Utah Snowbird 2016-2017, The Revenge Of Ullr...

[BobMc]

I've made it a tradition for the last day of work before Christmas to hand out Christmas bonuses and then announce, "Have a great holiday, I'm going skiing!" I got to the bypass about 9:30 and there were still plenty of spots. I geared up and walked onto a half full tram. On the way up the tram op mentioned the Road to Provo had opened yesterday and hadn't been skied much. That was all I needed to hear and I made my way out the cat track. My first lap I sidestepped out the Knucklehead until I reached an open field. The snow was a bit wind effected but still skied very well, you just had to be patient and not force turns. The second lap I went all the way out past the corner, the snow was a bit more sheltered out there and skied more powder like.

I did some tram laps on the Peruvian side and called it a day. Tomorrow and Sunday look to be stellar, we've got quite a shot of snow on the way. The winds built during the day today in front of the incoming storm.


A small bit of this...




...led to this.

 

[BobMc]

Santa delivered early! Snowbird only claimed 2 inches when I got up this morning, but the rain falling outside my house told me that number was sure to increase. I picked up Travis and we made it to the tram line up at 8:40. We would've been on first tram but it was a bit breezy today and they were running barrels. Even getting second tram we still got first tracks in Glen's, there was at least six inches of softness over a base you'd only hit on a hard turn.

Once again I played Santa this year, I bought a bunch of individually wrapped Russell Stover chocolate candies and piled four apiece to a zip lock snack bag. I had over 20 bags and handed them out to lifties, patrol, mountain safety and tram ops. I saw Johnny Collinson in the plaza and gave him a bag as well telling him I needed to take care of our local pros, he told me I was now one of his sponsors, lol. I also brought up two 24 racks of PBR, one for patrol and one for tram ops, its kind of a pain in the ass getting those things down to the plaza on skis but I like taking care of those who take care of us.

We got after it pretty well today, I hit a number of lines I hadn't yet this year. We did three laps on Macaroni and found it filled in with butter smoothness below on the apron every time. Made it over to Gad2 for the first time this season, Organ Grinder on the way there was quite stellar, I was surprised to find no rocks at the gate.

Tomorrow should be pretty good, as long as we don't have any canyon shenanigans. Powder Paradise and Road to Provo never opened today and Mineral closed about 1:00. I doubt any of the three open tomorrow, it may be Monday before that terrain is available again.

It was snowing hard all day so I didn't take the phone out much for pics. I shot a couple video clips, here's one.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BOapTX0BBJm/

 

[BobMc]

We did have a canyon closure this morning but I defeated it by not even trying. We did the open presents thing this morning and I leisurely got to the lot at 11. The trip up and down were pretty slow today, the road was snow covered and slippery. There were two Subarus in the ditch on my way up, it was pretty obvious to see that at least one of them had bald tires. They were trying to use the floor mats to dig the thing out.

It wasn't quite as busy as I expected it to be, we never encountered any lines and the tram was a one boat wait at max. I spent a good chunk of my time over on Baby Thunder with one of my skiing buddies and his kids. Baby Thunder can be a secret powder spot on the right days, today was one of them. I got many face shots while meeting up with them on the meanders.

We ended the day with a beer in the Summit, it was the first time this season they got money out of me other than my pass. I don't normally drink and ski but I felt a bit festive and the warmth of the Summit was enticing as well. The Road to Provo and Powder Paradise never opened today, I'll bet both will pop tomorrow. I'm on the fence over going to the Bird tomorrow or hitting Solitude with my son and buddy Dibs. I'm thinking either option is gonna be fun and will beat the crap out of working.

Traffic backed up behind one of the Subarus off the road.




Summit beer, two of em for $19.41





New JBL speaker for Christmas, the Dead in the parking lot is usually pretty well received.




Lotta folks not used to driving in the canyons time of season, the road was snow covered on the way down as well.

