Snowboarding Trip Planning

If you are fortunate enough to live in an area that lists winter sports among the many forms of recreation available, then congratulations. It really would be nice to not have to spend any more time planning a snowboard outing than, say, a round of golf.

For the rest of us, a trip to the mountains has more in common with a military mobilization - especially when more than just a few family members are involved. A lot of time, money, and energy is required to make it happen. A little research and planning goes a long way toward minimizing the resources required and maximizing your enjoyment. I can tell you this: Utah is tough to beat. There is a staggering number of resorts within a very short drive from the airport. In many cases, you don't even need to rent a car. Utah gets a lot of snow, unless it's a bad year for precipitation.

Does the resort allow snowboarding?

If you study the history of snowboarding you will discover that, in the beginning, it was not at all welcome at nearly all major resorts. Fortunately, those days are almost history. Almost is the keyword here because some North American resorts still do not allow snowboarding. Take Park City Utah, for instance. This is one of the most incredible areas you can possible visit, in my opinion. This easy to get to town (a one hour Interstate ride from Salt Lake City airport) serves THREE huge resorts. However, one of the resorts, Deer Valley, bans snowboards. See what I mean? Fortunately you are still welcome at the other two resorts, Park City Mountain Resort, and The Canyons.

Steepness and/or flatness of terrain

Unless you're an advanced rider, you will want mountains with lots of "intermediate" terrain. Some mountains do not lend themselves to snowboarding very well. If the resort you're considering bills itself as popular with the "steep and deep" club, look elsewhere. Snowbird Utah comes to mind here. I hated that mountain. All the blue runs were terrifyingly steep. The greens on this mountain would be rated blue anywhere else. To make it even more difficult, the various sections of the mountain were interconnected by miserably flat, narrow, and long cat tracks.

Some of the popular skier's guide books are starting to evaluate resorts from a snowboarder's perspective. Ski America is a good one and a new version is published each year. Another way to evaluate resorts is to call local snowboard shops and ask them which resorts the locals like to ride. This only works if there are several resorts in the area.

Local transportation

To save money and headaches, look for resorts that provide transportation. Many resort towns, even small ones, have invested in public transportation. One of my most memorable, and least expensive, vacations involved staying in Midvale, Utah (a suburb of Salt Lake City) and riding the city bus system back and forth to the ski area each day. We also could ride the light rail downtown if we wanted to. Sometimes the condominium management will provide on-demand transportation. We stayed at a really nice condo in Crested Butte and the condo provided vans to take you anywhere you wanted to go for free.

Staying there

My choice is always to stay as close to the slopes as possible. To me, vacation time is extremely valuable so it's often worth the extra money to stay close by. Ski areas rate their lodging as "ski in/ski out" if it's truly slope side accommodations. You will pay dearly for this especially during peak season. The best values are usually just out of walking distance but only a very short ride on the local bus system. Check a recent copy of Ski America for tips on lodging.

A word about "Central Reservations": Every major resort area has a local booking agency that can provide one-stop shopping for your entire trip. When I've used these I've had good experiences. I could be dead wrong about this but I think the booking reps work on commission. Once you're on the phone with these folks you may be persuaded to make a decision, pay for it way, way in advance, and even to buy things you may not really need (like trip insurance). On the two occasions I've used reservation services, problems and/or disputes arose. On both occasions, my issues were resolved by a supervisor.

Once you "know" an area, I think you're better off booking directly with the property management. You may find a discount available for doing so. Reservation services will try to make you think they're getting you a major discount on lift tickets. In reality, discount lift tickets are generally available many places in the resort town - maybe even at the front desk at your hotel or condo.

A Cheap Snowboarding Vacation!

If you live west of the Mississippi, check this trip out: Fly to Salt Lake City, hire a cab to take you to Days Inn Midvale, ride the city buses up to Brighton and Solitude each day.

Destination Airport: Salt Lake City. SLC is a major hub for American Airlines and Frontier Airlines. Flights into SLC are cheap and plentiful from other major Western airports. Don't bother with a rent car. Hire a cab to run you out to the hotel then use the excellent public transportation.

Destination Hotel: Days Inn - Midvale. This inexpensive hotel is situated next to one of the city's transit centers. From there you can catch the frequent ski-area special buses up to Brighton, Solitude, and Snowbird. For other entertainment board the light-rail train into downtown Salt Lake City. Several decent restaurants are within easy walking distance.

Destination Resorts: Brighton, Solitude, Snowbird (and Alta too but Snowboarding is forbidden). Brighton and Solitude are run by the city meaning inexpensive lift tickets. They are small resorts but very fun, friendly, and great for snowboarding.