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Snowbasin Ski Resort
Rating Details »
Category: Ski Resorts [Edit]
3925 E Snowbasin RdHuntsville, UT 84317
(888) 437-5488
Logding
Lodging options with shuttle service upon request…
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9 reviews for Snowbasin Ski Resort
I want to talk about the ski lodges here - they are essentially 5 star hotels with the best restaurants in Utah. Remember, these are ski lodges we're talking about! For example, the Needles Lodge at the top of the gondola has apple brined cornish hen ($12) and veal schnitzel ($15). Each are served with spaetzle or mashed potatoes, carrots, and the best sauerkraut (loaded with bacon) I've ever had. Dry your stuff by the large wood fireplaces. Sleep on the plush couches. Take a dump in one of the individual fully-enclosed marble and wood stalls in the luxurious bathrooms.
Oh, and one should mention that hardly anyone comes to Snowbasin so you can enjoy all the above and the powder to yourself.
Snowbasin is beautiful in late September. The leaves are changing color, and the air is perfect. The bathrooms in the lodge are nice.
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We were debating where to go skiing in Utah. Our new friend Mary said regarding Snowbasin: "There is no comparison. It's like comparing Burger King to a five-star restaurant." Given that Mary has a nineteenth-century harpsichord in her house and a vintage bust of Marie Antoinette or something, I kind of trust her to make metaphors like that.
Oh man. All I could think for the entire two days we were there was "why are there not more people on this mountain?" For reals. It's godly nice and tricked out because the Olympics were there, but seriously, you can go down the entire mountain on a Saturday afternoon in early March without seeing a single other person. Lift lines were like, three minutes, at the most. Unbelievable. Where did everyone go?
Maybe the only thing bad about it is that the selection of green slopes is pretty limited, with only one real route taking you down from one life. Then there are two lifts that service mostly intermediate slopes and one (John Paul) that has some harder terrain. I was all over the map with my new ski buddy and pretty much everywhere we went was astounding. On trail, off trail. Things are set up so that you always have a wuss-out option if you end up somewhere that you didn't want to be by accident. Beautiful views, great weather, great powder.
Snowbasin made me love skiing again.
Impressive, to say the least.
Big vertical, tons of terrain for all levels, fast lifts & a layout that makes sense, beautiful mountains & views everywhere, lack of crowds & outstanding lodges ... the list just goes on at Snowbasin.
I've hit all the major SLC resorts & I think Snowbasin has them beat. That is high praise. If you're serious about skiing/riding, Snowbasin will not disappoint. Can't recommend it highly enough ...
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I think UT is probably the best place for skiing in North America. That's a bold statement I know, but I've never found anywhere that can claim our terrain AND snow quality..I had season passes for two years for "the basin" where I spent many a weekday skiing nothing but powder.
If you like challenging terrain, you'll stick to the John Paul side of the mountain. It's almost as narly as the stuff at snowbird, without the crowds. The view from the John Paul lodge, at the top of the mountain, is I think the best view in Utah...
For powder stashes 3 days after a dump, hang out on the strawberrys side. The best way to find these, stay near the ski boundaries and follow people who look like they know what they are doing...
The downside on the basin, its one thousand feet lower than BCC and LCC, so early season can kind of be a drag for snow. And, NOWHERE competes with the cottonwoods for snow.
Now I ski at snowbird or solitude, but I'd have no problem if I only ever skiid the basin....No competition for the powder....
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It's hard to classify Snowbasin as a Hidden Gem since it's only 1 hour from the bustling metropolis of Salt Lake City. I think of Snowbasin as a late bloomer... kinda like that girl that you looked over in middle school, only to find out that she was a knockout and super cool in college. That said, this is why Snowbasin is outstanding...
