Salt Lake City Area 2025

I skied Alta, Snowbird, Brighton, Solitude, and Deer Valley. On a day off from skiing, I took in some of the sites in downtown Salt Lake City.

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Revelstoke Loop 2025

Salt Lake City Area

20250120

A little last minute packing meant I didn't depart until about 10AM this morning. It was a cold cold morning! The car thermometer read-2F. It had snowed during the night so the snow had to be cleared from the car. The roads were quiet save for the folks traveling slowly in defense of the snow packed surfaces. I traveled as if going to the Poudre river then continued north to Laramie. I stopped on the outskirts to get something to drink. The cold temperatures mean that the window washing fluid is solid. I resorted to using a glove and fresh snow to spot clean the rear window. Sadly the snow did clean the salt off, but then froze obscuring a clear view. The winds howled viciously most of the way across Wyoming on I80. Fortunately the roads were relatively clear of ice. The speed limit was set as high as 80mph. I couldn't bring myself to go that fast targeting 65-75mph. About 35 miles from Rock Springs the fuel light came on. The car's range indicator was dropping faster than the actual miles were! The blowing head winds reduced by mileage down about 20% so I was quickly looking to run out of gas in this desolate part of the country. Fortunately about 15 miles east of Rock Springs there is a Conoco station. I filled the car with only about 20 miles left to travel in the tank. I might have made it, but had I not it would have been a bad day to be thumbing a ride. I wished the young guy in the gas station a pleasant afternoon and he replied, "And you as well." Now that is not the kind of response I'd expect in those parts!

As the sun set and the road veered slightly off of a westerly trend, I found myself battling with the very stiff car visor. It basically takes two hands to move the #&*$% thing. The Honda CR-V is a pretty good car but the visors are way to difficult to maneuver.

I arrived outside the VRBO a little after 6PM. It is a small house with three doors: one labeled 1, the other 2, and the third has no label. I tried the one labeled 1 and thankfully knocked first. A young man opened the door and as friendly as could be walked around with me trying to help me find my unit. The code I had didn't work anything. Sitting in my cold car with my temperature rising I eventually connected with the owner no thanks to VRBO. Apparently VRBO didn't send me the complete instructions and some that I did have was outdated. The owner quickly helped me enter the proper unit saving himself what would have been a negative review.

The nearby Sprouts allowed me to fill in the pantry a bit more for the coming week.

20250121

Up well before dawn I traveled to the park-n-ride at the mouth of the Little Cottonwood Canyon. Alan arrived shortly afterward and we rode together up the canyon to Alta. The parking lots were empty as we arrived about 8AM. The sun was just striking Superior Peak as we parked at the edge of an Alta run. Alan made a breakfast of bacon and fried eggs.

Our first exploration of the day took us boot packing toward the north from the top of the Supreme lift. Alan wished to reconnoiter the start of a ski area to area loop. The wind blew steadily throwing plumes of misty snow into the air. We were able to make out the first few turns of the loop before turning back to Alta for the day.

The remainder of the day we skied Alta with a foray over to Snowbird. The week plus old stale snow conditions didn't inspire the joy I experienced last week near Janet's Cabin. While skiing Snowbird we made a point to try out the Peruvian Tunnel cut through the mountain from north to south. One rides on a moving sidewalk passing pictures and short explanations of the history of the region. I would enjoy walking the tunnel to linger examining the pictures and write-ups.

20250122

Another early morning rising before 6AM. I met Alan ten minutes earlier at his request to insure he secured a favorable parking spot adjacent to an Alta run. We chatted about the plan to make a ski loop from Alta to Brighton to Solitude and back to Alta. He made several calls to confirm that the critical run at Solitude that needed to be open for us to ski back to Alto was open. (The lady at Solitude was starting to recognize his voice. But then how many people call asking about skiing from Solitude to Alta??) That took until a little before 10AM. We made one run at Alta while waiting for the confirming information.

