Snowbasin (Utah)
We went in March 2021 and stayed at an AirBnb in Huntville, UT which provided convenient access to both Snowbasin and Powder Mountain. Spring skiing. Corn. No snow all week. Still had a blast. Great mountain with a lot to explore through the gates of the six peaks. Powder must take it to another level. Parked in Wildcat parking lot once we had our passes. Easy access in and out. Here are some of the lifts and lines that were memorable, intended for experienced skiers.
Conditions are always changing but for what it’s worth:
SKIING AT SNOWBASIN:
Strawberry Gondola offers a beautiful panoramic view of the city of Ogden at the top.
Lone Tree - Turn right off of lift. 30 second bootpack climb. Traverse. We skied skier’s right of Lone Tree. It’s steep but manageable and a ton of fun. The 10 year old who went ahead of us definitely helped with confidence. Rocks line the center strip. I was told you can hike behind/beyond Lone Tree and ski down into Middle Bowl and Needles Cirque. Easier to access from Strawberry as opposed to anywhere else.
Sisters Bowl - Easy entry into 2nd of 3 gates from Elk Ridge on skier’s right. Traverse and drop anywhere hugging the red signs along skier’s right back to Strawberry Base. Sam and I entered the 1st gate (hike) on our last day and hiked up about 2-3 minutes. Dropped in with some air following a skier and snowboarder ahead of us. Traversed past avalanche beacon check and found a beautiful chute. Hiked 20 minutes up the chute and skied down in knee high powder.
Needles Lodge
Great outdoor dining area. We brought our own lunches. Not sure if it was only allowed because of COVID but beautiful views of Lone Tree, Middle Bowl, Cirque, and Needles Cirque. Only two lifts reach this lodge: Needles Gondola and Middle Bowl.
Porcupine
Explored gates to either side on solo day and had fun.
John Paul Express / Allen Peak Tram
Top of tram has access to chutes off Mt Ogden Bowl as well as bowls off No Name Peak. We skied the Olympic Grizzly Start which was just a skied out mogul run due to conditions. Entered lower gate into Mt. Ogden Bowl and had some fun.