Ski Utah Blog - Related Articles
Showing 10 articles out of 84.
Skiing the Brighton Park
Posted by The Ski Utah Yeti on March 2, 2010
The Nimbus crew takes a park lap at Brighton.
Brighton weekly group lessons....a well oiled machine
Posted by Jodi Saeland on February 27, 2010
Here we are the end of February and Emily has had quite a ski season. You know you're supermom when your kids start skiing more than you...you become the shuttle driver. But, I'm a very proud Mom as Em has done a great job this season.
We've had quite a few lessons, both private and group. Once the kids get comfortable on their feet, I would definitely recommend the multi-week lessons. They have the same kids and instructor each week. We just finished up Deer Valley, multi-week. That blog is coming.
Let's talk Brighton. A very well oiled machine with lessons as you've seen in previous blogs I've done. First off, you can register online. The great thing is...you do it before hand. You will pay for the lessons and then get your waiver in the mail to sign and mail back. This is great so you don't have to worry about paperwork and chaos on the first day. If you need equipment....no worries. Go an hour early to get and pay for your rentals. If you want to rent for the entire 5 weeks, you'll get a discount. You'll pay and get outfitted the first day. You'll return at the end of the lesson, but every other week; you just need to go pick up your rentals. You've already gone through the rental/pay line, so get your gear and go. No need to stand in the pay line. Nice when you have wiggly kiddos anxious to hit the slopes.
Emily is in the Little Rippers Camp. The great thing is, if parents want to ski while the kids are in lessons...you get a $7 discount. Adults can also get discounts on multi-week lessons for themselves or for some of the clinics going on. Nice! The parking lot is packed as it is a great Utah powder day! (yea for Mom) We still get a great park, put on our boots and away we go. As you approach the meeting area, it is so organized! A man greeted us with a clipboard, asked Em's name and told us we were in group 11 with Martha. Big numbers and letters line the area...yep, easy enough! 
Martha takes the kids on the beginner hill first to see how everyone skis. They want to make sure kids are in the right class for their ability. I also really like that the kids NEVER ride the lift alone.
I got great skiing in and Em had a good time. I picked her up where we started and off for hot chocolate. Molly Greens is a little A-frame restaurant. Fun atmosphere for apres-ski. Having a quick snack and watching the snow come down...a great end to a fun ski day!
Coming next...final day at Deer Valley and a great dinner at The Canyons! Also, check out the latest coupons at Ski N See.
The Big LePowSki Returns to Brighton Feb 26-27.
Posted by The Ski Utah Yeti on February 22, 2010
The event kicks off on Thursday, February 25th with the Winter Wildlands Alliance Backcountry Film Festival at the State Room on 638 S. State Street Salt Lake City. This film festival highlights backcountry ski and snowboard films. $10 per person and all money goes to the Winter Wildlands Association. Must be 21 or older to attend.
On Saturday February 27th the clinics kick into gear at Brighton Ski Resort with a morning and afternoon classes including: Avalanche Beacon Workshop, Backcountry Basics, Freeride Film Workshop, Freeride Photo Workshop, Freeride Workshops, Park Tricks, Splitboarding 101, Steeps Clinics, and women specifics Clinics. Registration is $75 and can be done at www.thebiglepowski.com. If you want to get a leg up on learning new skills for the backcountry this is a great place to start.
Finally on Saturday February 27th, don't miss the The Big LePowSki / Salt Lake Shoot Out Party to Benefit The Billy Poole Fund. Located at Club Elevate in Salt Lake City (149 W 200 So), the party features a silent auction that benefits the Billy Poole fund, live music, and features the work of photographers from the Salt Lake Shoot Out. Tickets are $10 and go to the Billy Poole Fund.
If all that wasn't enough to get you to attend, check out this video from last years event.
Big LePowSki 2009—Brighton, Utah from Black Diamond Equipment on Vimeo.
Tricks in Prom Dresses at the Annual Slug Rail Jam at Brighton
Posted by Jessica Kunzer - Communication Director on February 11, 2010
Each year Slug Magazine host its annual Ski Park Jam at Brighton Resort. This year's theme was High School Prom...
