I got to ride with a Yeti today at Snowbird.  It was a beautiful April Fools Day and a few folks dressed up in fun costumes.

Glamour shot

Action shot

I was a luckey boy to run into him

Saw this funny, friendly guy at Deer Valley on 9 Apr 21.  He played electric guitar with a portable amp while skiing.  He was strumming away while riding the chair ahead of me.  I yelled out Smoke on the Water and he played it immediately :-)  Saw him on three different runs in a quiet part of the ski area.   Pretty much playing/skiing by himself, for the joy of it.  He told me he's made 120 of these special rigs for musical skiing, a mini Flying ski-V with only 3 strings.

Apr 23, 2021 at Alta featured highly variable weather with a mix of snow and sun.  This character wore a coolie hat for the sun, but carried an umbrella for the snow.  Notice also, he's on snow blades and wearing a Deer Valley ski school jacket.  They tell me he's been around Utah ski hills for years.

April is still giving some surprises out here in Utah.  Snowbird, April 27:

Apr 29 more costumes at Snowbird for a mild morning with beautiful spring snow:

I got to ski with two of my kids on May 1, and wear shorts!

Mongo wrote:

Deer Valley or Snowbird looks like good choices for FCPS Spring Break 2022!

 Have you skied around SLC before?

Many years ago! Went to Snowbird in the early and mid 1990s. No doubt it has changed. I have some local acquaintances who go to Deer Valley. I'd definitely be interested in hearing more about what it's like these days. And it will be a different experience now because I am a dad not a bachelor. For one thing, kids have special diet requirements so I need to be able to buy and cook food. Of course that is an issue anywhere I travel, not just Utah. 

marzNC wrote:

Mongo wrote:

Deer Valley or Snowbird looks like good choices for FCPS Spring Break 2022!

 Have you skied around SLC before?

Yep, plenty of changes in the last 25 years.  For Snowbird, the opening of Mineral Basin around 2000 added a completely unique area as well as a skiable link to/from Alta that can be handled by intermediates.  The Peruvian Tunnel is always a hit with kids.

I've stayed using timeshare at the Iron Blosam at Snowbird.  Had friends who also own timeshare willing to do all the cooking, so that made it easy for me and my roommate for dinners.  We mostly skied at Alta by taking the free UTA Ski Bus.  I like Alta better and a couple of my friends were intermediates.  Snowbird can be intimidating for some intermediates.

There are lots of condo options in Park City if planning on skiing Deer Valley.  The free bus system means no need to drive for skiing.  DV lift tickets are pricey so many people find that an Ikon pass makes sense even for just a 1-week ski vacation.  With a car can easily do a day trip to other resorts around SLC.

I'm totally biased, but depending on the dietary requirements a stay at Alta Lodge can work out fine.  The kitchen is very good about making adjustments.  I remember sitting in the Deck Room one evening working on a jigsaw puzzle while a family from NYC was eating their dinner.  They were Orthodox Jews and brought all their own food.  The kitchen provided paper plates and whatever else they could.  

These articles about terrain at Alta and Snowbird are a little out of date.  I helped create them a few years ago.  Alta is my favorite destination when I fly.  That hasn't changed even as I've been able to explore quite a few other destination resorts out west.

Alta Terrain

Snowbird Terrain

Mongo wrote:

Many years ago! Went to Snowbird in the early and mid 1990s. No doubt it has changed. I have some local acquaintances who go to Deer Valley. I'd definitely be interested in hearing more about what it's like these days. And it will be a different experience now because I am a dad not a bachelor. For one thing, kids have special diet requirements so I need to be able to buy and cook food. Of course that is an issue anywhere I travel, not just Utah. 

marzNC wrote:

Mongo wrote:

Deer Valley or Snowbird looks like good choices for FCPS Spring Break 2022!

 Have you skied around SLC before?

Thanks Marz!

My kids have primarily skied Snowshoe. From the standpoint of skill, my son can confidently ski the Western Territory by himself. My daughter prefers the blue Skipjack/Spruce/Gandy Dancer type slopes. Obviously, a blue or black out West will be different from a blue or black at Snowshoe. Given those skill levels, and from what you've said, it sounds like Alta or Deer Valley might be better choices than Snowbird.

Mongo wrote:

Thanks Marz!

My kids have primarily skied Snowshoe. From the standpoint of skill, my son can confidently ski the Western Territory by himself. My daughter prefers the blue Skipjack/Spruce/Gandy Dancer type slopes. Obviously, a blue or black out West will be different from a blue or black at Snowshoe. Given those skill levels, and from what you've said, it sounds like Alta or Deer Valley might be better choices than Snowbird.

 As long as everyone in the family is on skis. :-). Snowbird blues are definitely more intimidating than the blues at Alta or DV.  In particular there are more places were it's important to keep up speed in order to get over the upcoming rise.  Also has several cat tracks on the frontside to deal with when going between sections.  Worth a day when in SLC for the views, but not the best choice for a full week of family skiing if sticking to blue terrain.

My daughter was 7 when I first took her to Alta.  (In college now.). She started skiing the blacks at Massanutten the season before based on ski school starting at age 4.  We lucked out and arrived during a late season snowstorm so her first day was a blue sky powder day.  She was happily hunting "baby powder" on the edges of blue groomers at Alta after the first day of Alta ski school.  My friend who learned as an adult 8 years ago when her kids started ski school at Mnut has enjoyed skiing blues at Alta in recent years.  She's a cautious intermediate quite willing to take lessons at Mnut and Alta.  She rarely skis more than 10 days in a season.

You might also take consider Solitude if a slopeside condo is of interest.  With Brighton just down the road, that combination can be good fun for a family trip.  Brighton has terrain parks and night skiing if you want to wear out your son completely before bedtime.  Better to have a rental car if staying in Big Cottonwood Canyon.

My neighbors are telling me we have a special guest for May at our place in VA :-o