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If you’re wondering where the pow stays untracked for awhile, well, with a name like Solitude, it’s a safe bet. With all the snow that’s been hitting the Wasatch, there’s been great turns to be had at every resort, but I’m always stoked to get on the swings at Solitude in the days after a storm passes.
Arriving at the lifts, we were greeted with no lift lines on a Saturday no less. The lack of lift lines isn’t all that surprising… it’s the norm at Solitude. Not once did we wait in a line all day.
After a quick warm-up, we lapped Evergreen and kept finding pockets of untracked, so back we went. With an traverse that’s not for the faint of heart, many skiers don’t make it all the way to the goodies, but those who stay on target were rewarded with lap-after-lap of cut up and pockets of untracked pow–not bad… not bad at all. An excellent way to round out the week.
Empty Swings at Solitude Resort
Evergreen Holds the Goods
(Apologies for the camera phone pics… Trust me, it’s still good up there.)
….just makes me want to do this, but on top of a Utah mountain. How about someone does this today and sends me the uploaded link? I’ll post your video on the SkiUtah Blog and you’ll be famous.
A picturesque white Christmas amid pine tree-filled mountains and the richness of festive, luxurious style awaits holiday guests at Stein Eriksen Lodge, Park City’s only AAA Five Diamond, Mobil Five-Star resort. From an awe-inspiring gingerbread creation, gingerbread house classes and sumptuous dining to skiing to meet Santa Claus and horse-drawn sleigh rides through the mountainside, Stein Eriksen Lodge is the place to be during the holidays. Can’t beat ski-in, ski-out at Deer Valley.
The inviting Main Lodge is the center of attention at Christmas time, with a towering 28-foot, lavishly decorated tree covered in more than 5,000 twinkle lights. The heavy wooden 15-foot mantle of the massive stone fireplace is thickly strewn with rich dark green garland and adorned with fanciful decorations. Rich velvet ribbon, glittery ornaments, honeysuckle vine, big sugar pine cones, amber lights, garland and hundreds of bows fill every corner and banister throughout the Lodge, making it a warm, welcoming location for guests to gather for family photos, evening cocktails or to sip hot cocoa.
A famous, favorite attraction of the Lodge is the gingerbread masterpiece of executive pastry chef Raymond Lammers, who oversees the design and construction of a different gingerbread structure each year. This is Lammers’ seventh year designing the gingerbread work of art, and this year’s ambitious gingerbread creation is a nearly 19-foot Empire State Building. The edible confection is the tallest ever produced at the Lodge and required more than 120 hours to create and 450 pounds of gingerbread.
In addition to marveling at the gingerbread masterpiece, guests of all ages can express their own creativity in gingerbread classes led by Lammers and executive chef Zane Holmquist. The Build Your Own Gingerbread House party will be held on Monday, Dec. 29 from 4-5:30 pm. The cost is $60 and includes hot chocolate, gingerbread panels, icing, candies, instructions and Chef Lammers’ recipes. Guest will want to book early for the limited-sized classes and children eight and under require adult supervision.
While Jake was up at Brighton, some other Ski Utaher’s were just a couple miles down canyon enjoying the pow at Solitude. Here’s a little of the action.
The Snowbird Renaissance Center’s annual Summit Gala with acclaimed mountaineers Jimmy Chin and David Breashears will take place at the resort’s Cliff Lodge on Saturday, Dec. 27. The event features food, tales of adventure and an auction to benefit the Snowbird Renaissance Center, Snowbird’s non-profit corporation dedicated to the enhancement of body, mind and spirit through the promotions of arts and culture in Little Cottonwood Canyon.
Jimmy Chin, famed adventure photographer and mountaineer, will be sharing stories from his first ski descent of Mount Everest and the Everest Snowboard Expedition. Chin is considered one of the world’s most sought after expedition photographers and has been named one of the “25 Coolest People” by Outside Magazine.
Joining Chin is filmmaker David Breashears, co-director and team leader from the 1996 Everest IMAX Filming Expedition. Breashears, who helped guide Snowbird founder Dick Bass on Everest in 1985 to complete Bass’ ascent of all Seven Summits, will pay tribute to Sir Edmund Hillary with the help of several guest Sherpas.
In addition to the presenters, the Summit Gala will include a five course meal highlighted by filet mignon and jumbo sea scallops, and an auction featuring a Valdez heli-ski trip along with a private ski day and dinner with professional skier Jeremy Nobis. Live local music will also be performed throughout the evening.