Down Memory Runs
Posted by Ray Grass on February 10, 2010
I made some runs at Brighton Resort over the weekend and a lot of old memories surfaced. My second attempt at skiing was at Brighton . . . and I spent many a day after waiting in lines for the Majestic and Mary (now the much longer and faster Crest Express) lifts, and catching a burger and fries in the very crowded old lodge.
Things were so difficult in the beginning, and I look back now and wonder why. A little weight on the right ski and it turns. Simple. But not back then. Skis had a mind of their own and went were they wanted and not where I wanted.
As I see it now, the old run I skied most often was off what was the Mary lift. It starts out as Mary Back and is a perfect beginner’s run -- gentle slope, in the trees for protection and just wide enough for slow, controlled turns. Back then it was more like a triple-black-diamond run.
On this latest trip, there was a woman midway down the run having a difficult time. She’d make a couple of forced turns -- hard steps instead of sliding -- then do the reverse wedge with tails touching and tips wide apart. She’d fall back and struggle to get up. I could never understand the urge to lean back as a method to slow down, but I did it. It’s the old digging in the heels to stop, I guess.
I stopped and asked if I could help and got a terse “no thanks.’’ She was determined. Had she asked I would have suggested a lesson. Lessons do make life on the slopes a whole lot easier in the beginning.
All in all it was a perfect day. There was a firm base, groomed flat, with a few inches of new fluffy powder on top. Ego skiing, I call it. You glide into a turn and there’s enough new snow to help, but not so much that it doesn’t easily give.
Over on Millicent there was a junior race being held. More memories. I’ve been to a lot of junior races over the years and they’re fun to watch. Kids as young as five and six playing the role of a Ted Ligety, the Utah-based Olympic skier, walking around in their skin-tight race suits, encouraging teammates and cloaking nervousness.
There’s more determination and drive in this one area than you could ever find elsewhere. Standing on the sidelines are parents and grandparents cringing and hoping with every turn for a good run.
The one run I had to make that day was on, according to the map, the “Face.’’ It’s right below the off-load area on the Majestic lift. It’s fairly steep, maybe 75 yards long and drops maybe 100 feet.
That was a run in the early days that proved your grit. Runs for our group were never pretty. We’d make more falls than turns. Course we didn’t have to tell anyone that part, only that we skied the “Face.’’
This time, for me, it was another of those good runs and one that at the end left me wondering what it was about the run that was so difficult.
Of course, the resort has changed a lot over the years. Back when, and I’m dating myself, Majestic and Mary were standard doubles and Millicent was a historic single. Now there’s not a double on the mountain -- four high-speed quads, one regular quad and a triple.
Now there are specially sculptured terrain parks for skiers and boarders. Our big challenge was ungroomed bumps and moguls, and pockets of snow that stopped turning skis.
It was fun, though, looking back in time and skiing on runs that were once so intimidating, but now, I realize, are perfect learning runs at all levels.
Good day, good snow, good memories.
Photos from the 4 Area Interconnect Tour
Posted by The Ski Utah Yeti on February 5, 2010
When people talk about the Ski Utah Interconnect Tour they usually think of the 6 area tour that goes through Deer Valley, Park City Mountain Resort, Solitude, Brighton, Alta, and Snowbird. But the 4 area Interconnect Tour going through Snowbird, Alta, Brighton, and Solitude offers an arguably better backcountry experience. Check out the photos from yesterday's 4 area tour.
Emily does her first green run and Brennan..isn't sure at Brighton
Posted by Jodi Saeland on February 3, 2010
I've been waiting and the wait is over. Emily is doing the greens!! My goal by the end of the season was for her to do some green runs with me and we're already there!! It was such a proud moment!! We went up to Brighton because we decided to give Brennan another go at the skiing thing. As in previous blogs, I mentioned we bonded with Gina as an instructor. I cannot stress enough the importance of finding a good instructor and sticking with him/her. Get a lesson, get their name and stick with the same person if possible. Especially when they are young. Brennan doesn't trust very many, so important for him. I also thought the green runs are so nice at Brighton. If you find runs you are comfortable with and know well, that is the best place to go when taking the little guys on your own.
