No matter how you got down the hill or who you did it with, the 2011 season was epic. Greatest season ever? That one is up for debate, but one thing is certain: as far as the Utah record books go, it was the deepest season ever. Record breaking snowfall? Bluebird days with two feet…
Category: Skiing
Brighton and Solitude first Utah ski resorts open
In the race to see who can claim bragging rights as the first Utah ski resort open for the 2011/2012 ski season, Brighton and Solitude both win. The Big Cottonwood Canyon resorts fired up their lifts early on Thursday morning, November 10th, to the cheers of excited skiers and snowboarders. Both Brighton and Solitude have three…
State of Utah Ski Industry and 2011/2012 season forecast
It’s been almost ten years since the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, and according to Ski Utah, the benefits of hosting the Winter Games is still felt today. On Tuesday, Ski Utah hosted their annual ski and snowboard season opening press conference, where Ski Utah President, Nathan Rafferty, painted a rosy picture of Utah’s…
First tracks of the season at Alta
Snow conditions weren’t perfect, and it was a far cry from the chest deep, 30-something inches that blew the minds of anyone who touched Alta’s slopes in October last year, but my first ski day for the 2011/2012 ski season was fun nonetheless. It was a party atmosphere on November 6th as skiers and snowboarders…
Utah ski resort opening days for 2011
It may officially be fall, but winter is upon us. That means ski season is about to arrive, and sooner than one might think considering the dry fall season Utah has experienced so far. Solitude and Brighton are once again competing to be the first ski resort to open for the 2011/2012 season, and it’s…
Get yourself and your gear in shape for Utah’s ski season
“Skiing is Life!” Those who ski more than two or three times a year really do live by that creed. I bumped into this idea 15+ years ago as a new ski instructor at Brighton Resort in Big Cottonwood Canyon, deep in the Wasatch Front. The other philosophy used by avid skiers is that there are…
Salomon and Atomic team to create new backcountry ski binding
The big news out of Amer Sports in Ogden is that Salomon and Atomic teamed up to create a new backcountry ski binding. The new bindings, called the Salomon Guardian 16 and Atomic Tracker 16, will be available next year in fall 2012. From the looks of things these bindings will compete directly with Fritschi…
Video: “The Deepest Season”
We here at UtahOutside.com are not professional ski movie makers like Powderwhore Productions, or flat out artistic geniuses like the folks at Sweetgrass. But we do like to whip out the video camera from time to time while traveling and skiing the mountains in Utah’s backcountry. During the record snowfall of the 2010/2011 ski season, we shot a lot…
Sweetgrass Productions “Solitaire” review
Attending a ski movie screening can feel like deja vu. You arrive at a theater and the parking is lousy with Subarus sporting gear boxes. You go in, get free energy bars, buy a t-shirt and raffle tickets, wait in the dark with hundreds of fellow skiers, and finally watch some ski porn that is…
List of Utah ski swaps for fall 2011
Ski swaps are among skidom’s most cherished traditions. Every fall, our ski and snowboard gear is given the once-over, and if those old boards purchased 10 years ago desperately need to be sacrificed to the ski gods in a backyard bonfire, then you’ll need some new ones. Utah ski swaps can be a pretty good…