Salt Lake City
Cradled in a corner of the Rocky Mountains, Salt Lake City combines unparalleled access to "The Greatest Snow on Earth" with all the amenities you would expect from a major metropolitan area. Winter sports enthusiasts can enjoy the four world-class ski resorts: Alta, Brighton, Snowbird and Solitude - during the day; and at night, wonderful hotels, bars, and restaurants that cater to every wallet and gourmet taste.
Utah Travel Connection offers a variety of private homes and condos to suit your Utah ski lodging needs. If you are searching for Salt Lake City Lodging, we can provide properties at the mouth of the Cottonwood Canyons with quick access to Alta, Brighton, Solitude, and Snowbird.
For your ski-in/ski-out needs we offer Snowbird ski accommodations at any of their four lodges, including the Iron Blosam, the Inn, the Lodge at Snowbird, and the Cliff Lodge. Click here for Snowbird ski lodging and packages.
Alta, Brighton, Solitude, and Snowbird are all located within a 30 minute drive from Salt Lake City and the Salt Lake International Airport. This gives you an opportunity to have a morning flight and an afternoon ride skiing or snowboarding on over 500 inches of dry, light, Utah powder.
Utah Powder
A typical Wasatch storm develops off the Pacific Ocean. When it hits the Sierra Nevada Mountains, the snow that falls contains about 10 percent to 12 percent moisture density. When it hits Utah, it has crossed the Great Basin with an average snow density of 8.5 percent. Utah may not have the most or the driest snow, but it is a unique blend of consistency and abundance that creates "The Greatest Snow on Earth."
"The best deep-powder skiing is not found in the lightest snow but rather in snow with enough 'body' to provide good flotation for the running ski," said Ed LaChappelle. The American avalanche researcher, glaciologist, mountaineer, skier, author, and professor worked as a snow ranger for the Forest Service in Alta, Utah, in the '50s.
There is also the Lake Effect. Storms move in warm and wet from the west and north, recirculate and suck up moisture from the Great Salt Lake, then beeline for the frigid jagged peaks of Alta, Brighton, Solitude, and Snowbird, ringing out several feet of fluffy flakes to create that bottomless sensation. You get high density snow underneath low density powder so your skis float rather than bog in conditions like that infamous Sierra Cement.
But what does this powder mean for your vacation? It means that the snow that you ski on will be fresh, no more than minutes, hours, or days old. At some areas in other states, the same meager snow is groomed day after day causing it to become hard and icy. Utah powder falling regularly means that soft pillowy snow is lightly groomed into soft corduroy. This softer snow is easier to carve in, easier to slow down and stop in, easier to ski, and a lot more forgiving to falls. It's a rare occasional that you will hear the screeching, icy scratches that changes your day into damage control rather than bliss.