Brennan got to ski school and was ready to go ahead with Gina once again. Emily was very excited to show Gina what she's learned in her lessons at Deer Valley the last few weeks. Most of the resorts with have a cheaper lift ticket you can purchase for just the beginner runs which is a savings on a family if you know you or your kids are not going to ski the whole mountain, purchase the 1-2 lifts ticket and get your feet wet first on the mountain and then maybe the next day you can get a regular priced ticket. You can also get discounted tickets at many places before you head up to the mountain including ski n' see. It will save you a few dollars.
Emily and I headed up the beginner lift so she could show Gina how she was doing and also to see how Brennan would do. Emily "didn't want any help, I can do it myself", so I helped her on the lift and off, but that was it. It had also started to snow...so SCORE for me! We get to the top and Brighton has a wonderful setup with Polar Bear wooden cutouts. It is something for the kids to head toward while skiiing down the mountain...practicing turns, slowing... Emily did this early in the season with Gina and they named the polar bears. Miss "I remember everything" remembered this and when we were all off the chairlift, she made a point of calling out the names. Also, "Gina, watch me". Meanwhile, Gina is trying to control Brennan. He doesn't really want to stand up, just wants to be held up by Gina. A task with the 2 year olds. Gina got clever toward the bottom and just stood him up and of course he can do it. We all have that child who can convince us they need "help" when really they are capable of doing it themselves. This is why an instructor is good...you get frustrated, they don't. Thanks Gina!
After seeing Brennan sort of "do his thing", Gina said she felt Em was ready for the lift. So, Majestic...here we come. As we're skiing away from the beginner run I hear Brennan say he needs "a little rest". Good luck! Highest lift Emily has been on and she's looking down and getting a little scared. Under Majestic is the 1/2 pipe and all the rails and snowboard fun. I'm trying to explain we are not going down there, not even Mommy is doing that. But, in a 4 year old mind, that's scary! We get to the top, BEAUTIFUL snow falling...love the Utah powder.. and away we go. Emily is confident! Not crazy daring, but sure of herself. Awesome! We go down this green slope and see maybe 2-3 people, snow is falling and Emily is doing great. Great tree lined run, beautiful and great for our first run. I'm so proud, I could burst!
I get a text from Gina; they're back in the ski school room. Brennan is done. That's ok. Em and I arrive to Gina looking at books, drinking hot chocolate and Bren is happy as can be. He did ok and as well at 2 as expected. Now if he would just be more independent... Maybe next time. Again, every experience he has is great. DON'T push, don't criticize, just encourage and make it fun and he'll want to come back. Gina has been great at that and I think it is one of the reasons Emily is doing so well.
I've been asked what is the best age. My answer...it depends on the child. I would say 4. Try at 2, try at 3 and be assured at 4 they are ready. I think by the exposure at 2 and 3; even for an hour here or there to put it in their head; but at 4 they are really ready to try and will remember from the years before. If your child is more independent, they may do well and take off earlier, but I feel 4 has been a great age. Emily was on skis at 2 and 3, but something clicked this year.
I have one question as you watch the videos of the kids. My husband and I had a discussion as I was filming Em skiing ahead of me . As a parent, do you go in front of them or behind? My husband thinks in front; I'm not sure
Next blog...let's talk what clothing is good/bad and what about snacks?
Favorite Runs
Posted by Ray Grass on January 26, 2010
I rode up the lift last week at Park City Mountain Resort with a gentleman from California who is planning a move to Park City. Jeremy Ranch was, at that point, his area of choice -- convenient, mountain setting, quiet and no traffic problems, “nothing like California.’’
He asked the question: Which of the Utah resorts is my favorite?
Having skied all 13, I had to honestly tell him I liked them all and for varying reasons . . . the larger resorts for variety and long runs, smaller resorts for atmosphere and well established runs.
I told him I’ve had great skiing at all. Oh, I’ve had bad days when temperatures were below zero, high winds and blinding snow. But, even on those days I’ve enjoyed the skiing.
Personally, I like to ski different areas. Each has a look and feel of its own. It’s also fun to sample their signature meals.