The Summit Gala will take place on Dec. 27 at the Cliff Lodge Ballroom starting with hors d’oeuvres service at 5:30 p.m. followed by dinner at 7 p.m. Tickets can be purchased for $150 on the Snowbird Renaissance Center’s website at www.snowbirdrc.org or by calling Teri Mumm at (801) 933-2442. The evening helps to raise the operating funds necessary to continue the Snowbird Renaissance Center’s mission.
So the Yankees got Teixeira too. Great. Just Great. Oh by the way, might want to avoid the backcountry for awhile. I like the accent of the guide from Chamonix.
On Saturday, August 16, 2008, Stephanie and Christian Nielson were in a small plane crash along with their flight instructor, Doug Kinnear, near St. Johns, Arizona. Doug Kinnear passed away soon after arriving at the Maricopa County Hospital. (Christian sustained burns on over 30% of his body, his wife Stephanie’s body was burned over 80%.) Their hospital expenses have far exceeded their insurance coverage.
For the past four years, Stephanie has maintained a blog, the The Nei Nei Dialogues about her life at home as a wife and mom. Canyon Sports is hoping to do something substantial and meaningful by raising enough money to alleviate some of the financial concern and hardship on the family. Together with Sundance Ski Resort, Canyon Sports is hosting a ski day to be held on January 8 with all proceeds being donated to the Nielsens’ recovery fund. (Stephanie was a ski instructor at Sundance)
With a donation of $100 an individual can enjoy a day on the slopes at Sundance with complimentary lunch from the Pizza Factory and ski/snowboard rentals from Canyon Sports.
Deer Valley Resort and Park City Mountain Resort are preparing to welcome the world’s top freestyle athletes to Deer Valley’s renowned moguls and aerial courses and Park City Mountain Resort’s halfpipe for the Visa Freestyle International. This is one of the stops on the annual FIS Freestyle World Cup circuit and is scheduled to take place January 29-31, 2009.
Some of the best skiers in the world are expected to compete including moguls Olympic silver medalist, Shannon Bahrke (Tahoe, CA), world record holder for highest aerials score received, Jeret ‘Speedy’ Peterson (Boise, ID), and two-time skier halfpipe X Games medalist, Jen Hudak (Park City, UT).
The three days of competition and festivities will begin with an evening celebration on Park City’s historic Main Street, including live entertainment by Michael Franti and Spearhead with fireworks to follow. The aerials and dual moguls events will be held at night under the lights in Deer Valley’s spectacular arena (the same used during the 2002 Olympic Winter Games). As always, the night events will close with a fireworks display. The moguls and ski halfpipe events will be held during the day. General admission to all events is free. For those who want to enjoy an enhanced experience at the Deer Valley events, Freestyle Feast tickets will be available for purchase and include lunch/dinner in Deer Valley’s VIP tent, and a commemorative gift. A detailed schedule of events is available online here.
World Extreme Skiing Champion Brant Moles is offering a unique Steep Skiing Camp at The Canyons Resort this winter.
Brant is widely known for his fluid style that won him a World Extreme Skiing Championship as well as a feature in teh IMAX Film, Extreme. The Canyons is now the home mountain for Brant’s exceptional Steep Skiing Camp.
The camp, held January 2-4, 2009, is designed for intermediate to advanced skiers who want to take their big mountain skiing to the next level.
While not a backcountry clinic, some backcountry skills such as how to read the terrain, select a safe line, basic avalanche awareness and safety, and technical skiing techniques will be discussed. Each day of the camp ends with video analysis and a discussion forum with Brant.
Cost of the 3-day camp is $470, not including lift tickets. Lodging packages, such as the SKI FREE package, are available throughout the season. The SKI FREE package gives you two free lift tickets with each night stay at one of The Canyons’ properties. Sign up for the Brant Moles’ Steep Skiing Camp when booking your lodging packages.
With 12 inches of fresh powder within the last twenty-four hours, today’s conditions at Snowbird couldn’t have been better. Well, that’s almost true. They are actually going to get even better!
The National Weather Service is predicting another 4-8 inches of snow from the southwest before tomorrow morning.
After that passes, another storm is expected to bring us snow from the northwest on Tuesday afternoon. But wait, that’s not all, the weather experts are calling for a big storm to hit the Cottonwood Canyons again on Christmas Eve (Wednesday night).
The bottom line is that it is going to be a very white Christmas at Snowbird. One you won’t want to miss.
If you can’t make it out here in the next few day’s, don’t fret, there is more snow on its way. January is destined to be an amazing month. Get the hookup with Snowbird’s January Ski Free Special.
This “Hot Deal” includes accommodations and two Tram and Chair passes per night of stay. *Rates start at $135 per person per night based on double occupancy.
World Extreme Skiing Champion Brant Moles is offering a unique Steep Skiing Camp at The Canyons Resort this winter.
