ok, wife has never skiied before. Alta or Snowbird ? (Park City: rentals, price)

[heydade]

Ok...we are staying in park city but we rented an SUV (23 bucks a day!), so we have no problems driving from park city to the other canyon (cottonwood canyon??) to ski. My wife has never seen snow before, let alone skiied before. The park city resorts are out of the question because there is no way I am going to pay for a 60 dollar lift ticket and only have 4-6 trails open when I can go to snowbird or Alta and have almost the entire mountain open for the same price lift ticket.

So my question to you is this....which resort (alta or snowbird) has the most beginner terrain and good instruction/rentals in which she can enjoy herself ?

thanks..

[Keliko]

I say snowbird, my parents took me there as a child, they have good beginner trails and okay instructors.
Alta just seems to congested all the time, I don't like their runs either.

I love Park City's runs, love it.

[heydade]

thanks. too bad park city only has only 4 runs open as of today. sucks big time. Still amazes me that just a hop and a skip away in a neighboring canyon, Snowbird sits there with 75% of their mountain open and 67 runs open

[easternerDC]

No way on Snowbird. Alta has waaaay better terrain suited for beginners. Snowbird has very few good beginner trails.

Solitude may be another good option. (not sure how many slopes they have open).

[DP525]

Solitude and Brighton are actually a bit closer to Park City. You should check them out also. People around here are very loyal to their local ski areas, kind of like Cubs and White Sox fans. I think any of these resorts will offer some beginner terrain.

BTW, did you say your wife has NEVER seen snow?

[heydade]

Originally Posted by DP525

Solitude and Brighton are actually a bit closer to Park City. You should check them out also. People around here are very loyal to their local ski areas, kind of like Cubs and White Sox fans. I think any of these resorts will offer some beginner terrain.

BTW, did you say your wife has NEVER seen snow?

Yup...can you believe that ? She is from Costa Rica and moved here 12 years ago. She is 30 years old. Time to see some snow !

[cinnabon]

Never having been to either, I would still recommend Brighton or Solitude over Alta or Snowbird, just because they are smaller and more intimate, and probably less intimidating. Snowbird does have a beginner area set off by itself, but I've never seen it first hand - but to approach Snowbird it looks huge, steep and intimidating (I would think), to someone who has never seen snow. What is her attitude about learning - is she nervous?

[heydade]

Originally Posted by cinnabon

Never having been to either, I would still recommend Brighton or Solitude over Alta or Snowbird, just because they are smaller and more intimate, and probably less intimidating. Snowbird does have a beginner area set off by itself, but I've never seen it first hand - but to approach Snowbird it looks huge, steep and intimidating (I would think), to someone who has never seen snow. What is her attitude about learning - is she nervous?

Naah....a little nervous. But she's young, athletic and used to rollerblade a lot, so I'm thinking she should get the hang of it quickly...i hope ! She hates the cold though....I mean hates it. lol

[heydade]

Originally Posted by cinnabon

Never having been to either, I would still recommend Brighton or Solitude over Alta or Snowbird, just because they are smaller and more intimate, and probably less intimidating. Snowbird does have a beginner area set off by itself, but I've never seen it first hand - but to approach Snowbird it looks huge, steep and intimidating (I would think), to someone who has never seen snow. What is her attitude about learning - is she nervous?

I will look into Brighton as well. Thanks for all the help.

[Danielsam]

Hey Heydade, just remember most people here learned to ski as children. Learning as an adult is a different ball game. I learned as an adult on the icy slopes of Maine and I suggest you warn her repeatedly that learning to ski is as frustrating as learning how to golf, except that learning to ski is like getting hit on the head with the driver every time you hit a bad shot. :-).

Now, after 3 painful days I finally loved it.