Allen wrote:
>I was wondering if any of you folkaround the SLC area know of any 
>killer deals for day passes. I have heard that buying tickets in 
>town at shops is a good idea any
>suggestions?

Yes. Go to any of the Canyon Sports (they're on the web), REI, or The 
Lift House (just west of the mouth of BCC on 7200 S. You can search 
the skivt-l archives for more detailed posts. Depending on which ski 
area, discounts range from a low of $4 for Alta to around $16 for The 
Canyons. You can't get discounts for any of the Park City resorts in 
Park City, only in the SLC Valley.

>Also I've been looking at some web sights and it appears
>to me that college day passes are an eastern phenomenon do any of the
>mountains out west have them?

Not in Utah, afaik...*BUT* it sure wouldn't hurt to ask. However, I'd 
guess that you could either get a college discount at the ticket 
window or buy the ski shop discount passes - not both. Email or call 
your target areas and ask before you get here.

>We are looking to ski at alta snowbird
>and solitude for sure. I kind of like that the idea of spending a few
>days at one mountain and getting to know it but at the same time it
>could be fun to check out a hunch of different places. We're both
>students so this is gonna be a super low budget trip. We have already
>taken a pretty big bath on last minute airfare. I think the last thing
>would be do any of you have a storm strategy you would like to share
>(your secret is safe with me us if you wanna backchannel that one)?

It's no huge secret - vast stretches of Alta and Snowbird are 
treeless, wide open terrain where it's impossible to see during 
storms and flat light, so stick to the trees. If it's a strong storm 
and wind holds are an issue, Solitude's lifts are much more protected 
from the usual winds and are less prone to shutting down. Solitude 
also has more trees all over the mountain. If it's a super intense 
heavy storm with the risk of canyon roads being shut down, LCC is 
more prone to that than BCC.

>One mtn during the storm a different the next day maybe some
>sidecountry then backcountry? We will be staying with one of my
>buddies who is a slpitboarder so backcountry will defiantly be a very
>fun, soulful, and cost friendly option. We would be grateful for any
>suggestions.

There is a set of Wasatch Backcountry ski guidebooks and maps 
available at REI, Black Diamond, and Kirkham's. Side country access 
is most plentiful from Brighton, Solitude, and Snowbird, in that 
order. However, Snowbird is *very* conservative about opening their 
two backcountry gates and they require full avi gear plus sign-out 
with ski patrol. Note that is for their two official gates - it's 
extraordinarily easy to access the American Fork canyon b/c-s/c by 
simply popping over the ridge where the Bookends traverse ends after 
the Hillary Step.

If you go b/c after a storm, remember that the majority of our avi 
deaths don't occur during the storms but on the first sunny day 
afterwards, when the snowpack is still stressed. Read / call the avi 
advisory, read it in detail, and be sure your skills are really 
sharp. New death this weekend, btw, in Taylor Canyon, just north of 
and easily accessed from Snowbasin. Happened on Saturday - victim's 
body hasn't been located yet. Two boarders, mid-30's, "experts", no 
beacons, left at 3pm when the temps had climbed to the mid-20's after 
a morning start in the low single digits and the sun had started to 
poke through.

-marc






www.mchrusch.com
Direct link to my weblog page:
http://home.earthlink.net/~mchrusch/blog/blogger.html 

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