Snowbird

Top tier.

One of my first western snow destinations so I did wonder if it would live up to my expectations when I returned over a decade later. It definitely did not disappoint.

A few days at the Lodge. Snowed everyday so visibility was a minor problem especially higher up but something we were glad to put up with for fresh pow. Steep and wide open. Facilities and service were excellent all around. Food options are typical on-mountain cuisine. Think burgers, tenders and fries. Prices are typical but portions are good.

Spoiled by this midweek trip with the only lines encountered at the tram or when half the resort was closed. The chairs and runs a long so be prepared. Not too many unmanageable flats for the snowboarders but there will be some traverses (especially the ones that go past or around some lifts) where you will likely need to skate or hike.

Avalanche control is aggressive and constant. They're also good at managing the roads, and, just as important, communicating about closures. Worried a bit about catching a flight after squeezing in a few runs before a late afternoon flight but information was always readily available.

Pretty stoked so far. Parking is a catastrophe, but given the terrain I don't there is much they can do about it.

Highlight was getting into rad chutes right off the gad lifts. No hiking! It's also amazing that they have an app with pretty accurate lift line times. Even on a pow weekend we really only had one epic line incident.

It's dope that the beginner lift is open till 5. Friends doing lessons really appreciated the quality of the teachers. The green jacket support staff was also proactive in seeking out confused tourists like us. Definitely seeing the hype for coming here over Colorado.

If you have a full car like we did the valet for 50 bucks is totally worth it for the weeknds.

An amazing resort. I had the "misfortune" (I know the ski pros will not call it such) of whiteout conditions in the second half of the day, which cancelled out the fun of the first half, which was spent negotiating inches of fresh powder that had dumped overnight.

I'll be back in the future to make more of this resort, which is definitely full of challenging and exciting runs.

For the more intermediate riders,
Snowbird is huge, heavenly and challenging. There are 3 parts: Gad Valley, Peruvian & Mineral Basin. Gad for beginners. Peruvian for a greater challenge and Mineral Basin for the most heavenly views. The sun shines most on Mineral. The texture of the snow on a good day is either groomed and clunky untouched powder. Lots of cat tracks. Lots of fun jumps off the side of the runs. Tree runs. Nice hotels. Best views from the pool and hot tub

Full disclosure: I was here for a work trip. It was one of our biggest annual events and my first time attending (though the location changes every year.) I was housed in the Cliff Lodge building at Snowbird which was also where the majority of the events that week took place.

To start, the Snowbird compound is massive. There are three buildings (total? in addition to the one I was in?) for lodging, and it's spread out over a good distance of the mountain. They have a tram to the top (first night's events were at 11k feet, by the time my colleague and I got in, checked in and made our way to the tram, it was down because it was having "electrical issues." The lady said we could hang out to see if it gets fixed, but hearing "electrical issues" with "tram that takes you from 8k feet to 11k feet in 15 minutes" did not inspire confidence, so we passed), a couple "rides" (HIGHLY recommend the mountain coaster), lifts, trails, restaurants, shops and conference rooms.

I absolutely got turned around more than once in my time there.

Still, everyone was friendly and helpful onsite, which made the experience that much more memorable.

My room was large and comfortable, and the AC worked like a champ (my boss's room did not have AC, if you can believe that; they gave her a box fan that was supposed to keep her cool.) The bed was comfortable and I was able to stack up the pillows to approximate a firmer place to lay my head. I got some good sleep while there - maybe it was from the altitude and the stress of it all, maybe it was because the bed was just that comfy.

The elevators for the main building are super fancy; you choose your floor on the main level and it assigns a car to you. Once inside, you just have to sit tight until the doors close and it deposits you at your stop. Takes the brain a second remember you don't have to push a button once you step inside the elevator.

Can't really say much more about the resort, because I was in work mode for the entire trip. But it was beautiful - trees all around, clean, fresh air, stunning views from every angle - I can see why it's a popular winter spot.

Amazing POW but cruel run classifications. Let's just say their alleged blue run at the peak, Chip's Run, is a black run by any standard in the world. Please don't ignore the signs that say "experts only", it wasn't a coincidence or the name of a burger. Chip's run left me hopeless, upside down, and with icicles on my eyelashes. Long story shorter, during one of my many times body slammed, staring at the sky and being snowed on in despair, I was told that patrol was going to make its last rounds and I can go down with them if I want. I didn't, and I made it down but I was a shell of a woman.

