OT -- Utah Spring Skiing Question

[dang]

Ok, yeah, I posted this elsewhere, but on the theory that nobody should be offended by the thought that (a) there are plenty of skiers here, but (b) this board is not the be-all-and-end-all of ski info, I'll try again, with apologies for the re-posting:

I’ve been skiing in Utah for years with pals – typically short trips where we stay in SLC and drive up to Alta, Solitude or wherever for the day. This year, I’m thinking of taking the whole family for spring skiing during the kids’ spring break, at the beginning of April. The two youngest (6, going on 7) have not been on skis before. We’re thinking of making this a sort of combo trip – ski a few days and then head south to show the family the National Parks (Bryce and Zion) for a few days before heading back. So here’s the thing: the drive from Vegas to Zion seems much shorter than the drive from SLC to Zion, which raises the question whether the skiing at Brian Head is any good. Yes? No? Meh? Will it be any good that late in the season? The kids will take lessons and maybe ski with me on baby trails in the afternoon, so they ought to be ok as long as there is a decent ski school. If the skiing is pretty darn good, we can save some driving time and I can be happy even if it’s not quite what I’d find up by SLC on my own. OTOH, if it’s likely to be slush by April, or there just aren’t some good runs/terrain with good pitch down there, then I don’t really want to drag everybody there (maybe myself especially) for that. We can always fly in and out of SLC, ski up near there, and drive south for the parks and then back to SLC, but it looks like a trek. Another possibility is to fly into one city and home from another, although that's not perfect either.

Any guidance?

[Blue Jays]

Ride your bicycle in the area and scout ahead for next year.

[riceburner]

A good friend of mine is a ski instructor at Snowbird and I've been out there a bunch of times. If you really want to ski yourself, then book them in lessons, here is an all day thingie at Brian Head which seems reasonable and includes lesson, lift tickets, "babysitting" etc.

http://www.brianhead.com/Merchant2/m...Code=SKISCHOOL


My thoughts on condition is it is too early to tell if the base will survive, really depends on how much pow pow they get over the next few months...

[dang]

A good friend of mine is a ski instructor at Snowbird and I've been out there a bunch of times. If you really want to ski yourself, then book them in lessons, here is an all day thingie at Brian Head which seems reasonable and includes lesson, lift tickets, "babysitting" etc.

http://www.brianhead.com/Merchant2/m...Code=SKISCHOOL


My thoughts on condition is it is too early to tell if the base will survive, really depends on how much pow pow they get over the next few months...

Thanks, that is a nice deal. According to the resort, they have nice spring skiing in April, closing the 12th because of the deal with the feds, etc., even though there's often snow pack into May. OTOH, they've had considerably less snow this year than Alta and Snowbird, for instance, or even Park City, and I'll have to make a call sometime in the next couple of weeks.

[ned]

As you'd guess, April in the Wasatch is hit or miss. IIRC, the drive from SLC to Zion is ~4 hrs. The skiing around SLC is better than Brian Head any time of year, especially in the late season. But even in the Wasatch, you might have slush or you might have a few feet of powder. Conditions are likely to be better in the Cottonwoods (Alta, 'Bird, Solitude, Brighton) than in Park City. Our typical spring plan is to cross our fingers for snow, head south to the desert when the sun comes out, keep an eye on the weather, and high tail it back to the Wasatch for the storm. Have fun...