Should I be worried?! SLC trip...

[SkiNC]

Thanks for all the info.

https://bearfoottheory.com/mountain-collective-road-trip-itinerary/ This is an article about flying into SLC, skiing alta/snowbird, driving to SV then JH. I think I might do this. I just hate I've already paid for the hotel in SLC! So I'm thinking ski two days in SLC (which means eliminating either Alta, Snowbird or Snowbasin.. opinions?) then after lifts close, or maybe an hour or two before, head to Sun Valley, ski two days there, after lifts close, head to Jackson Hole, ski two days there then head back to SLC.
Good news is we won't be paying any extra for lift tickets since we have the MCP but will have to find cheap hotels.

I'm thinking even if it dumps the next week or two and alot more opens in SLC, I'll at least do the trip to Jackson cause that's always been on my bucket list.

Anyone have any experience renting with Turo? AWD can be had for a fraction of regular rental cars..

 

[Shawn C.]

Well, the drives don't look bad. Ketchum to Jackson isn't terribly hilly so you should be ok there.
As far as ditching one resort in UT I would skip Snowbasin unless they get a lot more snow. As in multiple feet.

 

[VinceF]

Just do it. I did something similar when the Gathering was at Big Sky a few years ago. Drove from my home in SLC to Jackson. Skied a couple of days, then went to Targhee for a couple of days. Left directly from there and drove through all the small back roads seeing an amazing number of bison, etc on the way to Big Sky and Moonlight Basin. We still talk about how much fun that trip was. Just have a good time with good friend is worth it. If you are traveling with family you may have a different experience.

 

[Tony]

I was one of those recommending UT in Jan and AB in Feb, but that was before the middle of Nov. and I don't think anyone was predicting then that SLC would be 5-20% open in mid-Dec. If you only ski two days in UT, I would probably do one day at Alta and one at Snowbird (each say 10 runs open) and skip Snowbasin (12 runs open) as LCC resorts should improve faster than Snowbasin. But you could make that decision once in UT and Snowbasin does put you almost an hour closer to Jackson than LCC resorts.

While there is some good info at https://bearfoottheory.com especially on Sprinter vans, there are some errors, typos and/or missing words. An example is that she says "In 2017, the Alta/Snowbird Resort on the Mountain Collective pass gave you 2 days, but you couldn’t go back and forth between the two resorts during the day. This is changing for 2018. They’ll be considered separate resorts, and you’ll get two full days at both." The first sentence is wrong as in 2017, MCP gave you two Alta/Snowbird days that you could use at Alta or Snowbird or both and you could go back and forth. But also note that there is not an "Alta/Snowbird Resort" and that last year any additional days were charged at the 1/2 of the combined Alta/Snowbird daily rate, even when Alta was closed for the season.

@SkiNC said "I just hate I've already paid for the hotel in SLC! So I'm thinking ski two days in SLC (which means eliminating either Alta, Snowbird or Snowbasin.. opinions?) then after lifts close, or maybe an hour or two before, head to Sun Valley, ski two days there, after lifts close, head to Jackson Hole, ski two days there then head back to SLC.
Good news is we won't be paying any extra for lift tickets since we have the MCP but will have to find cheap hotels."

First, don't get room you can't cancel unless you are almost 100% sure you will be using them AND there is a good reason to get room you can't cancel. Jan 6-13 is a slow time so you can book last minute. Are you sure you can't get credit for later in season or did you book through and Online Travel Agency (OTA) like hotels.com or booking.com? I use both, but make sure I can live with any restrictions before booking.

Motel 6 in Jackson was not much over $50 when I stayed there a couple of years ago. I'm not sure how many people you are traveling with, but if you have three or four, you can't beat the location of the Hostel at Teton Village. You can get a private king room (quieter as they are on top floor) or quad room (not sure I'd want to be in one that was full) and it's 500' to the tram and even closer to the Mangy Moose. When I stayed there, they included free parking. BUT make sure you read and understand cancellation policy.

 

[SkiNC]

Well, things are looking up. A few more runs open at Snowbird and Snowbasin and a sudden huge jump open at Alta. Up to about 90 runs.. Wonder why Bird and basin are still low?
Alta has more open to Jackson at this point but since JH has been on my list and it’s close by I’m still planning on taking a side trip there for 1-2 days. Probably will keep the plan to leave SLC an hour or two before lift closing straight from which ever resort and head to Jackson same day. I see some have recommended not making the final stretch at night so maybe will stay in Idaho somewhere..

 

[SkiNC]

In exactly 2 weeks will be my first day on the slopes

 

[KingGrump]

If you are driving from SLC to JH via US 89.
Beware of the sheriff at Afton. They work a moving instant on radar set 24/7.
They often cruise in the 65 mph zone outside of town. Seen them there often.

 

[AmyPJ]

Snowbasin essentially has 3 sections of the mountain. The John Paul terrain has zero snowmaking, and needs a pretty hefty base to open. The Strawberry terrain has lots of snowmaking, but they focus the snowmaking efforts on the Needles portion of the mountain first. I could be wrong, but I think we'll need two more storms like the last two (23 inches and counting) to open JP, and one more to open Strawberry, although if they focus snowmaking over there now, I could see the main runs with snowmaking opening this week. It's still low tide out there off-piste, but boy, the snow set up beautifully overnight with very cold temps, and yesterday, anything ungroomed was soft as can be. (I still won't venture off-piste yet, too many surprises to be found.) With 6 more inches overnight, and continued cold temps, I think today will be that much more fun, and I WILL venture out a bit more.