Later in the gift shop, buying a Snowbird sweater as my trophy, I learned that Snowbird is the #2 most difficult resort in the US, second only to Jackson Hole. So do your research and come when you're ready. It's beautiful and everyone is nice.

First time at this resort, and it was really fun. We were able to explore almost every chair. When we first arrived, we parked near Entry 1 and Gadzoom was closed for a bit. This caused the a huge line at Mid-Gad chair, which is a 2 seater, and that took over 30 minutes just go to get to the top. The terrain here is difficult, no park features available. Just slopes, barely any greens, a few blues, and mainly black diamonds.

There's a reservation system for parking for the weekends, we ended up just going on a weekday for free parking.

This review is for the summer activities, as Snowbird is already famous for its skiing!

I've been here three times (August '21, September '22, and July '23) for the All Day Activity Pass, and this is one of my favorite places and things to do in the Wasatch. It's incredibly fun and beautiful here, and is much cooler than the city (particularly at the top of the lift and tram). It's a perfect place to bring out-of-state guests, as nothing needs to be too strenuous but you get to design your own day. I absolutely love the Peruvian lift- it's about 20 mins each way, so relaxing and peaceful. The mountain coaster and alpine slide are fun for all ages, and of course the tram has epic views.

I'd recommend buying tickets online in advance- then you can avoid the ticket line and just scan your barcode when you arrive. You can also bring a picnic meal if you don't plan to eat at the on-site restaurants. I know there are also amazing hikes in the Snowbird area, but we haven't gotten there yet!

Review here is for early December ski/snowboarding for beginner/intermediate skiing - Stay away. Only after doing a couple runs did we do a internet search, and after reading through lot of reviews, completely agree this is an expert only mountain, and is not good for beginner/early intermediate skiers, nor families.

First and foremost, all the routes are super steep. Aside from Creek road (used to get to Creekside) and Chikadee (short beginner route), the few Greens felt like blues, blues feel like blacks, etc. Many routes also have narrow trails and sharp turns. On top of all of this, you have to be careful of the fast skiers/snowboarders speeding down the trails-- so you are always constantly watching over your shoulder.

Being early in the season, the Baby Thunder Family Area was closed, and Mid-Gad only open half the day, so the number of beginner/casual ski/snowboard routers were very limited. The blues off of Gadzoom felt like blacks. The second day we too the mid-gad and got off at midway unloading (a pretty dinky two seater lift, that you have to jump off middle of the way-- not the family friendly vibe you want to take your friends and family to).

We stayed at Cliff Lodge which is positioned as a ski-in, ski-out, place, but unless you are an expert skiier, you'll end up walking or taking the bus a good bit of way to get to slopes you can actually do. The lifts near Cliff House go straight to the top, and almost all of those routes are black. The one exception is Upper Chip's Run, which is a blue-dotted run indicated as a blue "easiest path down"-- but its super windy (and probably very steep, but didnt try myself).

We mentioned how steep the runs were to most staff we encountered, and we usually just got a quick head nod, as if they were well aware the runs were steeper than average.

Snowbird center was decent, repair shop and stores there were ok. Support staff were all generally friendly.

To summarize, for beginning/low intermediate highly recommend to stay away b/c of few beginner friendly routes, all of which are steep, presence of fast ski/snowboarders, and inconvenient layout of the resort, and difficulties getting around. For advanced skii/snowboard, this may be the place for you, since the routes are all challenging, steep, with challenging turns, and an abundance of other like minded experts racing down.

I can appreciate this mountain enough to give it 4 stars overall, but in terms of personal experience, this is one of the toughest mountains I've encountered and you definitely have to be intermediate and above level of skiing and snowboarding to fully enjoy what this mountain has to offer. There are portions of groomers and then a lot of off trailing ways to take, which can be super challenging. Maybe it's because I am not at the highest level of snowboarding but it also did feel like the difficulty levels leveled are a bit skewed to a higher level. It felt like green runs were more like blue runs and some blue runs could border to be considered blacks in my eyes. All in all though, what I for sure learned is that this mountain is definitely not for beginners, but it is still a fun one to visit and check off your list if possible!