solitude from making a valiant effort to open this weekend. Jay Burke mentioned to me that many months ago, they set an opening date, and as the preseason progressed, they did everything they could to hit that open date. They have been blowing a lot of snow in the last few weeks, and had a pair of nicely groomed runs to ride.
I have to admit that I was a little nervous as I drove up Big Cottonwood yesterday. Arriving at Solitude, the sequence was familiar in getting ready, chill air in the parking lot, and new snow excitement. Riding the chair was a peaceful experience and as I got off the lift stretched the new boots, and pushed off down the hill. Maybe you are like me, as I floated down the hill, I leaned farther forward, and dug my edges into the soft snow and pushed myself to faster speeds. What a thrill.
After a few runs I packed up and headed down to the car. I had to get to work and was disappointed to leave the serene mountains. What a great day, regardless of number of runs.
Where are you starting your season?
Solitude is ready to open for skiing but depending on which way you look at the mountain you wouldn’t know it. I was up there today and couldn’t believe that they were really going to open after looking at the mountain from across the canyon.
But looking at it from another view it’s groomed out and ready to roll. I’m sure locals are itching to get the season rolling. Nice work Solitude on being first to get something open to ski and ride!
Working at a ski resort isn’t anything like being a teacher. Summers aren’t as vacation centric as one would think but are a time to crank up the machine that is building new lifts, upgrading buildings, expanding terrain, adding new guest services and more. As we get nearer to opening day and you either get nearer to using your season pass or a few days closer to that ski vacation I’m sure you’ll start to wonder what’s new at your favorite resort.
We’re going to continue to bring you updates from the resorts in the form of videos (like the Brighton videos from earlier this week) and insder info but I wanted to give some props to a local blogger Jason Mitchell of FeedTheHabit.com who is doing his own Utah Ski Resort Updates.
His post this week about Solitude gives an insider tip, what’s new for 2007-08 season and some other info. Jason will join the Ski Utah blog as a guest author this winter to give an unique perspective to skiing in Utah while he introduces his daughter named Alta to the world of skiing.