He then asked if I had a favorite run. Tougher question. All total there are nearly 1,200 runs at the 13 Utah areas.
One thing I’ve done, and repeat on occasion, is make sure I ski a resort’s signature run. They all have one.
Five years back a group of five of us, led by Nathan Rafferty, now president of Ski Utah, skied 11 of Utah’s 13 resorts in a single day. We tried as best we could to hit the signature runs.
That, I would say, was one of my more incredible ski days.
Looking at some of the signature runs I’ve skied, I’d place Alf’s High Rustler at Alta at the top. Ski magazines have listed it as one of the country’s best with a “perfect fall line.’’ It’s steep and not easy to reach, but it is truly an exciting run.
Good skiers will like the Great Scott run at Snowbird. This wide open bowl has a 45-degree slope, making it one of the steepest runs in North America. Personally, though, I like Chip’s Run. It offers open bowls, tree-lined trails, moguls, groomed meadows and hairpin turns -- all within one run.
Jupiter Bowl is considered the signature run at Park City and I love the bowls and chutes in the area, but for absolute splendor I love Hidden Splendor. It is really a fantastically beautiful run.
The signature run at Solitude is Challenger and up the canyon at Brighton Sunshine. Challenger is, as the name suggests, a steep, challenging run. Sunshine is more of an intermediate run with incredible views.
If you want to get a greater appreciation for Olympic downhillers, test your nerves on Snowbasin’s signature run, the Grizzly Downhill, better known as the men’s downhill run for the 2002 Games. I can’t imagine skiing the run without a speed check.
One of my most memorable powder runs was in Powder Mountain’s Weber Bowl. It’s a wide open bowl with a 30-degree pitch, which makes it perfect for flowing turns on good powder days.
One of the runs at Deer Valley I enjoy most, and it’s considered its signature run, is Stein’s Way, named after the legendary Olympian Stein Eriksen. Why? Because it’s long, 4,500 feet, and has a slope perfectly suited for his classy, giant-slalom-style turns and my not-so-classy GS turns.
And, talking about GS turn, the signature run at The Canyons is 94 Turns. It got its name from the fact a good skier can make 94 GS turns from top to bottom. I made a few more.
Favorite runs? Impossible to say. There are simply too many really good runs and for one reason or another I’ve enjoyed them all.
Have you got a favorite? I’d love to know. Maybe there are great runs out there I haven’t skied.
Down Memory Runs
Posted by Ray Grass on January 9, 2010
I made some runs at Brighton Resort over the weekend and a lot of old memories surfaced. My second attempt at skiing was at Brighton . . . and I spent many a day after waiting in lines for the Majestic and Mary (now the much longer and faster Crest Express) lifts, and catching a burger and fries in the very crowded old lodge.
Things were so difficult in the beginning, and I look back now and wonder why. A little weight on the right ski and it turns. Simple. But not back then. Skis had a mind of their own and went were they wanted and not where I wanted.
As I see it now, the old run I skied most often was off what was the Mary lift. It starts out as Mary Back and is a perfect beginner’s run -- gentle slope, in the trees for protection and just wide enough for slow, controlled turns. Back then it was more like a triple-black-diamond run.
On this latest trip, there was a woman midway down the run having a difficult time. She’d make a couple of forced turns -- hard steps instead of sliding -- then do the reverse wedge with tails touching and tips wide apart. She’d fall back and struggle to get up. I could never understand the urge to lean back as a method to slow down, but I did it. It’s the old digging in the heels to stop, I guess.
I stopped and asked if I could help and got a terse “no thanks.’’ She was determined. Had she asked I would have suggested a lesson. Lessons do make life on the slopes a whole lot easier in the beginning.
All in all it was a perfect day. There was a firm base, groomed flat, with a few inches of new fluffy powder on top. Ego skiing, I call it. You glide into a turn and there’s enough new snow to help, but not so much that it doesn’t easily give.
Over on Millicent there was a junior race being held. More memories. I’ve been to a lot of junior races over the years and they’re fun to watch. Kids as young as five and six playing the role of a Ted Ligety, the Utah-based Olympic skier, walking around in their skin-tight race suits, encouraging teammates and cloaking nervousness.