 

[BobMc]

Everyone was in the other canyon! My decision on which canyon to ski in was made for me. I got up early to a text from my buddy letting me know he had a Solitude pass for me. I decided against getting up to Snowbird early to wait for my son and hit up Solitude with him (he has a Soli pass). I kept expecting him to get out of bed, to no avail, I even sent his dog in after him. Finally at 11 I gave up and decided to head up to Solitude myself. My buddy had left the pass in his gas flap in his car in the lot. All I had to do was make it there... I headed up the Big and was a bit worried, I'd never seen so much traffic and every pull out for backcountry areas was packed. I got near Solitude and people were parked alongside the road almost down to Silver Fork. That continued above both of Solitude's lots. The lineup to get into Brighton started way before the turn-off to Guardsmans. I'd never seen that many people attempting to ski in the BCC.

I turned around and decided to head home and bag the day. Midway down the canyon I convinced myself I better at least check the LCC and see if the madness was over there as well. The ride up the canyon was decidedly less busy. I pulled into entry one at Snowbird and disregarded the "lot full" sign and easily found a spot in the lower zoom lot 30 yards from the river crossover.

A few phone calls later and I'd found skiing partners and proceeded to salvage the day. I missed out on the Road to Provo and Powder Paradise openers but it was still pretty easy to find soft snow. There are few firm spots in the high traffic areas, but finding ways around them are easy now that much of the mountain is open. The Bookends, Thunder accessed by the Red Lens and the touring gates are about the only things not open.

Crazy busy at Solitude.





View from the Summit lodge looking back on Mineral Basin.





Ryan on some Who Cares fun.





Sundog for parking lot après.

 

[BobMc]

Where were all the crowds? I got up at 6:00 today, picked up my buddy Travis about 7:20 and we were booting up on the bypass at 8:00. Traffic was non existent on the road and we were the second car on the bypass. We lolly gagged at the car a bit and made it down to the tram by 8:30 and found two other people lined up. Without fresh snow most of the local crowd stays home. The usual were present but it felt like most of the line up were tourists. They let us go at 8:45, another nice touch they give us now and then.

The valley was covered in fog this morning, it was nice to step out of the tram to sunshine. We stuck to the frontside for a few runs finding chalk on most aspects, even Regulator was edgeable early this morning. We found some nice soft untouched snow all the way out the Knucklehead traverse. The sidestep isn't bad and the snow is soft if you go all the way to Come From Behind Gully. Another highlight of the day was a wind line out just before the Hillary non-step out in Mineral. The wind was filling a tongue of smoothness on a nice steepish pitch. When it hasn't snowed for a while you have to find the wind transported snow.

Tomorrow looks to be the start of a small storm in the afternoon, we could have a foot of new by Monday.

Looking over a fog filled valley.





The first tram of the day empty and nearing the bottom.





Knucklehead niceness





Reaping the wind sift in Mineral.

 

[BobMc]

Another empty day... I got up early today, took a shower, then climbed back into my warm bed. I didn't stay up too late last night but still needed the extra hour of sleep I got. I got to the bypass at 9:00 and wondered once again where the crowds were, there were only about 5-6 rows of cars. I geared up and headed down to the plaza to walk onto the tram. That was a pattern for the day, we never waited in a lift line and walked onto the tram deck every time we rode it.

The conditions aren't really stellar and that explains why it was mostly a regulars and tourists kind of day. Most of the valley skiers wait for the pow, I'd be willing to bet tomorrow will be a bit busier (snow in the forecast). There is still soft snow out there but it's getting a bit beat up. The entrances to most lines are getting bumped up, the aprons are still mostly smooth. It was a bit harder to find wind lines today, what was filled in yesterday was coral reef today. The northerly aspects are still holding the chalky snow but you'll pay a bump price to get to them.


Decent snow out by Hoops.



Looking over at the ridge line, the Gad chutes are getting close.

 

[toddmanley]

Seeking some advice - I'm coming out to hit up Snowbird in mid-February. I've got a 4x4 to use - what other things should I consider to make sure I'm safe getting up and down the canyon?

-Thanks, Todd

 

[BobMc]

Howdy Todd, as long as you have a 4x4 and it has good tires you should be good to go. The road even when snow covered is pretty straight forward. The BCC has a few sections that can be hairy when snow covered but you shouldn't have any problems in the Little.

