baltimoron
Contributor
Just came back today from an AWESOME trip out to Park City (Utah) snowboarding. We (being my dad, my best friend, and I) got out on Wednesday while it was snowing. We had to pay a little extra for our rental car, since we were afraid they were going to open the road from Salt Lake City to Park City for 4WD and Chains only.
Thursday we hit Park City Mountain Resort. GREAT place. It took pretty much the whole day to learn how to ride powder, and I kept getting stuck under. I figured out that you pretty much have to ride on your back foot to turn properly, something that was pretty alien to me. It was snowing the whole time to, so without a pair of red lenses (which I bought the next day), you pretty much could not see the ground's bumps and crevices. It made for a pretty interesting ride. I did some of the runs that were used in the Olympic events, and those were pretty fun. I also took a lesson, and the instructors are very amiable and actually want you to get better, unlike the local ones here who usually come in hung over and don't give a *****. Lots of run options, and everything is connected very well.
Next day we woke up early and hit Snowbird. That's a forty-five minute drive from Park City, and this time around, the 4WD was really worth it! Since it was snowing so hard, they closed the road to all 2WD cars. Snowbird is a great mountain also. Lots of options and great snow (while we were there). Less people than PCMR, but a lot harder to navigate. Lots of times we were on catwalks, which are hell for snowboarders. I would reccomend Snowbird for beginners, but only after they learn how to controll the board. Lots of catwalks that lead to greens also service double blacks and avalance warning areas. That could be dangerous. But there was a great, bowl-like green run that was just as much fun as the blacks I did that day. I would say that Snowbird has less options for food and such, but they were good overall.
The next and last day of riding, we found ourselves back at Park City Mountain. Now that I had learnt the basics of Rocky Mountain Riding, I could really strech my skills and have fun. In another lesson, we ended up hiking up to a double black diamond bowl. Needless to say, I was freaking out. FREAKING OUT. But my instructor was really good and calmed me down. It was a blast, but after seeing that with four turns I had dropped about five hundred feet, I decided we should probably hold off on the bowls for later (see: never). We ended up going down and riding into the middle of town, eating in town and taking the town lift back up to the top. I would reccomend this for lunch, since there are far less people. The downside is that it might get a little chilly on the 8-10 minute lift ride back up. So we ended up using the whole mountain, going up every peak and coming down ever way we could. It was a great time, but make sure you take a lot of sunscreen!! I grew up in the desert so I seldom get burned, but the high altiude got me, and now my face really hurts. Today was great in that the sun was shining, but the powder was still fresh. People were saying it was one of the best days Park City had seen in a good while. We all had a great time. Also, that night I had an elk sirloin for dinner an interesting treat for an immigrant city kid like me.
Moral to the story: Park City is AWESOME! Probably the best spot out West for consistantly good conditions, nice mountains, and friendly people. Now I can see why people are always talking about Utah powder. Private lessons are DEFINATELY worth their chunk of change. I learnt heaps from my instructors. If there is any possibility of substantial snow, go ahead and get a 4WD rental. Otherwise, you might have to turn around or take a shuttle and waist money. No fun either way. Wear sunscreen, and don't get hurt! Most importantly: have fun!!!
Thursday we hit Park City Mountain Resort. GREAT place. It took pretty much the whole day to learn how to ride powder, and I kept getting stuck under. I figured out that you pretty much have to ride on your back foot to turn properly, something that was pretty alien to me. It was snowing the whole time to, so without a pair of red lenses (which I bought the next day), you pretty much could not see the ground's bumps and crevices. It made for a pretty interesting ride. I did some of the runs that were used in the Olympic events, and those were pretty fun. I also took a lesson, and the instructors are very amiable and actually want you to get better, unlike the local ones here who usually come in hung over and don't give a *****. Lots of run options, and everything is connected very well.
Next day we woke up early and hit Snowbird. That's a forty-five minute drive from Park City, and this time around, the 4WD was really worth it! Since it was snowing so hard, they closed the road to all 2WD cars. Snowbird is a great mountain also. Lots of options and great snow (while we were there). Less people than PCMR, but a lot harder to navigate. Lots of times we were on catwalks, which are hell for snowboarders. I would reccomend Snowbird for beginners, but only after they learn how to controll the board. Lots of catwalks that lead to greens also service double blacks and avalance warning areas. That could be dangerous. But there was a great, bowl-like green run that was just as much fun as the blacks I did that day. I would say that Snowbird has less options for food and such, but they were good overall.
The next and last day of riding, we found ourselves back at Park City Mountain. Now that I had learnt the basics of Rocky Mountain Riding, I could really strech my skills and have fun. In another lesson, we ended up hiking up to a double black diamond bowl. Needless to say, I was freaking out. FREAKING OUT. But my instructor was really good and calmed me down. It was a blast, but after seeing that with four turns I had dropped about five hundred feet, I decided we should probably hold off on the bowls for later (see: never). We ended up going down and riding into the middle of town, eating in town and taking the town lift back up to the top. I would reccomend this for lunch, since there are far less people. The downside is that it might get a little chilly on the 8-10 minute lift ride back up. So we ended up using the whole mountain, going up every peak and coming down ever way we could. It was a great time, but make sure you take a lot of sunscreen!! I grew up in the desert so I seldom get burned, but the high altiude got me, and now my face really hurts. Today was great in that the sun was shining, but the powder was still fresh. People were saying it was one of the best days Park City had seen in a good while. We all had a great time. Also, that night I had an elk sirloin for dinner an interesting treat for an immigrant city kid like me.
Moral to the story: Park City is AWESOME! Probably the best spot out West for consistantly good conditions, nice mountains, and friendly people. Now I can see why people are always talking about Utah powder. Private lessons are DEFINATELY worth their chunk of change. I learnt heaps from my instructors. If there is any possibility of substantial snow, go ahead and get a 4WD rental. Otherwise, you might have to turn around or take a shuttle and waist money. No fun either way. Wear sunscreen, and don't get hurt! Most importantly: have fun!!!
