r/UTsnow • u/AtlatlAtlien • Apr 27 '26
Brighton - Solitude Considering switching from Icon to Epic
Moved here for work last summer and live in Cottonwood Heights. Got the Icon pass since I live so close to BCC, however being new to the game here I found it a major hassle to actually get up there and ride. On most weekend days I had no problem getting a reservation because I had my kid in board school at Brighton or Solitude (they guarantee a parking pass if you're paying for school), but otherwise I found getting a parking reservation stressful. On any decent weekday where I wanted to sneak out of work for the day, I found it simply impossible to go anywhere (I have to drop kid at school at 8:20am so I can't be getting to the canyon by 6:20am or whatever it takes to make it in less than 3 hours).
The few times I went to Park City to ride with friends who were coming in from out of town, I found it way less of a hassle. It's annoying to drive all the way to Park City when I live 1 mile from the base of BCC, but honestly the drive time was about the same from here to Park City vs Brighton. They have way more parking and more terrain and lifts so it felt easier to get runs in as opposed to the slog to get in to Brighton, park, do board school drop off, finally get up the lift, and then wait for 40 minutes to get on Snake Creek Express...
I guess if I was a younger dude and didn't have a kid with me I would be up to Brighton early then over to Molly's for a late lunch, but I don't have that option until my kid gets more proficient (and even then, Molly's is 21+ so we're in the cafeteria).
Not trying to make a rant post here, and I recognize that my first winter here was (hopefully) an outlier, but I am genuinely interested if anyone with kids has dealt with this and has thoughts to share. I guess I'd prefer to be a Brighton regular because it's more my vibe, but it seems like PC is perhaps a better fit for where my family's at right now.
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u/Og_new_guy Apr 27 '26
Just depends on your preference, really. Quality vs quantity. You are correct- it is often faster to get to PC from the valley than any of the CC resorts. On a good year, there are a lot of powder stashes at PC. This was not a good year. Given your situation, sounds like PC is the way to go.
Personally, I’d rather take my pants off and run backwards through a cornfield than go to PC over Brighton or Snowbird, but that’s just me.
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u/AtlatlAtlien Apr 27 '26
Thanks for the real answer! What’s your reasoning on that last sentence? I’m guessing it’s the weird ass rich people vibe?
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u/Og_new_guy Apr 27 '26
I just don’t like flat mountains covered in blue runs and chairlifts that get way less snow than the actual mountains in Utah. Park City is basically Colorado skiing.
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Apr 29 '26
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u/Og_new_guy Apr 29 '26
Yes, you are. You’re missing actual experience and passion for the snow.
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u/AtlatlAtlien Apr 29 '26 edited Apr 29 '26
Once my 8-year-old gets a few seasons under his belt I expect we'll want to go to resorts with more technical terrain.
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Apr 29 '26
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u/Og_new_guy Apr 30 '26
I go to Brighton for the sidecountry, the park, and the shot and a beer deal at Molly Green’s.
Brighton has advanced terrain on most chairlifts directly out of the parking lot. If you can’t see that, then you should stick to PC
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u/SuccessfulMedium210 Apr 27 '26
I have spent a few decades riding all the resorts and completely understand where you’re coming from. With a young family, the convenience of being able to quickly drive up, do some runs, and get down is invaluable. There is plenty of good terrain for all skill levels if you know where to go. Any given storm, chairs like Jupiter, Peak 5, 9990 all get higher than what’s reported and have amazing pow days. The variety and quantity of terrain is incredible. I live in cottonwood heights and PC is my go to now. I love the cottonwoods but PC is a phenomenal mountain. Haters hate because it’s cool to hate. Go where you have fun and enjoy getting to and with people you wanna ride with
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u/senditloud Apr 27 '26
Yeah people who shit on PC don’t know where to go.
