snowbird ski and summer resort

周一，简单吃完早餐，打车去Snowbird-美国有名的滑雪度假胜地。车开进山脉中曲折的山路，雄伟的落基山就在两边巍巍屹立。夹在山隙中前行，蜿蜒曲折的路在峡谷中延伸。有些山脉依然有雪覆盖，匆匆流水荡在耳边，在这盛夏季节里也是道独特的风景。车行20分钟我们到达Snowbird center。我们的年会就在这丛山环绕的幽静山谷里开始了。 匆匆办完注册，就开始了一天的会议。见到很多去年在MSA会议上认识的教授和老朋友，还有实验室的师兄Levy,很是开心！ 午餐过后和小宝在Cliff Lodge 附近玩耍，用我们的单反纪录绿色掩映下的雄奇；淙淙流水山涧倾泻而下，芳草丛林装点巍然而立的逻辑山脉，自然的瑰丽之处一目了然，真正领会到心旷神怡是一种意境。午后回到住宿的宾馆，乡村风格的小木屋让心都得到休憩；拉开落地的窗帘，Rocky Mt. 的绿色情怀尽收我们温暖的卧室。少做休息，立即出发去等山，带上装备，轻装简从，沿山路步行而上。不一样的高度有不一样的风景，360度都是全然不同的美景。半山腰上俯瞰，心胸都会因为这宽广明媚的风光而舒展延伸。山风不凉，但太阳辐射很强，稍做停留就和小宝下山了。 July 28th 一大早起床，不浪费这明丽的日光，拉开窗帘让刺眼的阳光和紧紧逼近的山峦都迎进屋子。室外紫外线很强，清晨一过，温度升高很快。热而不闷，让人不会因天气而觉得疲惫。和小宝座上游览车直奔落基山脉的最顶峰。海拔只有3千多米，但是放眼望去，一览无疑－这里山不秀丽，不柔媚；它大气，威严，给人海阔天空，带我走进忘我。我们所在的山峰被连绵群山环抱，有些山脊上依然有白雪覆盖，有些则郁郁葱葱青翠如碧，有些层层岩石裸陋，显示这刚劲的色彩。在山顶徘徊赏景 20分钟后我们做缆车回到山下。 5点半，我的报告开始～ 晚上，师兄带我们“出山”晚餐。回来的路上已经是深夜，行使在崎岖的山上简直就是一次冒险，想起来依然觉得惊险而又刺激。

We had a mixed group and it was a little hard to ski off the same lift with everyone. The easier runs were just cat tracks wrapping around the mountain. The harder runs were great, it was just hard for our group to stay together.

Even though there wasn't much snow throughout Utah this year, Snowbird was just so much better than most of the other resorts (well Alta may have been on a par). It is quite intimidating when you pull into the parking lot and look up, even more so when you look out from the top of the Tram. But as long as you have at least intermediate skills there are some great, long runs to be had and such a large area. Get a combo ticket for Alta if you need a flogging.

This has been a very poor snow year in Utah. Snowbird has the most and that is not much. The runs are rock hard ice, very slippery. The grooming that is done is poorly done. Since only groomed runs are ski able that puts all the people on the runs that are groomed. Advanced runs with snow plowers is not a good combination. If more runs were groomed there at least would be more places to ski. It will be a long time before I come back to Utah to ski.

Good skiing, good grooming. Few lodges, each is very rustic as compared to places like Snowbasin, Canyons, etc. Building a new lodge at the summit but even it looks levels below most lodges. Buy your tickets ONLINE weeks ahead and save a lot of money.