IF you prefer steeper terrain, you might choose elsewhere. Not much steep open yet. The Needles portion of the mountain is pretty gentle, with a few short, steep pitches, and certainly abundant off-piste in small doses (it's actually my favorite part of the mountain to hop off-piste, because you don't have to commit to 2000 vertical of it, find out the snow is killing your knees, then have to suffer down the rest of the way.)

That being said, the Tetons got WALLOPED by these two storms. Enjoy!!

 

[Josh Matta]

Alta requires a ton less natural snow than snowbird for open most of their terrain. I was snowbird for the worst winter ever 360 inches of snow......and Alta that year was much more enjoyable to ski.

 

[Jim McDonald]

I must've been very lucky passing through Afton last time I made that drive!

 

[Bigtinnie]

Snowbasin only needs another two half decent storms to open up a lot more of the mountain.
It skied great today despite plenty of punters.
A lot of people I spoke to on the lifts seemed to be out of town types.

 

[AmyPJ]

Snowbasin only needs another two half decent storms to open up a lot more of the mountain.
It skied great today despite plenty of punters.
A lot of people I spoke to on the lifts seemed to be out of town types.

I skied with a Kiwi up there yesterday. How long are you here? One run over on Strawberry opened today--the gondola over there is NOT open, so don't get stuck. Keep your eyes open for more to open maybe by the weekend...

 

[lonewolf210]

Alta requires a ton less natural snow than snowbird for open most of their terrain. I was snowbird for the worst winter ever 360 inches of snow......and Alta that year was much more enjoyable to ski.

Snowbird is also a lot more conservative in their terrain openings from what I have seen. Much more of an attitude of ski at your own risk. When I was about 2 weeks ago pretty much everything off of Wildcat was technically open but more then a little was pretty much unskiable if you didn't want to replace your skis at the bottom,

 

[Bigtinnie]

I skied with a Kiwi up there yesterday. How long are you here? One run over on Strawberry opened today--the gondola over there is NOT open, so don't get stuck. Keep your eyes open for more to open maybe by the weekend...

We did that run a couple of times.
The mountain appears to be an intermediates dream. My wife has decided she likes it better than Sun Valley.
The facilities are lovely and food prices reasonable too.
We’re skiing Alta today and then driving north. We may end up back in Utah if more snow comes before the end of our holiday and Snowbasin will be a likely target.

 

[AmyPJ]

We did that run a couple of times.
The mountain appears to be an intermediates dream. My wife has decided she likes it better than Sun Valley.
The facilities are lovely and food prices reasonable too.
We’re skiing Alta today and then driving north. We may end up back in Utah if more snow comes before the end of our holiday and Snowbasin will be a likely target.

I'm so glad you enjoyed it!
As to the above--the expert terrain is all still closed. Some of it will definitely pucker your butt. I wish I had taken some runs with you, I could have at least pointed out that terrain
Enjoy the rest of your trip! North is a good direction to go right now. All those clouds we saw yesterday were dropping snow north of here.

 

[MarkP]

Well, things are looking up. A few more runs open at Snowbird and Snowbasin and a sudden huge jump open at Alta. Up to about 90 runs.. Wonder why Bird and basin are still low?
Alta has more open to Jackson at this point but since JH has been on my list and it’s close by I’m still planning on taking a side trip there for 1-2 days. Probably will keep the plan to leave SLC an hour or two before lift closing straight from which ever resort and head to Jackson same day. I see some have recommended not making the final stretch at night so maybe will stay in Idaho somewhere..

I've done the drive from SLC to Big Sky / Targhee / Jackson a couple of times in the dark. If you're not tired, the weather is good, and you have company to keep you engaged it's not bad. Definitely more enjoyable during the day, however, when you'll be able to enjoy the scenery and not have to put all your focus on just the asphalt.

If you're going to do 2 days in WY, I highly recommend splitting them between Jackson and Targhee if you can work it. Different mountain personalities, both well worth the time to get there.

 

[SkiNC]

Ok, so I’m leaving Sat.. Alta went from 90 open to 75 and Snowbird is 40, snowbasin is 57.. a little better than the 10 from a week ago but still not what I was hoping. For sure planning the side trip to either sun valley or Jackson.. looking at the weather, doesn’t look like any big storms so I’m thinking I should be good with a 2wd??? What do y’all think?

Also, for my first day on the slopes being Sunday, which of the 3 in SLC might be the least crowded? Will probably leave mid afternoon wed for Jackson or sun valley

 

[New2]

Ok, so I’m leaving Sat.. Alta went from 90 open to 75 and Snowbird is 40, snowbasin is 57.. a little better than the 10 from a week ago but still not what I was hoping. For sure planning the side trip to either sun valley or Jackson...

How did it go, @SkiNC ? And are you still planning one or more additional MCP trips this season?