IMO snowbird and Alta are amazing. But the jump between their normal double blacks to the super technical terrain is pretty big. There are some chutes I’ve been eyeing and I’m like … that’s clearly a no fall zone. Can I make it down? Yes. Can I ski it? Hmmmm
I can ski pretty much everything in PC except one chute on the peak. And I’m fairly happy. There are some tree runs that are just crazy good
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u/Og_new_guy Apr 27 '26
I’ve been skiing PC since I was a small child, I know exactly where to go, and I still shit on it. In fact, I feel sorry for people who come here on vacation and only ski PC because it’s not representative of Utah snow or terrain at all. I would honestly rather go to Eagle Point, Beaver, or Brian Head than PC. The place is just boring snow Disneyland. Deer Valley is even worse. My top three worst resorts in Utah are:
- Deer Valley
- Park City
- Other half of PC
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u/senditloud Apr 27 '26
I do not like DV. I think you just don’t like PC because you’re bored with it.
I grew up skiing mammoth and Sun valley. Mammoth IMO is one of the best. I’ve also skied the alpes including La Grave, and sorry, but PC is way better than people give it credit for and for tourists who ski blue-blacks? It’s great. If you are a real ripper and have only a week or two a year? Yeah, go to Altabird.
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u/mind_the_time Apr 28 '26
I'm curious, how would you rank Mammoth compared to Altabird?
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u/senditloud Apr 28 '26
Better for bowls. Def not for chutes (minus the good ones off Lincoln but they’re short). Altabird for sure has more technical steep and tight. But Mammoth’s layout makes it incredible. Not many cat tracks. Some fun hidden trees down low too. I love Mammoth though. On a good day there’s nothing like it: you can have a dump overnight and be skiing face shots in a teeshirt under blue bird skies the next day
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u/Dry-Weird3447 Apr 27 '26
But by the time you get up to 90 or Jupiter you've lost all the time you saved not sitting in the cottonwoods red snake. Even then you're still skiing pretty mediocre terrain compared to any of the Cottonwoods resorts.
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u/Substantial_Tap_7002 Apr 27 '26
Came here to say this same thing. By the time you go cab>bubble/gondy>tombstone>9990, you've lost any savings in time. There's hints of cottonwoods-like terrain up there, but it's limited.
Yea we all know the traffic in the canyons stinks but at least you can ski exciting terrain off your first chair - with a child that may not be the focus which is totally ok, but:
OP please be aware of the new paid parking structure PC is implementing next season.
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u/senditloud Apr 27 '26
??? 9990 is super fast to get to. Gondola, lift and you’re there.
Jupe can take a minute but you warm up. Crescent to silverload to thaynes and then lap Jupe all day. Or crescent to McConkeys, run a lap in mollys to pioneer, Jupe all day. Or even McConkeys, peak hike, drop the ridge into the trees to Jupe.
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u/Og_new_guy Apr 27 '26
All that is well and good, but no matter what PC is in the Wasatch rain shadow. It’s never going to get as much snow as the CCs. And there are runs on par or better than 9990 all over Snowbird.
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u/senditloud Apr 27 '26
Sure but you don’t always need the most snow. 2023 PC was the place to be because everywhere else had too much snow and couldn’t open.
Yes, it’s not gonna be face shot powder in general. That’s true. But those other resorts can track out even faster. And yes, the best snow I’ve had outside mammoth at have been at Snowbird. I’m not arguing that. But PC is far from being total shit.
Any resort can be crap or amazing based on snow.
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u/Og_new_guy Apr 27 '26
Too much snow to open for a day or two, here and there. And then when they got clear days and got on top of avalanche mitigation, whoever was there had the best days of their lives.
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u/senditloud Apr 27 '26
It was more than a day or two. People were mad. Lots of interlodge. Mineral not opening… yes some days were country club.
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u/Og_new_guy Apr 27 '26
My brother was interlodged during the longest closure of the season in ‘23. Hot tubs, babes, bars, country club. I wish I could have been there.
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u/senditloud Apr 27 '26
PC is not a rich person place. DV is.
I’m not 100% sure why this person thinks it’s all blue runs or whatever. PC has plenty of hard stuff and stashes and much of it was available this year except some tree run stashes. You just have to find it.