With that we made the short boot pack up and traversed over to Catherine Pass and headed down toward toward the Brighten ski area. There was a little route finding to do. One section looked to have a little potential to slide. Alan broke through some snow next to a buried short rock wall. He struggled to extricate himself as he found himself slipping into a void. Can't say I'd seen anything quite like that before. We arrived at the concrete dam creating Lake Mary above a drainage leading down toward Brighten. It was a little awkward making our way down the small creek that exited from the dam. We found ourselves crossing it a couple of times being cautious not to fall through the snow into the water hidden below. The last obstacle was a stretch of cliffs. Tracks lead down what appeared to be a gully between the rock faces. We opted to turn right and in a couple hundred meters found ourselves on a formal Brighten run.

We made one run at Brighten before making our way to the other side of the Brighten parking lot to the Milley lift. I asked we take a break while I ate some lunch. We headed up that lift skied down the skiers extreme left and crossed over into the Solitude Ski area. Thus 'run' turned into a long cat walk. We had to ski to one of the bottoms of Solitude to catch a lift to be able to ski down to the critical lift, Summit. It was from the top of this lift that we'd check in with the ski patrol before skiing across the lift Alan had called to insure was open and then out-of-bounds from Solitude to make our way down to Alta. Well, plans require modifications when things change. What changed was the Summit lift had broken down. Skinning up was suggested, but I thought it would take us too long. Our fallback was to ski down to the Solitude base and catch an Uber. I suggested a bus and Alan cringed. We jumped on a Solitude shuttle that took us down to the main Solitude base bus stop. The three folks at the stop waiting for the bus were incredibly helpful. Yes not only could be catch a bus down Big Cottonwood Canyon toward Salt Lake City, but at the park-n-ride at the mouth of the canyon we could transfer to another bus that would take us up Little Cottonwood Canyon back to Alta! The good news didn't stop coming, because our IKON passes satisfied the bus fare! So despite the Solitude chair being broken we managed to be heading back to Alta on public transportation in minutes for free. I suggested on the second bus leg that we'd might as well stop at Snowbird. Alan pointed out that that meant we'd ski four ski areas in one day - impressive. We were the only passengers on the bus from the Big Cottonwood Canyon to Alta; the bus driver asked us twice if Alta was truly our intended destination. I imagine riders going that direction in the mid afternoon are rare.

We stepped off the bus at the first Snowbird stop when Alan asked if there was a second Snowbird stop. There is so we climbed back on to get off at the Snowbird arial tram building. Alan wanted to ride the Peruvian lift to the Peruvian tunnel instead of the tram which required a little longer walk.

Once through the tunnel (for the second time in two days which gave me a chance to read more history descriptions.) Alan demonstrated is prowess on skis as we descended some black diamond chutes to reach the chair to take us back to Alta. He then took us on a long circuitous traverse so we could ski a face dropping directly toward his parked car. That was a wrap for the day.

The bus ride had taken us about an hour and went smoothly with perfect timing. And we skid a fourth ski area which hadn't been the plan. Alan's keen to do the last leg that we missed, so we may have a go at it again tomorrow.

The snow conditions are rapidly deteriorating. The snow at Brighton and Solitude was the pits: icy and very hard packed. It's not a whole lot better at Alta and Snowbird. The area seems way behind in it's historic snow base. And...no powder here.

20250123

Nothing like groundhog days. Today was the third day I'd met Alan at the Little Cottonwood Canyon park-n-ride. The third day we parked in the premo spot next to a run at Alta. The third day we took the Sunnyside lift then the Supreme lift. The third day we boot packed or skinned up Point Supreme.