Beautiful area, great mountain, good lifts. But clearly ONLY catering to the most expert wild skiers or borders who love very little grooming and black slopes, steep, ungroomed, wild. My son loved it. IT did NOT offer what it promised me in their ads, a variety of blues and greens for the family? I am an excellent skier but at my age prefer groomed slopes. I love wide groomed slopes with good layouts, for space and going fast, can be steep. But there was nothing, or very little. We could not take the same lift up, and arrange to meet at the bottom as we could in Alta.Worst was: 1.) many blues down were simple paths zigzagging down the mountain (roads in the summer?), no fun to ski since they have no width AND they are often crossed by black slopes with wild skiers/boarders crossing at super high speed.2.) the signs were abysmal, it was very easy to miss turn offs for the blue runs and end up on a black or double diamond black run. And I CAN read signs. It was really badly done.3. ) one day we tried to go from Mineral Basin to Alta. I followed a blue path down the mountain (a boring narrow path again) only for it to be roped off down the mountain a bit behind a curve. They had not finished avalanche clearing back there. So the non expert skiers took skies off and WALKED back UP the path OR had to ski down an black expert run with ungroomed moguls. Very upsetting, all it needed was a sign at the entrance of the path, right at the top if the tram. An irresponsible mistake, but another sign that this resort does not care about their middle of the road skiers. Recommended for experts only.

For snow quality , Alta won this competition hands down. Late February 2015 and we had an Alta-Snowbird combo pass. The plan was to spend 50/50 time at both areas. Turned out is was 95/5 in favor of Alta. Surprising how much better Alta conditions were in a low snow season. Still love the bird.

The ski hill offers a great variety for all types of skiers. The area is huge and the high-speed lifts let you cover a lot of ground quickly. Coming from the Pacific Northwest, the snow was light and fluffy. The Snowbird Center is dated. The Center also has a lot of stairs to get you to the lifts. Lastly, they do not have an electronic reloadable lift ticket system. It was rumored to us that a new program for electronic ticketing will be in the works for next year.

This resort offers some of the best powder I've ever been on. We were on the mountain for two days, & I found the conditions for a blue intermediate skier to be amazing. I would highly recommend this for families and recreations skier.

This place has amazing powder and fast lifts. I rarely dealt with long lines. I love a ski place that had plenty of long Blue runs for all to enjoy.

Outstanding mountain. Likely best for Black Diamond level skiing. Try very close by for slightly better snow and more intermediate terrain.

Traveled to Snowbird Utah for a few days of skiing after they received some new snow. We stayed at the Cliff Lodge which had ski in and ski out. We were given our own locker to keep our equipment in, which was such a convenience. Everything you need is right in the Cliff Lodge and Center. We ate at the Steak Pit, El Chanate, Wildflower and the Aerie. We went to El Chanate daily for a cocktail after skiing. All the staff were very friendly. Our room was great too. We used Canyon Shuttle for pick-up and drop-off from the airport. The mountain was very fun to ski and the moving sidewalk through the old mining tunnel to take you to the Mineral Basin was really cool.

I've been skiing the "Bird" since before the lifts opened in 1971. I'm a part time professional skier, both Ski Patrol & Ski Instructor. I have skied almost inch in bounds and of course many days in backcountry. The snow here is just outstanding, always be prepared to get some Powder Days here!!! This resort is 45 minute drive from Salt Lake Airport with an easy drive up the Canyon. Don't need a rental car on your trip. Many different company's run Shuttle Vans. I've always used Canyon Transportation, ask them to stop by a grocery store on the way up and stock most of your food for a week. There is a store in the Tram Center, but does not stock everything. Ski Tip: Meet up with a Mountain Host in the Tram Plaza, (9:00 am & 1:30) confirm times. They will get you oriented to the hill and can suggest runs to fit your abilities. There are 8-10 restaurants, to fit tastes and price ranges. I do love the Tram Restaurant, Great View!!!Hope you enjoy your "Pow Pow".

Spectacular variety of terrain. Tough winds when we were there resulting in most lifts being closed. This funneled everyone to just a few chairlifts. Made for some crowded skiing. Overall a wonderful place which we look forward to returning on our next trip to Little Cottonwood Canyon.

Huge mountain with lots of powder. Extended ski season, we were there the last days of March and snow was as good as if was the middle of winter, but with much better weather and less people. It's a great plus that you can ski on the back of the mountain. We stayed on a hotel in the city, but got to Snowbird everyday with an easy train-bus combination. The lift ticket allows you to get to Alta (ski only) as well, so it's a great combination.