What a difference a few snowstorms make! Over the holiday weekend, Utah got a Christmas miracle when two storms gave us what we’ve all wanted from Santa – powder. So here’s a Utah ski conditions update as of December 27th, 2017.
Solitude Mountain Resort
Solitude reported 14 inches in 72 hours, which did wonders to ski conditions there. On the day after Christmas, the mountain looked a world different compared to the previous weekend.
As a result of the new snow, lift crews were able to open Powderhorn 2 and and Sunrise lifts. The main Powderhorn face on runs like Paradise Lost and Vertigo were open but still rocky. But the creamiest snow at the resort was found in the shade on Diamond Lane. I had a fun time lapping that run several times over until my quads gave out.
Sunrise lift opened for the first time this season around noon on Tuesday. As luck would have it, I was the very first skier to ride it this year. Good timing on my part, combined with eavesdropping on ski patrol conversations, put me in the right place at the right time. Since this was the first run on that lift of the season, the snow was practically untouched, which meant first tracks on Roller Coaster right under the lift. That first run off Sunrise was the best powder I’ve had so far this year.
Solitude is skiing great right now with almost the entire lower mountain open, up and running.
That ski patrol conversation I listened in on also gave me more beta about the Summit lift. Be on the lookout for that one to open later this week.
Alta Ski Area
Over at Alta, the skiing is much improved from the new snow as well. More of the Wildcat side opened up and the “Low T” allows good turns on lower runs like Stone Crusher. Baldy Shoulder has also been good to me. But the big news over the weekend was the opening of the new and improved Supreme chair. Now that the Supreme side is open, much of Alta is skiable now. Patrol was doing control work in Catherine’s Area, so that should be ready soon as well.
As for the new Supreme lift, I’ll post some thoughts on it soon.
If we can just get a few more storms like the one we got over Christmas, it’s possible we will see fully open terrain at both resorts. Pray for snow!