 

[BobMc]

Pow day! I bonked yesterday after skiing, I'd intended on watching the Packers beat the Lions but fell asleep on the couch at halftime. I woke up to post game and continued my early night in bed. I'd made a deal with my oldest son last night that if he woke up early I'd buy him a day pass. I woke up at 5:45 and found a 5 inch claim by Snowbird. I got ready and let the kid sleep a bit, woke him up and we headed up.

It was quite a bit busier today, my claim of snow being the driver of crowds is still holding up. I had to get my son a day pass, which by the way was a family and friends price of $98, ouch. We made it to the line up around 8:40 and were on third tram. Even being third tram we still had stellar tracks down the third line up from Glen's. It snowed pretty hard all day and the snow piled up, the bit of crunch that remained early in the day soon disappeared.

The only downer of the day was the ride down. I don't think I've ever seen a longer drive down, it took us over two hours just to get off the bypass road. Once we were on the main highway and past Snowbird entry one it moved pretty well, but getting there was agonizing.


Early morning report.



A view inside of that crowded, stinky, pointless tram.





Had to buy the boy lunch as part of the deal as well, gotta love the logo placement in the sandwich presentation.





Spent a lot of time looking at this, but it was worth it!

 

[BobMc]

Video from today on Eddie Moe.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BOxwtnJBR76/

I've got a video on my Facebook page but I can't figure out how to link it here, heh.

https://www.facebook.com/bob.mcmann/posts/10210073290841695?notif_t=like&notif_id=1483395686906717

 

[BobMc]

duplicate post

 

[Jim Kenney]

duplicate post

I'd be making duplicate posts too if I just skied the biggest dump of the year. Sounds like the whole Wasatch got about 2 feet on Jan 1 and 2. Is that true??

 

[BobMc]

it was a pretty good shot of snow, it was mostly Monday into today. I certainly wish I could've ditched work today, instead I spent an hour and a half snowblowing my lot at my shop. I got to play in the snow, just not the entertaining kind.

 

[BobMc]

The softness before the storm. I got up this morning to find it pretty cold in the valley. I've got company in town from Michigan and we headed up early, we got to the bypass at 8:15. My buddy has a Mountain Collective pass so we waited till it was close to 8:30 to head down to the plaza. Luckily there wasn't much of a line at the office where one must fill out a waiver and pick up your pass. It did take a few minutes and I told him he was lucky it wasn't a powder day or I'd have headed to the tram line up. Even getting his pass we still made first tram, which was an early one at 8:45.

Our first run we headed down Macaroni and found the apron pretty beat and chundery. We headed back up top and dropped into Mineral hoping to find a wind line. Unfortunately it wasn't to be found, we did find a bit of softness out by the Bookends. The highlight of the day was a few laps out the Knucklehead traverse, we set the traverse and were rewarded with about 4-5 turns of untouched softness.

Tomorrow should be fun, it's looking like a foot of fairly wet snow will be on the table. It was a bit windy later in the day, hopefully the storm comes in colder than predicted.

I :heart: skiing as well.



Couple views looking back while riding the tram.






I :heart: Smith's deli sandwiches for lunch.

 

[BobMc]

Just another pow day! I got up at 6 to a report of 2 inches, by 7 it had changed to 3 inches. This buoyed my hopes that the forecast of 3-7 today would be on. It was snowing on the West side of the valley when we left and that turned to rain on the East side. The roads were a bit slick on the benches but that didn't explain the guy who drove his 4 Runner down the pedestrian staircase at the bottom of the Big. I almost turned around just to get a picture but knew it'd cost us places in the tram line.

We ended up on second tram, my buddy that was on first called me from the bottom of Regulator and recommended we hit it up. We obliged him and were rewarded with five inches or so of smooth cream. The way the wind was blowing made every right hand turn a faceshot and a loss of vision. We had fresh tracks all the way to the bottom.

It snowed fairly hard for most of the day we were there. They closed the Road to Provo and Powder Paradise about midday and the tram soon afterwards. The wind was kicking pretty well at the top. It was a free refills kind of day on the upper mountain.

