All Snow and Trees

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All Snow and Trees Noel Thomas It's no good just thinking about it you have to go out and do it! 1998 was going to be the year of the overseas ski trip! eciding on an area to visit was relatively easy as to be had, including a number that involve a short walk several other clubbies hadl been to Utahi in 1991 from the top chair. Once at the top, you are on your and had returned with glowing reports of deep own literally. Not difficult, but a real feeling of repowder, cheap accommodation, and a variety of resorts moteness. serviced by the public bus system. However, Utah is Snowbird is a more upmarket resort, which features not one of the "trendy" resort destinations for New Zea- a 140-person, standing room only, cable car along with landers SO it took some pressure on a number of travel 7 chairlifts and 2,500 acres of skiable terrain. Because agents before one came up with an affordable package. of the size of the area, Snowbird offers free guided tours The plan was to spend two weeks in Salt Lake City and and after some debate, we decided to join one. Our then move to Colorado for a week, staying at volunteer guide was an old timer who really enjoyed his Breckenridge. skiing. Hel had only one speed - flat out - and we had Prior to leaving New Zealand, the reports from the an enjoyable hour, not only getting the layout of the States were not very encouraging. The Utah skifields place, but also some of thel local history. were still awaiting the "big dump". As our party of two Solitude, the fourth resort closest to Salt Lake City, Kiwis (Pete and I) and two Aussies (Kym and Paul) flew was memorable for its card-operated turnstiles. Instead into Salt Lake City, it was with some trepidation that we of a conventional lift ticket, skiers were issued with a looked fors signs of white against thel brown of the desert. plastic card that allowed access to each chair. The idea When we did eventually see it from 20,000 feet, it didn't was to ski in, put your card in the slot, and ski through look that large. the turnstile all in one movement. There were a few A 30-minute taxi ride soon had us at our downtown bruises before we mastered this technique. motel and we could see patches of snow on the sur- Wel had been skiing for a week with small amounts of rounding hills. We felt optimistic for a good time the snow falling at night but the forecast kept predicting next day. We knew that the local fields, or resorts as the snow in Salt Lake Cityi itself. It finally arrived on the day Americans call them, are serviced by the public bus sys- we had given ourselves off to do our washing and ease tem but our motel staff were unsure about where the our aching muscles. It was still snowing 24 hours later pick-up point was. After some exploration, we found SO we decided to head for Brighton where we figured the stop three minutes from the motel and with that the trees would give some relief in the flat light. The sorted, we grabbed a quick tea at Dee's, the local diner, buses are standard with no chains, yet ours didn't miss and got ready for a big day. a beat as it headed up through the snow. Ther resorts are at 3,000-4,000 metres So we had been At the field, the snow was bucketing straight down in warned to acclimatise before going all out. A leisurely big fluffy flakes and there was not a groomer in sight. walk to our bus stop at 9am saw us wait 1% hours for a Our doubts about our ability to handle all this powder bus that had left at 8am. We finally made it out to the were soon dispelled as we glided through snow SO dry Brighton skifield in time for a few afternoon runs. The we left no tracks. But as the day wore on, and the snow frustrations of the morning were soon forgotten with got deeper and we grew more adventuresome, we learnt seven chairlifts servicing over 850 acres of terrain and that head-plants can be particularly uncomfortable as not a queue in sight. Brighton has some good tree runs the snow packs into your nose, mouth, ears, and gogwithout having to risk life and limb, So we ended day gles. We caught the bus home very pleased with our one happy and ready to into some serious skiing. first real powder day. From Salt Lake City aseti public bus services four re- On the other side of the Wasatch Mountains lie the sorts. In Big Cottonwood Canyon, there is Brighton and resorts of Deer Valley, Park City and the Canyons. This Solitude, and in Little Cottonwood Canyon there is Alta was an $18 bus ride but we were keen to see new terand Snowbird. The trip to any of the fields takes about rain and we knew Rob Griffiths was instructing at Deer an hour and once we had the system sorted, it was easy Valley. to access and we had some great days, with each field Deer Valley is spread over three mountains and has having different terrain and character. 14 lifts. Tickets are US$55 per day and for this you get a Alta is the original skifield and is still reserved for valet service which includes your skis being carried to skiers only. Other fields had tried this stance but had and from the ticket office. There is also a staff member given way to the growing snowboard market; however, at the top of each lift to point you in the right direction it does attract a large group of local skiers who do not as you dismount. For skiers who could afford two days seem to ski anywhere else. There are some great runs in a row at Deer Valley, it is possible to store your boots Tramping and Mountaineering 1998

SKI AREA BOUNDARY ne Thet top of Alta looking towards Park City, Utah Noel Thomas and skis overnight at no extra charge. We had a pretty the only right-angle T-bar we had ever seen. The groomer cruisy day here enjoying the scenery and our first real drivers were very conscientious and seemed hell-bent sunny day since arriving in Utah. Some of the main ski on flattening any new snow before we had the chance events of the 2002 Winter Olympics will be held here to enjoy it. and building is well under way to provide the extra ac- A short shuttle bus ride away was the Keystone Recommodation that will be needed. sort. This consisted of three mountains one behind the Park City we missed, but we did get to the Canyons, other, all well accessed with lifts. On the third mounan old field with a new name and new money. It is in tain, aptly named "Outback", we spent a couple of enthe redevelopment stage and although it needed more joyable days skiing a big basin, complete with trees and snow, there were some great runs, such as the Condor old goldminer's huts. The snow was spring-like and it Chair, which had a vertical drop of 600 metres. was easy to pick an untracked line. Our stayi in Salt Lake City was not all skiing. Wer man- After a day on hired snowmobiles touring trails out aged to see an ice hockey game, which to our untrained amongst the old goldmines, we headed off to Vail to eyes looked more like an excuse for a punch-up, en- spot the celebrities. Unfortunately the weather was, a couraged by large Americans waving hot dogs. We also bit inclement SO there were none to be seen. had a dose of culture by watching the Mormon Taber- At all the resorts we were impressed by the size of nacle Choir rehearse, and only narrowly escaped being the restaurants, but Vail was amazing.. A restaurant 2-3 signed up by the Church and receiving a free Book of times larger than the Knoll Ridge Café would service Mormon. even quite remote areas and they always seemed to be The next stop was Denver, Colorado and from there a full, regardless of the time of day or the weather. two-hour shuttle ride to Breckenridge, in the heart of Three weeks can speed by when you're having fun the Colorado Rockies. Our accommodation here was and it was soon time to pack our gear and head home close enough to the skifield to allow us to ski back for with plenty of memories and a big Bankcard bill. If we lunch. By now we were getting a bit picky and found had known what our season was going to be like we Breckenridge skifield a little boring, although it didl have would have squeezed in a couple of extra runs! Tramping and Mountaineering 1998