Average of 10 Reviews
All User Reviews
gunsight, baldy, sooooo much terrain. get there!
The best thing about Alta is the amount of skiable acres it has, and the amount of variety it offers. You can find anything from easy cruising groomers to narrow steep chutes, and you don't even have to look. It's very easy to spot all kinds of different runs that you can go down when riding the chairlifts up. The good news is that you don't have to look very hard for a fun run on a powder day. The bad news is noone else does either. I spent two days at Alta and there were still so many areas I did not get a chance to explore due to it's size.
For advanced skiers, the Supreme lift offers a lot of steep areas that are a little less tracked. The Wildcat lift also serves up some really fun tree runs. This was my favorite area and my only regret was not discovering it sooner. Devil's castle off of Sugarloaf is a huge area that would be amazing on a powder day. The only downside is the entire area is easily viewable from the chairlift, so any untouched snow gets tracked fast.
If you're a beginner or intermediate, don't worry because Alta has plenty of cruising groomers to keep things exciting. Most of the green runs are served by the Sunnyside lift, but there's plenty of blue terrain coming off most lifts. This is very different from Snowbird, where it felt like every run coming off a chair lift was a black diamond.
The atmosphere has a very family oriented feel. The prices at the restaurants are reasonable. The view is exceptional.
The main downside to Alta is the tendency to be busier than the other Cottonwood Canyon ski resorts due to a combination of being cheaper than snowbird, is bigger and more well known, and is more family friendly. If you're skiing in Utah over a weekend, my suggestion is to avoid Alta on Saturday and try out one of the other less busy resorts.
If you're going to Utah for a ski vacation, this is definitly a place you will want to commit some time to. Warning to people with snowboarders in their group though, Alta is still a skiers only mountain.
reviewed August 2, 2009 at 11:06 pm But what sets it apart is the quality of the snow...light and dry and perfect if you like soft bumps and light crud.
Also sweet that there are no snowboarders allowed, and the partnership with Snowbird is nice as well if you want to mix it up over a four or five day ski trip to Little Cottonwood Canyon.
Alta shares a lot of similar qualities with its neighbor Snowbird. I personally prefer Snowbird overall though Alta has some excellent expert terrain as well. For beginners and intermediates, they maybe do more top-to-bottom grooming than Snowbird does. I think their demo shop has more brand diversity than Snowbird's and they have a mid-mountain swap station. I saw some Head, Black Diamond, Atomic, Fischer, etc. skis. Snowbird's Creekside and Snowbird Sports only carried Dynastar skis.
I always get to ski here the last weekend it's open for the season, and it is a darn shame to walk away knowing there is all that snow and no way to go back tomorrow. Fun parties at the end of the year, laid back lifties. Not somewhere I would bring beginners.
reviewed September 3, 2009 at 9:20 pm The main beefs I have with Alta are: Season pass is $$$. Too much traversing to get to terrain. There is no snowboarding at Alta. And the fact that you may have to take a rope tow for a mile to get back to your car at the end of the day if you forget where you parked. ;)