Today we elected to make another try at completing the loop Alta to Brighton to Solitude back to Alta. The wind was blowing steadily as we skinned up and along the ridge to Sunset Pass. The wind swept snow stung the tiny spots of exposed skin so I elected to drop down into the bowl toward Brighton before stripping off my skins. We skied down through variable snow conditions reaching Cathrine Lake putting us back on the trail we'd cut yesterday. We knew the route so it we moved quickly skiing past the dam down the creek to Brighton and up the Milley Express lift. We crossed over from the Brighton ski area to the Solitude Ski area where they touch at the hip runs. Traveling was progressing quickly now as we jumped on the Apex Express lift to transfer to the Summit Express lift - the one that was not operating yesterday. Alan had chatted with a couple of Solitude ski patrol fellas that said the lift had operating because they'd had a shortage of patrollers. So either the lift had broken down or there had been a man power shortage that precipitated our shorted circuited loop yesterday. I didn't care, but Alan demonstrated some frustration and passion concerning the explanation.

The ski patrol at the top of the Summit Express lift gave us the approval to take the Highway to Heaven run to the Twin Lakes Pass. The Highway to Heaven run is a double diamond avalanche controlled pitch with softball size chucks of hard snow balls on a sunbaked crusty 40+ degree slope. We followed someone else's ski track to reach Twin Lakes Pass. From there is was all downhill to Alta to complete the loop. The snow conditions made me very tentative and I skied as such. The snow would change from windpack to powder to crusty as we cut those last remaining turns to the parking lot and Alan's truck.

20250124

Today was a departure from the previous four days in that Allen and I skied Deer Valley Resort. Alan suggested meeting at the Jordanelle Express Gondola on the east side of the resort and adjacent to Hwy 189 toward Heber City. It was extremely convenient. Even though we were both parked close to the gondola a shuttle swung by and picked us up. The gondola line moved quickly even with the privilege folks that cut the line through the singles entrance.

The expansion of Deer Valley to the east is a bit mind boggling. There must be approaching a dozen new lifts of all types designed around single family and multi-dwelling structures being built up and down the mountain sides. Marketing signs touted 'ski lodges', but I wouldn't be surprised, with dwindling snowfall, if the area homes are just 'mountain' homes built in scrub oak. Some of the existing homes easily exceed 6000 square feet - they are huge. We skied past one at the top of the Crown Point lift listed for sale at $22million. Just a humble abode with 8 bedrooms and 13 bathrooms in a tidy 12,000 sqft. Sadly, despite sitting at the top of Bald Eagle Mountain, it only had views to the south.

The snow conditions caused me to tense up. The snow was generally hard to very hard packed. The constant sound of skis scrapping on the hard pack as skiers skidded down the slopes made me wish I was somewhere else doing something else. The moguls were rock hard. Small trees never seen before skiing here poked up everywhere. The current snowpack is 38inches with the average being 56 inches this time of year or about 1-1/2 feet less of depth - it stood out starkly. We did ski one double diamond tree run off the Lady Morgan Express lift that despite the thin snow was a tad softer; admittedly there were plenty of rocks, exposed logs, and bushes sticking up that had to be negotiated.

We still managed to log over 18,000ft of vertical today. Alan always had to wait for me. He's faster and more fearless on the hard snow. I tended to ski slower at the edges where people had piled up little softer 'snow banks' as they turned back toward the center of the runs. I stuck to alpine style turns almost exclusively because they take less effort to dig the ski edge into the icy snow. The temperatures were considerably warmer today; a departure from the frigid last three days near Alta.

I'm taking a break from skiing tomorrow.

20250125

My day to sleep in and I found myself awake at 5AM. I lingered in bed and fortuitously fell back to sleep until nearly 8AM. After a little breakfast, I drove north on State Street until I reached downtown Salt Lake City.

The city still appeared asleep as I pulled into the City Creek Center parking lot (shopping mall adjacent to Temple Square). I wandered around the block on this quiet grey overcast day until finding the Alpha Coffee shop. Coffee has been absent from my morning routine now since I left Colorado five days ago. So a cup of java was most welcome. The crescent ordered with the coffee ended up in the trash; I don't like to waste food, but this tough tasteless crescent didn't deserve my tastebuds or stomach. (Ahh crescents, one of the good things I miss about France.)

