Snowbasin (Utah)

Snowbasin became famous when the Winter Olympics came to Utah in 2002.  The downhill skiing competitions took place here.

 

My first visit to Snowbasin was the year before the Olympic Games.  Quite by chance, on the day I came, a Men’s downhill training was supposed to happen, but the training got postponed for another day because a foot of fresh powder had fallen and the organizers didn’t have time to prepare the course properly. The area around the start was totally ungroomed and buried in snow.  But, the lower slopes were nicely groomed for the downhill.  So, I tried to pretend that I am a downhill racer and I let it rip on the more gentle lower slopes.  I quickly picked up so much speed that I was worried for my safety and my life.  I have no idea how the racers manage to run this course starting from an insanely steep hill that I had skipped. 

 

Snowbasin is a large ski area with lots of high speed lifts, a gondola, a tram, varied terrain, and some great views from the top. But, it seems to suffer from inclement weather, or else I have been particularly unlucky here.  

I have visited Snowbasin at least 4 or 5 times in recent years.  I have not had much luck with the weather. It seems to be foggy, rainy, and windy here quite often. Today was no exception. A light rain at the base area and 40 degrees Fahrenheit.  I was told that it was snowing at the top (and it was) and that the forecast was for a drop in temperatures later in the day. That colder front didn’t happen, or at least not fast enough.  I was quite wet by the end.

But, I had some fun before calling it a day.  At the Season Pass desk, they took my photo, asked me to sign a liability release, and then handed me a 3-times pass that comes free as part of the Powder Alliance deal to any season pass holder from any of the other 11 ski areas. 

I won’t be able to use all 3 days, but the pass with my picture on it will be a nice souvenir. 

 

In the center of the plaza at the base area stands a bronze moose.  I overheard a lady chaperoning a bunch of little kids telling them that it is customary to touch the moose for good luck.  The kids did it so fast I didn’t have time to whip out my camera.   

So, instead of photographing the kids, I touched the moose myself. 

 

A visit to some of the new lodges, built for the Olympics, is a must.  The on-mountain lodges have such luxurious wall-to-wall carpets, even in the restrooms, that I feel guilty stepping on them in my ski boots. But, nobody takes their boots off.  It’s not required.  Apparently, the carpets are durable enough to withstand the ski boot traffic. 

 

On the slopes, I enjoyed the fast carving on the groomers next to the Strawberry lift, and I also found a fun little canyon there. 

 

Unfortunately, on this day, the snow was unusually grabby, just like it tends to get on a hot, sunny, spring day.  But, the unusual part was that there was no sun at all on this day.  I guess the 40 degree weather was enough to make the snow so grippy.  It was the kind of grabiness that makes the snow unpredictable. One minute you are sliding down the hill without a problem and then suddenly it feels like you have run over some heavy molasses that won’t let your skis slide freely.  It’s like something grabs your skis and won’t let go.  But then a second later it does let go, so your skis speed up again, only to be gripped again two seconds later.  This makes for some very unpleasant jerky skiing that is hard on one’s leg muscles. 

 

Another thing I missed is the fantastic view from the top of the ski area, where you can look down to the town of Ogden below.  I saw this impressive view both from the top of the Allen Peak tram as well as from the top of the Strawberry lift, but the view was unobstructed only on my very first visit.  Ever since then, I have always experienced fog, heavy clouds, and sometimes very strong winds. Today was no exception.  

 

The rain, the fog, and the grabby snow made me beat an early retreat from the mountain.  It’s just as well, since ahead of me was one of the longest legs of the Powder Alliance road trip. From Snowbasin (Utah) to Crested Buttte (Colorado) there are 484 miles, which would take just a little less than 8 hours to drive. 

But I didn’t drive the whole distance in a single day. At first, I was planning to drive only to Gunnison, the nearest town to Crested Butte.  But, a quick internet search for lodgings revealed that staying in Gunnison is expensive.  I guess it’s a resort town. So, I decided to spend the night in Montrose, about an hour and fifteen minutes before Gunnison.  Crested Butte is another 30 minutes from Gunnison.  So, tomorrow morning, I will need to drive for 1 hour and 45 minutes from Montrose to Crested Butte.  That’s comparable to what I normally drive from Salem to Mt. Hood. 

Staying at Montrose has several advantages:

a)    Cheaper lodging is available than in Gunnison.

b)    The drive from Snowbasin was just a tad over 6 hours (instead of the 8 hours to Crested Butte.)

c)    I will drive the last 1 hour and 45 minutes during the day tomorrow morning, instead of driving it in the dark.  So, I will be able to see the scenery.

 

By the way, the scenery between Snowbasin (Utah) and Montrose (Colorado) was quite interesting too, with several interesting mountains, mesas, and rock formations eroded by the wind and the rain.