Hello there,
I am trying to decide between the two. I’ve had Snowbird pass for the last several years, so with renewal discount it is $150 cheaper. I don’t care about a freeloader pass, a free night at the Snowbird, or anything après. I like to drive to the resort early in the morning but don’t mind switching to mostly using the bus. My experience with resorts other than Snowbird is very limited.
I ski on the weekends. Majority of my skiing is on the Little Cloud/Gad 2 runs. I can ski anything except for the narrow rocky chutes in the mineral. I like to look for powder stashes first half of the day until my legs are shut, and then switch to easy groomers, usually on the Peruvian side. I enjoy a little traversing to get to the good runs and absolutely love tree skiing (hence, my love for Gad 2 runs). I don’t mind very occasional long traverse/climbing, but I’m not a fan of it. E.g. boot packing up the pipeline bowl is a fun experience for the fresh tracks but not something I would do often.
I am looking at Alta because I want to switch it up the next season and traversing seems like a great way to explore the mountain. It also appears to have more tree runs and no criminals. Brighton is gorgeous but I find it lacks expert terrain compared to Alta/Snowbird.
Snowbird this season was a little frustrating. Constant delayed openings (when Alta did not have any) and 20+ minute lines even at the top were disappointing. Having to skip 3 busses to get down because they were getting packed at Alta was also not fun. Equipment-wise, I have dedicated pairs of groomers, all-mountain, and powder skis.
I have several questions.
- Do you find weekend lines at Alta better or worse compared to snowbird?
- How hard is it to get a mid-season weekend reservation at Alta?
- Is it a big adjustment in skiing style coming from Snowbird?
- Does Alta offer renewal discounts?