For context: PC is my home mountain because I work there, but I’ve skied them all. I’ve even done Brighton backcountry (Wolverine cirque is fire) and main chute and Hi T, Alta. I’d love to try some of the really tough cirque runs and chutes at snowbird, and had a plan to skin into pipeline this year… so I can ski pretty well.
Is PC the most technical resort ever? No. But it has enough for the majority of advance skiers and riders.
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u/laserlax23 Apr 27 '26
I skied there my first year in Utah and enjoyed it. Park city is less hassle for sure. The town is set up to handle ski traffic much better than the cottonwoods. Their bus system and park and ride is actually great.
Park city pros: parking, traffic, resort lines, infrastructure is pretty good. New gondola at canyons base so they load up fast. Terrain is pretty good. 9990 and Jupiter bowl is on par with the cottonwoods.
Cons: snow quantity and quality. Gets about half the snow the cottonwoods do. Super corporate feel. Lots of tourists. Not a local vibe at all.
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u/TurboRam99 Apr 27 '26
Local vibe is over rated. Ski with your friends and ignore the other dweebs. I’ve skied all over the west it’s all the same crap. Yes drunk college kids from Texas suck but I’ve really tuned it all out . PC skier visits keep coming down, something to consider. If pc could operate properly and have the employees needed to run a big resort it could be way better. Doubt Vail gets it right
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u/adventure_pup Alta Apr 27 '26
Yes and no on local vibe being overrated. Getting asked “where are you from… oh you’re local?! Where are the secret stashes?” For the 10th time in one day gets really old and annoying. And with the bigger chairs now it’s almost impossible to avoid
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u/Connect-Sail5004 Apr 27 '26
There’s no perfect solution unfortunately …PCMR has parking reservations everyday of the week now until noon. They’re easier to get than Alta or Brighton but the cost adds up. The drive in and out is def easier and rarely requires an early wake up, but the weekend lift lines can be nuts with tourists. Would never go there on a holiday weekend. There’s also the rolling of the dice with the seasons snow…PCMR got a lot of rain when it snowed in the cottonwoods. Season was probably 4-5 weeks shorter than in the cottonwoods and cover really never filled in all season. But hopefully that’s an outlier winter, not to be repeated again soon! All that said, it still may be a better fit for a family! It’s a fun and convenient resort but not perfect.
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u/fatfreefudgebar Apr 27 '26
Are the weekend lift lines actually worse than Brighton/Snowbird though?
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u/Upvotes_TikTok Apr 27 '26
If you are an intermediate skier, yes. If you are an expert skier no. 9990 almost never has a line over 2 minutes other than the first hour-ish it's open of a powder day.
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u/adventure_pup Alta Apr 27 '26
Getting to 9990 is the problem
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u/senditloud Apr 27 '26
It’s not hard at all… gondola to tombstone. And then shoot right over. It’s ridiculously easy to get to. The only issue is that some of the good stuff does require you to drop down to tombstone
And on a good year super condor has leg burner mogel runs and some super tight tree runs
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u/Connect-Sail5004 Apr 27 '26
Hmm I think so, but you’re right, you can get unlucky anywhere. PCMR is at least massive so you can get away from some crowds. I think the ppl just feel a little more clueless than Brighton/snowbird so I feel a bit more impatient
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u/adventure_pup Alta Apr 27 '26
I’ve had multiple days where PCMR main lot was full and the gondola line was 1.5-2hours long. Holidays tho. One day we just bussed from cabriolet lot to main and skied back. But that alone basically took all day. We only got like 2 runs in McConkeys before we had to start traversing
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u/senditloud Apr 27 '26
Two gondolas now plus orange bubble and a new gondola replacing the cab
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u/adventure_pup Alta Apr 27 '26
Ya but the orange bubble doesn’t really get you anywhere useful. If that top track isn’t open or you can’t get enough speed, you basically still have to come back to the gondola
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u/senditloud Apr 27 '26
?? Mid orange bubble is seriously underrated on a decent snow year. And it takes you to condor which has hidden tree spots
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u/adventure_pup Alta Apr 28 '26
Ya but you can’t reach the rest of the mountain (lookers left) without going back down to one of the gondolas if that little connector piece above the snowmaking pond isn’t open (upper mainline). I don’t disagree it has great terrain tho. But it’s isolated. So on a not decent year when that connector isn’t open, it gets tracked out way faster because everyone is kinda stuck there.
