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Me and t'missus are considering a return to our favouritest holiday destination, but this time with the sprogs. As before it'll be at Easter, but only for two weeks rather than three.
Given that packing all the required bouldering mats, rack, ropes, skis, boards, tents etc in a free 128kg luggage allowance is no longer a thing; and that there are about 33% less dollars to the pound we're going to have to compromise on how much we take and what we do. Not to mention lift passes at around 300 quid a day (IIRC). Easter is likely too late for proper "best snow on earth" for skiing, but OTOH the full enchilada may equally be snowed in at the top.
1) does anyone know a good place to get the beneficial American ski packages with accommodation and passes included (Colorado or Utah)
2) should we try to do a bit of everything, or prioritise biking or climbing? Seems crazy to go there and not ski....
3) the missus thinks the kids are still too young for stuff like Poison Spider, Portal Trail, Porcupine Rim. Anyone been with 12/14 year old kids?
Any other random input?
Other random input: it's now past Easter and they're only just reopening some of the trails. They don't let you ride if the ground is wet or muddy (because it dries so quickly it's like making clay pot ruts). They've had an unusual amount of snow this year, so next year might be completely different and by Easter more might be open. Check out @moabtrailmix on Instagram for trail condition updates. I'm told Salt Lake City is amazing for skiing, with a bunch of resort/slope options, and usually at its prime in March. Have fun, it'll be amazing whatever you decide on (totally jealous!).
and they’re only just reopening some of the trails.....They don’t let you ride if the ground is wet
Is that the case, is it new? Izzat in Moab or up in the Waasatch? I'm a bit confused. When we went it was thoroughly recommended to ride soon after rain as it made the sand traps rideable. Just realised that i didn't specifically mention Moab, but that is of course the primary destination.
Ooh, I confess I don't know. It's mud they don't want you riding it. See the Moab Trail Mix feed. It makes me laugh because it's so not muddy compared to what we think of as mud, but they're all 'don't ride the mud!' (although the dies-too-quickly-into-solid-ruts thing makes sense). Also Salt Lake Valley Trails Society issues similar notices further north.
I think the trails in the Moab area have been open. They just had Moab rocks out there at the end of March.
Staying in SLC means lots of skiing options from Park City to Big and Little Cottonwood resorts. But the riding will be pretty stunted because of the snow. You could head south to St George, but that's closer to Vegas than SLC.
Moab is close to Colorado and it's probably faster to go from Moab to some skiing in CO than to SLC area. You have Aspen and a few smaller resorts on the western slope. Then Vail further in. Probably around 4 hrs drive from Moab to Vail depending on conditions.
April can be one of the more snowy months in the Rockies. Usually wetter than mid winter. Depending on your skiing level this may be less enjoyable. Think mash potato and glue.
Dunno whether you might just miss the end of the season but if in SLC...
https://www.nba.com/jazz/schedule
I had a couple of weeks once in the Cottonwood Canyons staying in the city and I saw a couple of Jazz games.
Ooh scutler. Spot on, the bigun likes to play b'ball. Every trip we go on he asks if he can take his ball.
I'm intrigued at the Easter ski viewpoints. My key memory from last time was sitting in REI car park in my t shirt and shorts pretty much unable to move as it was so " so hot" . It was 22 celsius. This was just before we headed off skiing for a few days. Fair enough the resorts are loads higher than SLC, but even then it was frozen corduroy in the morning and slush in the afternoon. If I recall it's the only time I didn't even take my gloves with me each day skiing. There was just no way you'd need them.
I think we did park city and canyons in the heat, we got good powder at powder mountain(funnily enough) and snowbasin. Alta and snowboard were somewhere in between, but I think that was two weeks later when my hands needed a rest after three days climbing splitters at Indian Creek without taping up. What a Muppet.
Any preferences for Colorado resorts/ snow over Utah?
I've just recalled the key reason I'm so keen on the skiing...... in bounds off piste..... we're all much more into off piste riding/skiing but I'm aware of the serious risk of doing so on uncontrolled slopes. Fair enough there are itinaires/schiroute in Europe but they tend to get tracked out very quickly and the temptation to go " a bit further to the left" is very strong. I really fancy the idea of a ski area where you can 'safely' go anywhere.
