Powder Mountain - 2010 Ski Magazine Rating

For the fourth year in a row, Powder Mountain has been rated in the Top 3 for both snow and value. 

The ratings come from a survey by readers. 

2010 Powder Mountain Ratings

# 2 Snow

# 2 Value

#9 Overall Customer Satisfaction – New This Year! 

Davis County Area Skiing & Boarding

The underlined links in the following 3 paragraphs are to videos on YouTube.

Utah has always claimed to have “the greatest snow on earth.” We invite you to find out for yourself. There are two world-class resorts right near Davis County, and several others just a short drive away.

Snowbasin was the setting for the 2002 Winter Olympic Downhill and Super G courses. If you want to see the course for youself, there's a great skier's view video here with commentary. Amazing! Whether you race downhill or not, Snowbasin is a Sun Valley property, so you know you're going to be pampered. What other ski resorts have you been to where the day lodges are carpeted, have expensive chandeliers, delicious food and cozy-leather lounge chairs?

The name "Powder Mountain" is not just a marketing ploy. When the storms roll across the Great Salt Lake, they pick up moisture from the water and freeze it, then dump it on Powder Mountain's slopes. There are rarely lift lines, and there are lots of places to find the untracked stuff. Whether you're shredding the powder, or nailing the half-pipe or terrain park, or skiing it - there's powder for you. You can even take a helicopter to go off-piste, or let their snowcat take you to the powder.

How great are these resorts? Read real reports from real people on TripAdvisor.com

• Snowbasin
• Powder Mountain

To see a couple of slideshows of the two resorts, click below:

• Snowbasin
• Powder Mountain

"The greatest snow on earth"

Skiing Comparison Chart

Utah truly has the greatest snow on earth. Due to the elevation of the ski resorts, when the winter storms come, the snow doesn’t start to melt until mid April. The temperature at the elevations maintain a light fluffy snow which is ideal for powder skiing. The location of the ski resorts are also a key factor. Located on the west side of the mountains, where the airstream flows, the snow dumps heaviest and longest as the storm systems try to clear the wasatch front.

The Layton area is among the closest lodging to Snowbasin, Powder Mountain and Wolf Mountain Family Ski Resort.  Ski or board during the day then walk to all of the restaurants and shops at night.  Both Snowbasin and Wolf Mountain offer lift-served mountain biking and open-air concerts in the summer.

North Salt Lake hotels are right in the middle of Utah’s best resorts - the mid-point between the Cottonwood Canyon and the northern Utah resorts. It is a short drive to Snowbird, Solitude, Alta and Brighton to the south and Powder Mountain and Snowbasin to the north. In fact, Layton hotels are among the closest lodging to Powder Mountain and Snowbasin, which is where the 2002 Olympic downhill racing events were held.

Snowshoeing and cross country skiing in Farmington Canyon is a favorite activity of locals. Stop by local ski shops to learn about conditions and the best trails. If you want to avoid exercise, but love the winter wonderland try snowmobiling. Local businesses rent snowmobiles but first timers should make a reservation with a local outfitter, such as Red Rock Ranch in Huntsville. They specialize in Monte Cristo, Utah’s most popular snowmobiling site. Adventurers may want to schedule a pick-up by Diamond Peaks heli-skiing to discover untracked snow at Powder Mountain.

Park City, famous for Sundance Film Festival, is only a 30 minute drive. Two of the area’s ski resorts, Deer Valley and Park City Mountain Resort, were Olympic venues. If you are headed that way, a stop at the Utah Olympic Park is a must. The park was the 2002 Olympic site for ski jumping, nordic combined, bobsleigh (not bobsled), skeleton (face first) and luge (feet first, singles or doubles) evnets. Take a docent-led tour, watch future olympians practice or try the bobsled out for yourself. Just around the corner, 20 miles to the south is Midway, UT which is where the cross-country skiing events took place during the 2002 Olympics at Soldier Hollow. There is a fun rope-to-fed tubing hill here for families. On your way to the Park City resorts take advantage of another tubing hill at Gorgoza Winter Tubing Park at the east side of Parleys Summit.

See the Area Map for the locations of the resorts.

Click Here to view Mountain Statistics Chart in new window.

This be a photo of Snowbasin!