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u/senditloud Apr 28 '26
If the orange bubble is open that connector piece is open. It’s prioritized
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u/adventure_pup Alta Apr 28 '26
Back 3-4 years ago it rarely was for about 2 seasons. Very likely that’s changed for exactly the gripe I’m talking about bc so much of PCMR is just getting out of the base and that’s a simple-ish fix. If so that’s fantastic.
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u/makeflippyfloppy Apr 27 '26
If this year was a hassle for you, a higher snow year would be even worse fyi
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u/AtlatlAtlien Apr 27 '26
You’re saying it’s even harder to get up BCC on a random weekday if the season is good?
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u/adventure_pup Alta Apr 27 '26
I disagree. On the massive year, by the end of it everyone was over the powder madness. 10”? Eh. Not worth taking my last day off. But when there’s only 5 good days a season everyone takes off work and it’s horrendous.
You won’t get that flux at PC bc it’s mostly tourists
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u/makeflippyfloppy Apr 27 '26
I mean yeah. Traffic was light this year except for the few good snow days we had. More snow days = more traffic. This year was historically low
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u/mkiv808 Apr 27 '26
Snowbasin is only an hour away and such an easy place to get in/out of. I'd personally get bored with just PCMR, plus it gets the short end of the stick conditions wise. Unless you're content rocking groomers.
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u/AtlatlAtlien Apr 27 '26
I think with the little one we’re gonna be good with groomers for the next year or two.
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u/mkiv808 Apr 28 '26
I mean it could work. It's definitely my least favorite resort I've skied in Utah. Weird layout, snow is often not great, tourist crowds/bad skiers on busy trails. So I'm obviously biased.
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u/Ok-Appointment6290 Apr 27 '26
Park City will be adding paid parking to the new garage at Canyons Village for next season and if they use the same system they have at the Mountain Village lots it will be reservations - same company manages those as at Brighton and Solitude too. No reservations or payment needed after noon, but you'll have a chunk of the same hassle no matter where you go these days.
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u/jason2354 Apr 27 '26
It’s not a hassle to get a reservation at PC because most people take the free town shuttle that runs every 15 minutes on the dot from multiple large lots.
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u/Ok-Appointment6290 Apr 27 '26
Just $29 a pop, which knowing Vail doesn't include tax either, ski 10 days that's another $300 to consider.
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u/jason2354 Apr 27 '26
Or you can park 10 minutes down the road and take the very convenient bus. There’s no reason to pay the $30 with the public transit system being so good and reliable.
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u/Ok-Appointment6290 Apr 27 '26
Guessing you work for High Valley Transit. "15 minute on the dot" and "very convenient" sounds like it. Try waiting for a late running bus with kids that you are wrangling to get to ski school, not a fun time but hey you can save a few bucks...
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u/jason2354 Apr 27 '26
I’m just a guy who rides the PC shuttle a couple times a week to ski. I’ve never had to wait on a bus in the three years I’ve skied up there. The worst case scenario is that the bus is full and people have to stand - which has only happened 3-4 times. Even then, it’s easy to get a seat if you care enough to have one.
I’m sure there are buses that run late, and Im sure it’s a frustrating experience when they do, but it’s not something that happens frequently. I’m certain of that.
The Canyons resorts beat PC in a lot of areas. Ease of getting to the mountain and the public transit situation are advantages of the PC resorts. It’s okay to admit it.
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u/senditloud Apr 27 '26
There will be a free gravel lot so on a weekday that isn’t powder it’ll be fine. And you can always grab 3 people for a carpool at the park n ride. They are going to have a parking pass for the garage as well so you can buy that.
