I had the great pleasure of staying at Solitude for 4 days this past weekend. It was a great trip overall and I had the full resort experience as we were staying slopeside at the Inn at Solitude. Below is a trip report:

3/3
Our flight from BWI to SLC was delayed, causing us to not get on the slopes till 2:00 pm. However, we were pleasantly surprised by the service when we first checked into the Inn. One of the employees came out to unload our car and even valeted it for us. This effectively took away my least favorite part of skiing: loading/unloading the car and carrying 4 bags! I could get used to this!

Once we got to the slopes, I was reminded by how big the mountain was (I was there 2 years earlier for a day session). The snow was nice and soft but I couldn't ski till last chair because my boot was killing me. I started to lose feeling in my left foot and left 30 minutes before last chair.

3/4
3 inches of snow blanketed the mountain the night before which gave us bluebird skies and the best conditions I've ever skied in. We got the 5th chair up and skied 6 hours! I kept telling my buddy that I could do this forever if conditions stayed this good. We even ventured into Honeycomb Canyon (two years ago, we went to the summit and never crossed the gate). We took the easiest trail down "Woodlawn". Although I'm glad to have experienced Honeycomb, I realized I still have much to improve in order to ski that section of the mountain.

I had suggested going over to Brighton for night skiing in the morning, but my legs were simply too tired to do any more "skiing". My buddy, the more adventurous one, actually decided to go. I checked out Molly Greens for a bit and looked around the lodge. Brighton, from my limited time there, seemed to be geared towards a younger crowd. Snowboarders also seem to crowd the mountain. Hopefully I get a chance to come back and experience this mountain.

3/5
This was perhaps the worst day of our trip in terms of condition on the slopes. It was cloudy with no new snow on the ground. Still, we were ambitious enough to ski as much as we could and grabbed the 7th chair up. (I was actually mad at my friend because he misplaced his lift card. I was hoping for 3rd chair, but only someone as obsessed as I am would be stupid enough to get upset about this) we decided to do laps off the Eagle Express. I decided to work on drills I've learned from the Adult Development Program at Liberty to try and improve my skiing. Overall, a pretty productive day.

3/6
Our last day at Solitude and I was sad to think about leaving this place. Our experience at the Inn have been wonderful and the skiing was out-of-this-world! We awoke to flurries in the morning and I was hoping that the snow would be enough to breathe new life on the slopes.

Did the snow ever come down! After our lunch break, I decided to ski for another hour before heading out to the airport. I was skiing shin-deep powder! Since I've only really skied on the east coast, I had never experienced skiing in powder. I was surprised by how hard it was and I was sweating after each run. At one point, my tips actually caught something and I flipped forward and landed face-first. Lucky for me, I was wearing a helmet and the snow was soft.

Food and Nightlife
If anyone is venturing out to Solitude, I highly recommend St. Bernards for dinner. The quail was exceptional. The brunch buffet is also worth trying at Kimi's. We ventured out to Park City to experience the night life, but I walked away unimpressed. Sure, the village looks nice and it's a nice change to see restaurants/bars in Utah open past 9. But there were 4 to 1 male to female ratio at the bars we went to. Where are the hot women at???

Overall, this was easily the best ski trip I've taken so far. The slopeside experience, the skiing, the mountain, and the company can't be beat. I highly recommend anyone heading over to Utah to give Solitude a try. It is a big mountain with an intimate setting.

Well played sir.

You didn't mention crowds or lack thereof. Your visit occurred during the height of the college spring break timeframe.

Welcome to the ratio at many Western resorts! Vail - for whatever reason, seems to be one spot with a good balance. Park City has somewhat changed the last several years, as the local populace (including females), driven out, live and play down by the 'Junction' at the Interstate or out in Heber. Less live in Old Town. Has removed a lot of the formerly great interaction of tourists and locals...seems to happen to all the ski towns eventually. Damn those Olympics.

But good write up on Solitude. Have never been and am a frequent visitor to Park City - having some local friends there. Finally, you reminded me of a funny comment by a local Park City female friend about the ratio, she said: "The odds are good, but the goods are odd." ...perhaps more directed at the local males.

Women outnumber men 3 to 2 in cross country skiing. Hot ones too; skating really develops the glutes.

Whitegrass my friend, Whitegrass! Alpine skiing ski bums must live like monks.

Or sometimes you just have to bring your own sand to the beach.

Unfortunately, Solitude has been discovered by the Powder Hounds. Those who swarm en masse like a flock of locusts, devour powder for 3-4 hours, then exit for the day, leaving utter destruction in their wake. Denis and I were talking about this, it is also happening to Pow Mow. Mebbe we need to unplug parts of the Internet...

Talked to some workers and locals. Crowds at Solitude are becoming increasingly condition-dependent (i.e. they show up on a blue-bird deep pow day) versus destination-trip dependent. Days like skiobsessed had on Sunday are the best ways to avoid the crowds (I skied Snowbird that day.) Snowfall gets heavier during the afternoon, conditions get better by the run, locals start leaving to get ready for the work week, and the crowds don't show up until the next AM. On afternoons like this, you can have a mountain to yourself.

