The beauty of Utah is there are several regions you can visit and within each region, there are several resorts to choose from. Depending on what you're looking for, there is a resort or two that fit your "ideal" vacation.
When living in the Salt Lake Valley, we tend to stick close to the Big and Little Cottonwood Canyons which consist of Alta, Snowbird Brighton and Solitude or venture into Park City where you have Deer Valley and Park City Mountain. However, Southern Utah has great skiing at both Brian Head and Eagle Point. Northern Utah has little gems in Cherry Peak and Beaver Mountain. In Ogden, your choices are Nordic Valley, Snowbasin Resort and Powder Mountain. My kiddos have skied Snowbasin a fair amount, but never Powder Mountain. In Emily's previous blog, Powder Mountain was the mountain she was most looking forward to. It did NOT disappoint. If you're a parent, the hardest part of skiing is all the gear and having the car piled to the ceiling with everything you own! The best part of skiing as a parent is going to the resorts and finding a close parking spot! Yea! Not so much walking and little complaining.
This is the story of Powder Mountain. The drive into the area is amazing. Take a few minutes to enjoy the drive and even pull over for a few photos. The approach road is quite a climb but so beautiful. I imagine at one time, all the big resorts were like this. Not really sure what was at the top because there are no big buildings or zillions of cars. There are several bases you can chose to park at. Sundown Lodge has good beginner terrain and also night skiing. We drove on up to Timerline Lodge and called that base camp. It is such a cute little base area. There is a nice upstairs area where Grandma was able to sit and check out the views and a restaurant on the main floor with yummy, big hamburgers which we gobbled down after the day.
Powder Mountain has many wide-open areas and no lift lines. Yes, you heard that right!
We happened to go on a holiday and I think at most, there were 10 people in front of us! No standing with frozen toes. There were also a couple of tow ropes. This was interesting. Brennan being a snowboarder, had a tough time with this concept. We got a lot of laughs and crashes from this experience but it was the way of "once upon a time".
The groomed runs are wide and the views go for miles. There were many runs where we were the only ones on the run. The kids could practice giant turns, race each other, jump over banks and there was nobody to bother. We are well beyond the learning stage, but I can't imagine a better place for kids to learn. There isn't the fear of someone racing down behind you and having to stay on one side of the slope.
We spent a bit of our time in the Hidden Lake area, which seemed to be the most popular. Note to self, also a parking area here that may have been a little more convenient. If you're looking for big and glamor, this isn't the place for you. If you're looking for a throwback, this is the place for you. Example...while going off through the trees (not my norm but following the kids), we discovered an area where jumps are built out of logs.
Mother Nature's start gate I said to Emily. We are used to a lot of the rails/boxes...at bigger resorts, but I can't tell you how excited the kids were to zip through this "natural" area. It's kind of like the old saying at Christmas: the kids get tons of cool toys and they play with the wrapping and boxes. In case you're wondering what is in the backpack of Emily...her friend of course!
Reasons why people continue to visit PowMow again and again:
1. Quiet
2. Incredible views
3. Snowcat tours
4. Snowcat sunset tours
5. Low crowds-they limit visitors to 2000 people/day
6. Choice of great long groomers or tons of backcountry powder
7. Affordable
If you're visiting Utah and have an extra day, I would highly suggest the drive. It will go down as one of my favorite days this season with the kids. The reason...can't put my finger on it. As you visit Powder Mountain, you'll understand that statement. When people ask "what did you like about it?" Not really sure how to answer, I think that is what makes it special...can't really describe it.