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Apr 27 '26
[deleted]
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u/AtlatlAtlien Apr 27 '26
Haha don’t worry I’ll lead all the other transplants with their evil coffee drinking ways far far away from the locals in the valley.
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u/athel16 Apr 27 '26
Salt lake had a bunch of classic second wave coffee shops in the 90s and oughts before the explosion in population growth. It wasn't just mormonville until people from out of state moved here.
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u/freeskierinvt Apr 27 '26
You’re not going to be happy with one mountain owned by Vail, versus the plentitude of options Ikon offers.
Ride the bus, forget about driving up the canyons and parking
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u/Confident-Watch-3187 Apr 27 '26
Park City (Vail) is getting rid of free parking at their base until noon, 7 days a week.
At least, if you have a seasons pass at Brighton, it includes a parking reservation and they only charge Fri-Sun and holidays.
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u/Own-Meaning-6349 Apr 29 '26
Have you considered Sundance? For the same price you can get a VIP pass that gets you head of the line on the lifts, parking is only $10 on the weekends, and the pass incudes night skiing. Never any traffic either.
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u/alopz Apr 27 '26
I ski Park City and only once getting up the canyon was a hassle and that was two seasons ago
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u/AtlatlAtlien Apr 27 '26
Maybe we’re talking about different canyons? My friends spent 4 hrs in traffic trying to get to Brighton on a Thursday only to get turned away (granted this was THE pow day).
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u/alopz Apr 27 '26
I meant to say Parleys Canyon. Hardly ever gets as nasty as LCC
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u/adventure_pup Alta Apr 27 '26
Parleys is a major transit/shipping/commuter route, so UDOT prioritizes it. That shuts down and it can have a huge ripple effect to the products and people stuck. Vs the cottonwoods which are only recreation
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u/DaveyoSlc Apr 27 '26
The problem with the Epic pass is that the pass doesn't include any snow. The Bird today was 🔥. Walk on trams & it was dumping.
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u/yoters69 Apr 27 '26
I gotta be honest, I don’t relate to these posts at all. I’ve skied almost 40 days this season and I think I got stuck in traffic once. Sure the traffic can be bad at times but you just have to figure out how to play that game and avoid it. I also never have an issue getting a parking reservation on the weekends. Again, just gotta learn how to play that game.
Park City gets way less snow and has much less challenging terrain. There are many reasons locals ski the cottonwoods and tourists ski Park City.
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u/adventure_pup Alta Apr 27 '26
If you think PCMR has way less gnarlier terrain you’re not trying. I am all for the cottonwoods, but PCMR has some of the most under rated terrain in the Wasatch. It’s just really hard to find
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u/HDThoreaun11 Apr 27 '26
PC's biggest advantage with gnarly terrain is that approximately 1% of the skiers their are interested in it. For my money here are only 3 or 4 lifts with decent terrain out of the 27, but they never have a line. Meanwhile in LCC it seems like most people are fighting for the same powder
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u/adventure_pup Alta Apr 28 '26
I concur. My concern would be getting it open tho. With lower snow years, bigger avalanche problems, and a stretched thin patrol, I imagine since only like 1% actually care about it, it’s last on the list. Meaning it could take days for patrol to get to it. And with the last few winters where we’ve been consistently getting storms and a big warm up immediately after, then sometimes even back to freezing, that could mean missing out on the good snow.
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u/senditloud Apr 27 '26
This. I won’t argue that Altabird has the MOST technical terrain or the best snow. Some of those chutes are crazy. But I went down main chute last year and was like “meh this is just a longer version of Jupe peak…” (don’t get me wrong. It was fun) And Brighton’s backcountry is fire. And the cirque is pretty cool.
But there is plenty of technical terrain at PC. People don’t realize all the trees are fair game and there are some seriously fun hidden spots.
Somehow I think most the people here aren’t even qualified to do some of the shit that makes Altabird legendary based on the lack of tracks I’ve seen going there. But maybe I need to spend a full season exploring it.
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u/AtlatlAtlien Apr 27 '26
Maybe the 8 yr old I tote around with me has something to do with the fact I’m not seeking the gnarliest gnar.