A guy I know rode the Kokopelli Trail last week, and conditions looked good. If you’re not riding Moab, Fruita is also decent - the Kokopelli loop is a nice grade, and the format of the trails makes repeating bits a lot of fun as each trail returns easily enough to the car park.
Not to mention lift passes at around 300 quid a day (IIRC).
Stay away from Park City/Canyons. The rest are more reasonable prices. PC isn't that great anyway, for skiing that is. For the rest, go into local ski shops and you can usually get discount tickets on the day. Multi day deals available in resorts but depends if you're going to do the same ones enough times.
Have found North America lift prices have gone through the roof though. They're way more expensive than the Alps now, yet used to be cheaper.
I've been to Utah in winter loads and always stay in SLC and hire a car. So much good stuff accessible nearby and more with a bit of a drive. On a good day Powder Mountain lives up to it's name, and unlike the Alps you get a lot of good days in Utah. Powder Mountain is mostly in bounds off piste powder fields. Awesome place.
Never ridden there though. There's plenty around the SLC area but you'll need to wait for bike season, aside from the dedicated fat bike trails. They're are *very* protective about their trails though and have strict rules. On snow it has to be specific trails and fat tyres of specific minimum width and max tyre pressure. On regular trails in season you are totally forbidden to ride in the wet. I kid you not! Rule is if there's a slight hint of leaving an impression in the ground you have to go home!
Moab of course is the bigger attraction. Bit of a drive from SLC though, at least for a day trip. Would love to do it. I wonder if Whole Enchilada is a bit touristy now though as it's world famous.
Where do you reckon you'll fly to? SLC is a great hub of course - there's a State Park on the island* in the middle of the Salt Lake, where you can camp and ride trails; as well as Park City and everything else round about. If you want to go to Moab from there it's a lovely drive over the mountains, but you'd want to stay a couple of nights to make it worth it.
Other option I can recommend is Grand Junction in Colorado, although you'll have to change somewhere like Denver. Fruita's great for trails - less gnarly than Moab, but still enough going on to keep you and the kids entertained for riding. Plus there's a lovely drive from there down to Moab, past a ghost town and down a beautiful red canyon.
For me I wouldn't take 12/14 year olds round Porcupine Rim or Poison Spider - I'm about 3x that age and could barely manage them... 😀
But there's enough round there to keep them going - Bartlett Wash is a great slickrock playground, for example.
Where do you reckon you’ll fly to?
Last time we flew to salt lake as we wanted to ski cottonwood etc, but as above, Denver is probably just as close if we skiid Colorado instead. Also I think London Airways flies direct to Denver... and although it pains me to use them it is probably preferable to the pain of changing in Chicago.
Last time we spent a few days bouldering at Joe's Valley on the way to Moab, but wouldn't bother with that next time. Just head straight to Moab for a full week. Perhaps with a brief excursion to Indian Creek if my luggage allowance permits and I can borrow a huge stack of Friends from friends.
I was thinking Porcupine Rim should be ok for the kids as you can shuttle most of the height gain on the road. Would have to be very careful on Portal Trail of course, is it still just two or has the number gone up?
Just back from Fruita and Moab. Loads of biking stuff around Fruita/Grand Junction for families with older kids. Moab is also good for trails with the kids, but I'd seriously reconsider doing Portal, if you do the uplift start at Mag7 it's a loooong hot day. Loads of techy climbing with no water refill. The actual Portal section is not as hard as made out, still VERY exposed and super techy at the bottom, but mostly rideable with common sense.
Whole Enchilada was closed above Kokapelli due to claggy clay like conditions,the section from UPS to the bottom is still an awesome ride though. Some trails are under warning due to high water on the Colorado River (snow melt?).
Give Over the Edge Fruita, Poison spider bicycles, Moab Cyclery, Chilipepper bikes an email for advice and latest conditions, really helpful and friendly.