Ski Utah!

Editor: quasiproto

Booking a ski trip to Utah has advantages and perks you may not be aware of, such as average snowfall, unique location and night life.

Having skied Utah now for 20+ years, and having worked in the Ski Industry for 7 or 8 some odd years now collectively - I figured someone out there may benefit from a quick guide to Skiing in Utah - as far as I'm concerned.

Utah's major competitor when it comes to drawing winter sports fanatics each year, is of course -Colorado. Yet there are two major differences between the two that most people I've come across aren't usually aware of, and they will assuredly impact your ski trip as much or more than anything else out there.

They are: Proximity to an International Airport, and Annual Snowfall.

Utah has an astonishing 10 world-class ski areas all within 1 hour of the Salt Lake City Airport. Chief among them in my opinion are Little Cottonwood giants Snowbird & Alta. They sit a mere 29/30 miles from and roughly 4,000 feet above the Salt Lake City Airport. The shortest drive you're going be forced to undertake when flying into Denver is closer to 2 hours to an even remotely comparable resort. 30 minutes vs. 2 hours. Now that’s right around 6 or 7 runs, the difference between fresh tracks, and hard-pack. It means 3,500+ feet of additional vertical feet skied that afternoon. Half of your day on the shuttle bus instead of on the mountain - 1.5 fewer hours on your skis - another afternoon back in your office.. Don't know about you, but them are fightin' words to me..

The second element that is crucial to an epic ski trip is Snowfall. Reliability of the snow pack, odds of hitting a quality powder day, your chances of really feeling the difference between what you’ve always made-do with, and what is actually possible..

Snowbird & Alta receive a mind-blowing 500+ inches of snowfall annually as compared with around 340" at the major players in CO. Break that down over the course of the roughly 4 month ski season - and you're looking at some pretty incredible odds of arriving with fantastic snow under your boards. To boot, thanks to the unique geographical location, the sheer quality of snow that gets dumped in the renowned glacially formed box-canyon - is precisely what the popular local namesake claims: The Greatest Snow on Earth!

If you’re looking for a bit more night-life, some fine dining, a good beer, some shopping on your rest day; Park City, 40 minutes to the East is an unbeatable location. Home to 3 renowned ski areas, all within 10 minutes of one another, The Canyons, Park City Mountain Resort, and Deer Valley, respectively make for an unbeatably well-rounded ski vacation for families, and swinging singles alike.

Vail, Aspen, Breckenridge and Keystone are amazing places, don't get me wrong. I've skied each of them, and had a great time without exception. But if it's bang for your buck you're looking for, no-nonsense, awe inspiring terrain, and even better snow - Ski Utah!

Categories: Recreation | Travel | Sports | Skiing