My peak goal was to take in the Tabernacle organ performance at noon. I drifted over to the city library. It's a beautiful building with a pleasant surrounding plaza. It is a key place for the homeless. Some were rolling up their bed roles while others chatted in the cold winter air. Police questioned one man in Spanish. Others used the library bathroom. The library had a small Japanese art exhibit which I enjoyed. On my way I'd passed through Washington Square, one of the original areas of the early settlers. The Salt Lake City Hall surrounded by grass and trees sits on the Square now a city block.

I arrived back at the Tabernacle thirty minutes before the free organ recital. Two young ladies eagerly greeted me inviting me to cross the street to the Church Museum as it would be twenty minutes before the doors opened. Adjacent to the Museum is the Family Ancestry building and an original log cabin (well, partially refurbished) of the early settlers. It has been moved and stored for a period before coming to rest where it is today. The Church Museum offers artifacts, beautiful paintings, and brief explanations of the travails the initial believers had to endure. They started in New York got chased out of Ohio then Missouri and maybe somewhere else. I became distracted when a friendly welcoming lady a little younger than myself decided to impart her knowledge to me. She shared the early believers had to endure persecution, hatred, suspicion, and death. That is why they kept moving westward. Apparently Smith didn't accept slavery which contributed to the dislike. I unsuccessfully bit my tongue expressing the disconnect between her description of Smith's acceptance of diversity and inclusion with the apparent LDS patrons of today's support for Trump. She quickly turned to some explanation that Smith had decreed that the congregation would split down the middle with half being Republicans and half Democrats - say what? I was quickly loosing the direction of where her argument was going and conveniently noticed the organ performance would be starting soon and excused myself with a smile and best wishes.

The Mormon Tabernacle is an oval shaped concert hall dominated on the west wall by a massive pipe organ built back in the late 1800's by an outfit from San Fransico. A guest organist introduced herself and explained what she would be performing for the 30 minute concert. I thought I detected a German accent. She tore some paper and dropped paperclips to demonstrate how sound carried so easily in the hall. The lighting behind the pipes changed color with the pieces performed creating a very dramatic visual effect. The bass pipes were so powerful my chair shook at times. Reverberation struck me as very mild making me wonder what it would be like to perform there. Curiously, the sound didn't elevate my spirit like I've experienced the some of the Gothic cathedrals of Europe; maybe it was the very lack of reverberation as the cause. My heart soared listening to music in the York Minster and the Duomo di Milano in Milan, but not in this venue. Nonetheless, it was a very enjoyable experience and I am thankful the church provides these free concerts each day at noon.

I walked to the next block and toured the LDS Conference Center. Wow, what a beautiful building. The hall has a pipe organ that appears bigger than that in the Tabernacle. The hall is immense with the seating beautifully arched around the center stage. I can't imagine a bad seating position. It must be a thrilling experience to be present there in the hall full of people feeling the shared religious energy of all those people. I eventually made my way to the rooftop to peer down on the renovations taking place on the Temple Square. At virtually every turn through the building I was greeted by young ladies with smiles and the question of where am I from. They offered to answer any questions I may have wishing me well with kindly sweet manners. Most were on their church mission. Toward the end of my visit in the conference center I was settling into the repetitive groove of these interactions.

Making the climb up to the State Capital house I wandered about it a little. The building was locked. The center plaza between the Utah State Senate and House buildings was under renovation. It was beginning to feel like most buildings, religious and government, in downtown were getting a facelift. I was told the Temple Square construction would be finished in 2026. (If you're planning a visit, you may wish to wait until then.) I passed a Vietnam memorial in the surrounding lawns. One plaque reflected thoughts I was having as I entered, "Woe to the statesman whose reasons for entering a war do not appear so plausible at its end as at its beginning." This could apply to wars as well has any actions of the state that results in unintended consequences.