I skied Solitude the following Monday and Tuesday. (Also had a similar experience two years ago skiing with Denis and Ski3pio.) Nearly a foot fell Sunday afternoon, followed by 4-5 inches overnight. Monday was overcast. Crowds were pretty heavy Monday AM (heavier than I had experienced in the past.) There was even a line 15 or so deep for the first chair. There was some competition for some of my favorite pow lines (through gates and traverses), but I was still able to get in numerous uncut pow lines. The place emptied by 1 PM, but the sections of the mountain serviced by the front side gates (Black Forest, Navarrone, Milk Run, Parachute) were all skied out. Still, Monday PM was similar to Sunday PM. The snowfall got heavier, partly filled in what was skied off, and plenty of fun lines were found.

Tuesday was a blue bird pow day with 30+ inches over the past day or so and a temporary closure of Little Cottonwood Canyon. Crowds at Solitude were beyond belief. Parking lot was overflowing by 10 AM. Lines for the opening chairs were longer than on Monday. Caught my first ride up the high speed at 9:05, and halfway up the mountain I saw one of the main faces already had dozens of lines down it. Only the front side of the mountain was open in the first hour. The entire front side was tracked out by 9:45! Seriously. Lines were forming 20 or so deep for the gates. The Powerhorn gate had already opened and the crowds dispersed by the time my chair got to the top. I joked with one of my chair mates: "At least the traverses will be packed out." Bypassed the more popular sections of that area to one of my favorite stashes. Hit an epic knee-plus deep uncut line. Arrived at the base of the Summit lift and encountered a 15 minute lift line! The locusts had swarmed to that section of the mountain, were slurping up pow, and were already buzzing at the gates for the opening of Honeycomb Canyon. (Only skier's right side opened that day.) Had a decent run down Headwall Forest (already somewhat skied out), but was not about to wait in line and compete with the hordes. Opted to go back to the front side and milk some stashes. I'd rather ski some lesser lines than wait 15 minutes for a lift.

My front-side strategy paid great dividends since I got in three more epic runs with some very creative lift/route strategies (once new terrain opened.) After the gates to Honeycomb opened, the masses apparently bunched at the Honeycomb return lift. I'm not sure I believe the exact number, but one person reported a 100-yard lift line. At any rate, crowds were streaming up that lift for the next few hours.

Why is this happening? Apparently, the re-openings for routine avi closure on LCC have been pushed back by one hour to 8:30 AM. Tourists generally buy their day tickets at 8 AM when places like See N Ski and Canyon Sports open their doors. Since LCC is now closed when they are making their lift ticket decision, they are buying their tix for BCC. Plus the later opening of LCC tempts the local pow hounds to hit BCC.

Also, more people are taking brief periods off from work/school during pow days.

I'm glad I hit Solitude back in 2001-2005 when I could literally have the entire mountain to myself on a deep powder day. Those days are long gone.

JimK - the crowd was nonexistent for the most part of our ski trip. I am used to skiing Liberty and Whitetail on the weekends, so waiting in line for 1 minute rarely bothers me I actually did not see many college-aged kids around the resort so I guess I lucked out?

FreshPow - your funny comment reminded me of a funny comment a coworker once said to me. I used to work at Tysons Corner and we would just stare at pretty women walking by. I nudged one of my coworker as this girl from afar was walking our way. After she got closer, he said, "good from far, but far from good!"

Denis - I've always wanted to try cross-country skiing, but the lure of becoming a true all-mountain skier keeps me on the slopes. Perhaps once I become a true skier, then I'll venture out to cross country skiing and even snowboarding. Nah, I won't go to the darkside

JohnL - I must have gotten lucky then to not encounter the crowds you mentioned at Solitude. Although I am a newbie at skiing powder, so maybe the snow was getting tracked out and I didn't notice it because I was trying so hard to stay afloat on the snow. I am a little upset that we missed the snow by a day or two, but maybe it's a blessing in disguise seeing that I didn't ski all that well last weekend.

I only ski Alta and Snowbird, but I have noticed that both places get tracked out a lot faster than just 3-4 years ago. It can be a land rush out there sometimes, especially when a long traverse is involved (Alta).

Coming from this area, it's all good to me, but there is a group of SLC skiers and tourists that are a bit too obsessed in my opinion, to the point where they get a bit too frenzied for my tastes. I watch them track up the snow and think it's like a pack of wolves on fresh meat. It's opposite of my approach where each good powder run can be a memorable life experience to savor. Maybe it's because I come from skiing in the mid-Atlantic, and Utah skiing is so much better that I appreciate it more?

In my experience, the best Alta/Snowbird powder days are the ones where 1) the canyon is closed so those of us staying on the mountain get uncontested, relaxed access, or 2) it's snowing during the day, so that the focus is less on first tracks in the morning and more about seeking out powder as it collects and transforms during the day. That's a bit more involved, and the "get there first and fast for easy pickings" mentality doesn't apply.

I understand powder mania. It's a disease of the addictive variety. Those who are afflicted (addicted) like it. Illnesses of this variety are extremely difficult to cure. Look at Charlie Sheen. The longer I stay in UT the further I am going down this path. I ski downhill on days with new snow and do something else on days without new snow, like laundry, getting Jiffy lubed, or cross country skating which I will do today. Some new snow is expected tomorrow. Call me a locust if you want.

Hello, my name is John, and I am a locust.

All skiing is good and I think XC makes you a better skier. Just try a shortcut through some downhill woods on skinny sticks with tiny hinges and see how it goes.

However, if I have gone to the trouble of flying to utah or colorado or somewhere, I have chosen downhill more than 95% of the time.

I thought Solitude was very satisfying, let these other guys race for that last microscopic shred of powder over at LCC and we'll take that gate into Honeycomb and find some quality leftovers.