There’s more determination and drive in this one area than you could ever find elsewhere. Standing on the sidelines are parents and grandparents cringing and hoping with every turn for a good run.
The one run I had to make that day was on, according to the map, the “Face.’’ It’s right below the off-load area on the Majestic lift. It’s fairly steep, maybe 75 yards long and drops maybe 100 feet.
That was a run in the early days that proved your grit. Runs for our group were never pretty. We’d make more falls than turns. Course we didn’t have to tell anyone that part, only that we skied the “Face.’’
This time, for me, it was another of those good runs and one that at the end left me wondering what it was about the run that was so difficult.
Of course, the resort has changed a lot over the years. Back when, and I’m dating myself, Majestic and Mary were standard doubles and Millicent was a historic single. Now there’s not a double on the mountain -- four high-speed quads, one regular quad and a triple.
Now there are specially sculptured terrain parks for skiers and boarders. Our big challenge was ungroomed bumps and moguls, and pockets of snow that stopped turning skis.
It was fun, though, looking back in time and skiing on runs that were once so intimidating, but now, I realize, are perfect learning runs at all levels.
Good day, good snow, good memories.
Down Memory Runs
Posted by Ray Grass on January 9, 2010
I made some runs at Brighton Resort over the weekend and a lot of old memories surfaced. My second attempt at skiing was at Brighton . . . and I spent many a day after waiting in lines for the Majestic and Mary (now the much longer and faster Crest Express) lifts, and catching a burger and fries in the very crowded old lodge.
Things were so difficult in the beginning, and I look back now and wonder why. A little weight on the right ski and it turns. Simple. But not back then. Skis had a mind of their own and went were they wanted and not where I wanted.
As I see it now, the old run I skied most often was off what was the Mary lift. It starts out as Mary Back and is a perfect beginner’s run -- gentle slope, in the trees for protection and just wide enough for slow, controlled turns. Back then it was more like a triple-black-diamond run.
On this latest trip, there was a woman midway down the run having a difficult time. She’d make a couple of forced turns -- hard steps instead of sliding -- then do the reverse wedge with tails touching and tips wide apart. She’d fall back and struggle to get up. I could never understand the urge to lean back as a method to slow down, but I did it. It’s the old digging in the heels to stop, I guess.
I stopped and asked if I could help and got a terse “no thanks.’’ She was determined. Had she asked I would have suggested a lesson. Lessons do make life on the slopes a whole lot easier in the beginning.
All in all it was a perfect day. There was a firm base, groomed flat, with a few inches of new fluffy powder on top. Ego skiing, I call it. You glide into a turn and there’s enough new snow to help, but not so much that it doesn’t easily give.
Over on Millicent there was a junior race being held. More memories. I’ve been to a lot of junior races over the years and they’re fun to watch. Kids as young as five and six playing the role of a Ted Ligety, the Utah-based Olympic skier, walking around in their skin-tight race suits, encouraging teammates and cloaking nervousness.
There’s more determination and drive in this one area than you could ever find elsewhere. Standing on the sidelines are parents and grandparents cringing and hoping with every turn for a good run.
The one run I had to make that day was on, according to the map, the “Face.’’ It’s right below the off-load area on the Majestic lift. It’s fairly steep, maybe 75 yards long and drops maybe 100 feet.
That was a run in the early days that proved your grit. Runs for our group were never pretty. We’d make more falls than turns. Course we didn’t have to tell anyone that part, only that we skied the “Face.’’
This time, for me, it was another of those good runs and one that at the end left me wondering what it was about the run that was so difficult.
Of course, the resort has changed a lot over the years. Back when, and I’m dating myself, Majestic and Mary were standard doubles and Millicent was a historic single. Now there’s not a double on the mountain -- four high-speed quads, one regular quad and a triple.
Now there are specially sculptured terrain parks for skiers and boarders. Our big challenge was ungroomed bumps and moguls, and pockets of snow that stopped turning skis.
It was fun, though, looking back in time and skiing on runs that were once so intimidating, but now, I realize, are perfect learning runs at all levels.
Good day, good snow, good memories.