- Site of 2002 mens/womens Olympic Downhill (I have an incredible amount of respect for the athletes that can straight shoot this run without taking any turns; they're crazy mother effers)
- Long intermediate/advanced runs (if you want steep terrain, go to Snowbird)
- No crowds, even on a 3 day weekend
- Discount Tickets at Sports Den and Canyon Sports in Salt Lake City
- Easy to get around the whole mountain without traversing or taking multiple lifts
- Excellent facilities, I felt like I had to take my boots off to go in one of the lodges for lunch
- Great food
- "Greatest Snow on Earth"
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Snowbasin, from the mountain perspective is SIC WIT IT. It lies about an hour northeast of SLC. It consist of 3 mountains with over 2400 vertical feet. If you're on 1 side of the place, the other side seems like its on the other side of the world. The mens and womens downhill and super G events were held here when the Winter Olympics were here in Salt Lake. I had not seen so many expert skiers concentrated in one area, like i've seen here, simply an adrenaline injection. I took that energy today and went to town with it, forgot about eating lunch, just kept myself hydrated.
The hard and fun stuff lies on the two extreme sides while the intermediate and warm up stuff lies in the middle mountain. Strawberry express gondola offers a full mountain of steep, ungroomed, wide open goodness. The John Paul quad chair offers more tree influenced skiing. You definitely gets your fill here.
The extras here are top notch (cafeteria, lounging area, bathrooms etc.) When the Olympics were last here, tons of money were poured onto this place to make it hospitable to the international clientele. I swear, no friggin lie, the eating hall where the cafeteria was, looked like a Ritz Carlton, plush carpet, beautiful fireplaces and furniture i did not feel worthy sitting in (in my ski gear). The bathrooms were sporting marble and brass, and toilet stalls were individually enclosed in its own room, so you had your own "room" if you used it. When I saw that, the first words outa my mouth were "NO SHIT" (pun intended)
If you like to fly in the snow, this place will fill your hunger. We were lucky enough to get a fresh coat of powder in the morning, followed by bluebird skies. i laid so many fresh tracks today, i 'd make Timbaland jealous. This place is worth the visit, just to see all their amenities and services, although it's a little cushy-cushy for me. Snowbasin is on another level.
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Massive, totally empty, and poshy as hell... This place rules.
While there's not a whole lot of super technical terrain, there's enough to keep you interested for at least a few days in a row.
The big plus for this place is that no one goes here. There's almost no base facilities, no base town, and the resorts at Big and Little Cottonwood Canyons are much closer to the larger populations and the airports. Therefore, a powder day here is heavenly. There's no better place on Earth. Fresh tracks all day. ALL DAY.
The one downside is that this place does face towards the east a bit, so the aspect can jack the snow up sometimes. Therefore, if the temps are hovering around freezing or if it hasn't snowed in a while, you'll have to work the northern and western slopes more for the good snow. The good thing is that this place is big enough that you'll find the goods if you poke around some.
This place is a hidden gem.
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There are reasons why I love Snowbasin that are different from the reasons why I like resorts like Alta and Snowbird. I've only skied Snowbasin once, but the day I skied there (a mid-week powder day) was amazing in an of itself....well, because it was a powder day (fresh tracks ALL DAY), and because it was mid-week (no crowds). I recommend Snowbasin based on the following:
--Go there during mid-week (M-F). There will be no crowds. Also, make sure it's on a powder day, too, because no matter what you do, you'll always find fresh tracks until the resort closes!
--Take the tram to the very top of the mountain and ski down from there. There's an area where you can hike up a bit after doing the switch-backs down from the tram, and this is a place where you can discover untracked snow at noon because no one at that resort usually wants to hike for anything.
--I usually don't mention this, but the gourmet lunch in the mid-mountain lodge next to the fireplace with exquisite decoration is so freaking good, you have to spend the extra few bucks to eat this amazing food with the most amazing view you'll ever experience in the USA.
--My companion and I had a personal mountain tour by a couple of the locals, so my opinion of this place is totally skewed based on the amazing hospitality our friends gave to us. They showed us all the goods, and one of the guys built a booter off a cliff and we saw him get at least 50' of air jumping over a cat track.
This place is worth every penny. The views are unmatched, the snow (when good) is really, really good, and the atmosphere is incredible...nice people, and a world-class resort to boot.