We had to leave at 1 to bring my extra set of keys to my son who'd locked the keys to my truck at the 7-11 at the bottom of the Big on his way UP to Solitude (that kid really needs to get out of bed earlier).

Tomorrow should be quite good providing they get terrain open. The heavier snow could cause some problems.

Travis on Lone Pine aka Wilma's.



A few of myself on Lone Pine.

 

[Xela]

I'm looking for a little Snowbird local advice. My family and I are hitting Snowbird Friday-Monday of MLK weekend. My older daughter is in the IFSA competition, which will dictate some of what we do. I'd love to get some basic advice and orientation. We're Squaw skiers and don't have problems with steep or rocky, but we've never been to Utah before. Am I right that the tram is the key to the bird? Any ways to avoid crowds?

Related question: We're staying in a place with no kitchen and have no car. What are the recommended lunch and dinner spots?

Thanks much.

 

[BobMc]

I like the tram for my first ride in the morning, it places you on top with all options available. The line can get long at times but usually doesn't get more than a couple boat wait. While riding the tram get a spot near the window and you will be able to see pretty much everything available to ski in the Peruvian valley. Most of the best terrain is off the Cirque Traverse or Upper Cirque. Keep going further out for fresher lines, the nearest lines get pummeled pretty quickly.

As far as crowds (which will probably be here with the holiday) my best advice would be to be sure to be out of Mineral Basin fairly early in the morning. The Mineral line is usually one of the longest in the resort. Everybody heads back there and has to sit in the line to get out. I usually hit Mineral first thing and make sure I'm out by around 10:30. Apart from the holiday snow is the biggest driver of crowds. We had quite a bit of snow this week that will probably have all the weekend warriors up there on Saturday and Sunday. There isn't much in the forecast for the weekend so hopefully it won't be too bad.

If you're staying up in the canyon your meal choices are fairly limited. For lunch there are a couple places in the plaza, the Fork Lift is in the plaza and is a sit down restaurant, the Bird Feeder is also in the plaza and is more of a grab and go kind of thing. The Summit Lodge up top offers lunch in a cafeteria type setting, the food is pretty decent and costs the normal resort prices. The views are obviously the best up top, and on the rare occasion I eat something is where I usually go.

Dinner is pretty limited, the Cliff Lodge has the Aerie which is good but pretty pricey, there are a couple other restaurants located in the other lodges but I've never eaten in any of them. When I stay up there I usually opt for the cheapest which is Tram Car Pizza, it isn't stellar but fairly cheap and edible.

 

[BobMc]

The holiday is here! It had snowed enough this week that I couldn't take it anymore and called skiing into work. We were dragging a bit this morning and got to the bypass at 8:30. At that time we were already parked above the bottom of Whodunnit. There had been a build up of a POW (Protect Our Winters) event for today with free hats given out but I didn't see any of it.

We ended up on third tram getting there at that time, I figured we were in for a busy day when I saw one of the biggest ticket lines I've seen this year. It was a quadfecta of crowd drivers, it had snowed all week and this was the first non storm day, the beginning of MLK weekend, the Outdoor Retailer show ended yesterday and a cadre of snow enthusiasts were in town with fresh snow, and an IFSA junior comp is being held on the hill.

We lapped the front side while waiting for what everyone was waiting for, an untouched Mineral. We even waited inside up top from 11:00 to 11:30 hoping to catch it. We finally gave up and headed down to Zoom to see on the board it had opened, heh. We had headed to Zoom on intel that the tram line was pretty heinous. The visibility had been pretty tough high for most of the day, after a Zoom and Little Cloud ride we found Mineral looking like soup. Three of us decided to lap the front another time and one went into Mineral from LC.

We hit up another soft Glen's line and found the tram had gone to walk on from a three boat wait. That three boat wait was back in Mineral, we were glad to have ditched off the crowds. Once atop we skied a Cham Bowl and found pretty decent snow coupled with a bit of soup. The line was pretty small at that point so we went up the Baldy lift and meadow skipped on softness.