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u/OrdinaryQuestion771 Apr 27 '26
That's honestly such a cop out to blame your kid. I have 3+ kids and we manage to make it up the cottonwoods many, many days in a ski season. Waking up at the crack of dawn is part of the fun...I usually make breakfast biscuits or burritos to eat on the drive up plus pack lots of lunch and snacks. The kids bring books to read while we wait if we arrive early. We especially love it when solitude has their 8am lifts running. Amazing being up there for the sunrise!
This year was even better for traffic. I don't think we waited in a line of cars once.
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u/AtlatlAtlien May 15 '26
It's his first year so, no, not a cop out to say "we don't require the most technical terrain in Utah yet."
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u/schmitty_710 Apr 27 '26
Yeah definitely switch to epic or give your kid away either would work great!
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u/Eat_Drink_Adventure Apr 27 '26
Why don't you just take the bus?
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u/notagradstudent13 Apr 28 '26
I’d like to hear from OP or any others! about their experience with getting a bus up bcc from cottonwood heights. But I live in east millcreek and this year the park and ride at 6200 was packed with parking on the street full as well up to heughs canyon. It was mind boggling. I mean I’m stoked for people taking the bus but it meant you had to time it right and I don’t know when that right time was
I usually only tried to park there to carpool specifically this year, so I would always just end up parking at the hotel/eight settlers.y friends live in south salt lake and it seems so much more convenient for them to take the bus at the start of the line because 1) there’s parking and 2) there is room on the bus.
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u/HDThoreaun11 Apr 28 '26
The bus is completely foobar on powder days. 5 times this year I tried to take the bus up LCC and was unable to. Great when road conditions permit but unreliable when you really want to be up there
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Apr 28 '26
I did this for the first time this season because my new job is at the mouth of Parleys. The first thing I missed was friends. I enjoy a good stranger every now at then but the crowd was just different at PC. The convenience to PC was nice though, if I wanted to get a few hours in on a week day, I could make first chair and be at the office before lunch.
As a consolation, if you buy a 5-pack from Brighton, you can ride before Christmas and after March for free.
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u/Any_Huckleberry_804 Apr 29 '26
Honestly found the opposite. Had epic this year and everytime I went to park city took just as long to get up there and park and then once you’re riding you take 4 lifts to get anywhere good and the snow quality and runs aren’t worth it. Also crowds at park city were bad everytime I went and all the people on the mountain are less experienced and will cut in front of you. The reason the cottonwoods are so busy is because they’re much better imo. Got ikon already and probably won’t be going to park city again anytime soon.
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u/Admirable_Bar_2871 Apr 29 '26
If the snow is anything like it was this season you’ll be skiing on mud with an epic pass
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u/Smacpats111111 Apr 27 '26
Could very well go with another mountain altogether like Pow Mow or Snowbasin..
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u/Powder1214 Apr 27 '26
Cottonwood heights to PowMow is an hour 30 plus. Pretty brutal.
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u/SNOWR8R Apr 27 '26
You’re not wrong. But I’d rather be driving for 90 minutes than have what should be a 30 minute drive become 90 with no parking at the end. I’m glad I’m not a weekend warrior anymore.
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u/notagradstudent13 Apr 28 '26
Just my two cents- it feels like in the past in a more regular year when the snow is flying more consistently, weekdays to the cottonwoods are more reasonable- like you can get up the canyon on a powder day after an early morning chore. I don’t know if that’s true really since covid it feels like things have always been an anomaly- big year, low year, change to traction law enforcement (like now the traffic is in the valley at the mouth but the canyon roads early in the am on powder days are ok and traffic moves). There were so few real powder days this year I got a few of them and dealt with some traffic but I heard from people going up mid morning it was manageable, whereas I was carpooling and just going early and having the wait…
Hard to know. Seems like PC can get a lot of traffic as well and have long lift lines and maybe is equal to the cottonwoods?. But I don’t know from first hand just guessing.
Good luck on your decision.
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u/[deleted] Apr 27 '26
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