Day 6 - The Canyons

Wednesday, February 6, 2008 - With 2-4 inches of snow in the forecast, we decided to head up to The Canyons for our last day, which was only a mile from our hotel. We had printed up coupons for 2 lift tickets, 2 burgers, and 2 soft drinks or beers for only $100. Normally lift tickets are $76, so that was quite a deal! We called Ari and Chad in the morning and planned to meet them at the bottom of the mountain.

The Utah snow machine is something that you just have to experience to believe. Our 2-4 inch forecast turned into 8 inches magically in the wee hours of the morning, and it was still dumping as we packed up the car. As we stood in line for lift tickets, a local snowboarder told us where to go to get the goods. I had already planned to hit the same area he talked about, with the absolute best natural halfpipe I have ever seen in my life. We were on it!

We took the open gondola from the parking lot to the base area, where we caught an enclosed gondola up to mid-mountain. From there it was a short lift down and then back up to the top of the next ridge where the Lookout Cabin would be our lunch stop later on. From there we dropped into the trees for another round of face shots on our way down to the high-speed quad on the far right of the mountain. Although not as deep as Powder Mountain, the consistency of the snow this day was absolutely perfect, with a foot of knee deep new snow on top of freshies still left in the trees!

We hit the trees just down from the natural halfpipe while waiting for it to open for a few runs, and then as soon as we saw the open sign we dropped into the trees above the gully. It was sublime! No tracks through the trees as were the first ones down it, and then fresh tracks through the half-pipe as we banked off walls and raced down through the bottom banked slalom section. We were definitely going to do that one again!

In fact, we could have done that run again and again for the rest of the day. But we wanted to explore the rest of the 3,700 acres that make Snowbasin the largest inbounds ski area in Utah. We headed down to a double chair that took us back up to the Lookout Cabin. Unknown to us, we were about to experience one of the best culinary experiences in the Wasatch Mountains. We thought we would just get a quick bite to eat, but when they asked if we had reservations for lunch, we knew we were in for a treat.

After a baked goat cheese appetizer with a real cherry sauce, we feasted on triple-decker gourmet chicken club sandwiches and turkey on rye with homemade cranberry sauce. Are we in heaven? It turns out that they do dinner sleigh rides to the Lookout Cabin nightly, and it is a fantastic place to take the ladies. Note to self…

After lunch we headed over to the middle of the mountain to session some of the other high-speed lifts that service this massive area. It seemed like every run we were getting more incredible untracked powder down through the trees, and I am still not sure what was my favorite. We hit up the 9990 lift for last chair in the afternoon, and got an amazing open powder run down to yet another high-speed quad. Wow!

The general consensus was that we were going to need several more days to explore The Canyons ski resort. It is just too big to hit all in one day. And it is nice that they open at 8:30 a.m., so you can get an early start on a powder day. Next March we are planning on renting a condo nearby with hot tub and bringing the families so that we can fully enjoy our new found powder paradise.

From Park City, it is a short drive to any of 7 ski resorts that allow snowboarding, including The Canyons, Park City, Snowbasin, Powder Mountain, Solitude, Brighton, and Snowbird. Accomodations are inexpensive if you rent a condo with a group, and it would be super fun to bring a crew and hit up some powder sessions together. There is a variety of terrain for all levels, and if the sun shines for a few days we can also pump up some kites and try some snow kiting at Strawberry Reservoir nearby or Powder Mountain’s new dedicated snow kiting area. Let me know if you are interested, because we are going to make this trip an annual pilgrimage.