I expect pretty big crowds tomorrow, I'm glad they're here and keeping my pass to a minimum.

The snow has gotten deep over the last week, the railings have become part of the snowscape.




It was busy today, the lots were full and parkage on the road was happening.




Lotta laps here.




Travis starting a bit of air.



Lotta clouds came up the canyon today, hopefully tomorrow will be bluebird. (And we get the Road to Provo)

 

[BobMc]

Sometimes timing is everything. It was another busy morning, the canyon was noticeably more crowded than usual. We arrived at 8:30 and we had to park just a bit above the bottom of Whodunnit. After gearing up we headed down to the plaza and began our wait to get on the second tram of the day. As usual the terrain openings have been staggered, we originally planned on skiing the Gad side but that changed when it was announced Powder Paradise was open.

We headed down to Powder Paradise and found the whole bowl untouched. They hadn't ran a cat down the traverse yet and it was a single track through the powder. Quite surprisingly it was one of the best mannered traverses I've been on in a while. There wasn't much aggro powder fever and everyone pretty much kept in a single line letting the person in front dictate speed. The Bookends weren't open so we skied the lines just befor the Hillary non step. It wasn't over the head blower but you can't argue with choose your own adventure down steep lines.

We spent most of the morning lapping Little Cloud while waiting for the gem. The Road to Provo had been sitting since Sunday, most of the resort crowd knew this and the line up for it slowly grew. Regulator was chalky goodness and we didn't see much sense in waiting in a line up. Around 10:45 we got word that it'd be close and hung out up top for a few.

It seemed like most of the resort also instinctly knew this and the line quickly grew. It wasn't long before a patroller came down and prepared the rope for drop. When the rope dropped it immediately became a mass of humanity attempting to control themselves and others on a 15 foot wide cat track. We hung back a bit knowing we were going out further than most folks would be venturing. Even waiting for the hard chargers to get out ahead of us my buddy Doug was taken out from behind by an out of control youngster.

The short wait was definitely worth it, we went all the way out to Hoops and beyond, the Bass Benches gave up the goods. The snow was soft and face shots were had. The lines built up pretty quickly, and it felt busy on the trails. We skied a few more laps searching out some of the harder to find fresh and called it a day to sip wine in the parking lot.

It was nice...



More softness




It's foggy in the valley while sunny up top.

 

[Xela]

@BobMc, thanks for the advice. We skied Friday through Monday and stayed at The Inn. The place was kind of dated, but the location and price were right. We had heard people got IFSA deals at The Cliff Lodge, but we never saw them. We tried the Pizza/Italian place in the Iron Blosam, called Wildflower, and it was nice; we went there twice. We also enjoyed a breakfast at The Forklift and sandwiches from The Gritts.

Friday, we hit the tram first thing and were met with a lot of fog, and the Road to Provo closed, so we took Regulator down until we could see. I was looking for trees, so we spent some time on Gad 2. There were flurries most of the day. We learned that orange gates with double diamonds promised fun. Had lunch at Mid Gad and enjoyed their house-made kettle chips. Eventually, we figured out how to get out of there. We rode Peruvian up because we didn't want to wait for the tram to the fog. When we saw the tunnel, with almost no line, we just had to try it. Well, the back side was a lesson in blindfolded powder skiing.

Saturday, we spent most of the morning standing at the bottom of Upper Silver Fox, freezing our rears off, waiting for our older daughter to make her run. The sun came out and we got blue skies, as if we brought them from California. I don't remember all the places we skied, but much was around Gad 2.

Sunday was another blue-sky day. We hit up some stuff on the Peruvian side and some in Mineral Basin. The snow was mostly holding up. After the IFSA was done with Upper Silver Fox, they opened it up. I skied it and was impressed with how the kids had been flowing through it.

Monday, the snow started to deteriorate a bit. We hired a guide for the morning and he gave us some good pointers and took us to some remaining good snow. Later we hit Mineral and it was a mistake.

A fun 4-day weekend overall. Not too many crowds on the mountain that I saw.