Hello! Emily here again. Since I have been on my mom's blog all these years, it is nice to have this chance to blog for Ski Utah, and have my own voice. Here is a journal of all the resorts I was able to ski this winter!
It has been a fun and busy winter season that is coming to an end. I had a great time using my Passport and exploring The Greatest Snow on Earth. Now, it is time to put our skis away and take out our hiking shoes. I am sad to see the winter go, but exited to ski next season.
I absolutely loved the sense of friendliness that radiated at Brighton. My favorite lift on a nice powder day is Milly Express, and the Devil's Dip run onto Wee Willow.
If I feel like just cruising with my family (my mom is not very good, so we have to stay on groomers), then I love to do Pacific Highway off Crest Express.
I learned to ski at Brighton so it is always so much fun to take friends there that haven't skied a lot because there are a lot of green and blue runs to get a lot of practice.
If you are looking for no lift lines, and inexpensive tickets, come to this mom and pop resort. (Beaver is one of the last family-owned resorts in Utah.) Beaver Mountain offers a wide majority of terrain even though it is one of the smallest resorts in Utah, with only 4 lifts and 50 runs. When I skied with my family, we found lots of cute little jumps made from trees and rocks off the trail. It was like a little scavenger hunt. My favorite runs were Teddy's Frolic and Harry's Hollow off of Harry's dream Lift, and Marge's Triple (Marge is the owner) I met her and she was super nice, its a nice cruiser run called Sunshine to Blind Bull. When we stopped for lunch, I saw the largest hamburger ever! The food there was amazing!! (I loved the french fries the most). Beaver had great views and was one of my favorite resorts this winter!
Deer Valley is one of the more popular resorts in Utah. I like to ride up Lady Morgan Express and ski the run, Argus. (Argus is a black diamond) For a nice chill run, I like to go up Sultan Express and come down Tycoon. (Tycoon is a double blue square.) There is a Nastar race course that I like to run every time I go there. There is a small cost if you want to run and get a pin. You get a beautiful view from the top of the mountain. Skiing Deer Valley is a tradition for my Mom and I every year- my brother was not there because there are no snowboarders allowed. The runs are long and the big groomers let me practice my carving with large turns. Afterward, my Mom and I went and got a hot cocoa. Their cocoa is the BEST!!
Snowbasin is a local favorite resort. One of the 2002 Olympic events was held there off the Allen Peak Tram. The Olympic run is called Wildflower Start. When I went and did that run it was super windy and the run is a lot steeper than it looked. My Mom waited and watched me go down the Olympic run, she wouldn't even get on the special gondola to go to the top. My favorite lift that will bring me to a more challenging run is Strawberry Gondola. My favorite run off Strawberry Gondola is White Lightning and Moonshine Bowl. At the top of Strawberry, you can see for miles. A great place to take pictures. My favorite place to eat at Snowbasin is Needles Lodge. I would recommend this resort for beginners and intermediate skiers because you can practice large turns on a lot of the runs.
I had a ski race at Sundance this season. (That is why you see green arms sticking out of my coat.) It was really pretty! My favorite run is Grizzly Bowl (black diamond) off Flathead Lift. My favorite groomer run to do is Bear Claw off Red's lift. There is a beautiful view down the back of Sundance and there is a nice little cafe up there if you want good food and a gorgeous view. You can access the cafe by going up Red's Lift.
My Mom likes to take a lot of pictures here because everywhere is really pretty.
Up Ray's Lift, you will find really nice cruisy green runs and even a little area for little kids to go through little buildings built like a tiny town. At the base is a nice restaurant and they have delicious sandwiches in the deli. There are ziplines throughout Sundance and I hope to go on them this summer. The highest zipline at Sundance is one of the longest and highest zipline in America!
Powder Mountain is one of my favorites. I love that I got to experience fresh powder at this resort. My favorite lift is Paradise and coming down Medicine Man. Paradise only has 1 green circle run off of it. Off of Timberline, I like to take it easy on Drifter to Rendevous. My Grandma came with us when I visited Powder Mountain and she loved sitting in the lodge watching all the skiers come down, the cozy fireplace and the band that was playing.
Park City is the largest resort in Utah. It has amazing views and friendly people. My favorite lift that I brought my mom on was Thaynes. We did a black diamond called Black Jack. I was proud of her for doing that! She fell a couple times but made it down in one piece. Park City has a wide assortment of runs for beginners to experts. Did you know that if you skied all day, you could not go on the same run? Park City is widely known across the U.S. for its terrain Parks. Skiers and boarders across the contry come to Park City for these parks. My brother loves to board here because of all the terrain parks.
Snowbird is my home mountain, and therefore my favorite mountain. I skied at Snowbird the most this winter. I love skiing Black Forest off Gadzoom or Little Cloud. It is a friendly mountain with amazing people. Last season, a new lodge opened at the top of the Ariel Tram.
The thing I love about Snowbird is that the resort is very majestic with its pointed peaks and dipping valleys. It is where I spend so much of my winter.
I had my best ski race at Snowbird. I almost missed my start, but finished 7th in a slalom race. Snowbird is a more challenging mountain. If you are a great skier and you can go down black diamonds really well, then Snowbird will give you some fun runs that you will enjoy. I am most certainly sure that I will go there next season and have another great season at this 'wowerful' resort. Snowbird is my second home.
Alta is a skier-only resort, so my brother decided he wanted to try skiing. When we went down the little hill from the ticket office to the lifts, he could not even stand. I thought, "this is going to be a very long day." In the car ride up he talked about how he wanted to accomplish a few things including, doing a box and a rail in the terrain park (there is no terrain park at Alta), could ride switch, (backward) and do a backflip. He never accomplished these but, we got him down in one piece. We stayed on blues and greens for the whole day. My favorite run was Home Run off of Sunnyside Lift. I want to do this again with my brother next season!
Solitude is an all mountain resort and offers runs for beginners and experts. My favorite run was North Star off of Sunrise lift. My dad, and my brother raced me to the bottom of the lift! We had a great time as a family at this resort.
That means I visited 10 resorts this winter!
Since I have been on my mom's blog all these years, it is nice to have this chance to blog for Ski Utah, and have my own voice. I am very happy Ski Utah gave me this chance because there aren't many kids my age that get a chance to write a blog that is read by kids and people all over the US.
Next year, I will be a 6th grader and will get a chance to get the 6th-grade passport and my brother will get the the 5th grade passport. If your kids have any questions about skiing in Utah, I probably have the answer! Feel free to leave a comment below and have a fun summer!
