Review Date
February 10, 2004

Overall Rating
 2 of 5

Value Rating
 3 of 5

Used product for
Once

Visitors rate this review
1.83 of 5, 6 votes

Reviewed by: jahroy, Double Diamond

Price Paid: $0.00

Summary:
overated. what's the point of having light snow when it doesn't stick to anything?

what's the point of having chairlifts if they don't go anywhere near the good terrain and travel at a snail's pace?

i went there the day after a 24 inch storm following a 45 inch week and every inch of that fluffy pow was skiied off. anything steep or rocky had no coverage. it was basically a bump field with a thin layer of dust on the tops of the massive bumps. . . you had to hike to get to anything decent and even there it was nothing but bumps.

Review Date
February 2, 2004

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Value Rating
 5 of 5

Used product for
Countless

Reviewed by: sarcat, Double Diamond

Price Paid: $0.00

Summary:
Alta is were I go 80% of the time. Only when I'm forced to go where snowboards are allowed due to other family memebers do I abandon the home turf.

Review Date
January 16, 2004

Overall Rating
 4 of 5

Value Rating
 4 of 5

Used product for
Once

Visitors rate this review
5.00 of 5, 3 votes

Reviewed by: Latchigo, Double Diamond

Price Paid: $0.00

Summary:
I went to Alta in Olympic year. From a European point of view, Salt Lake City is a place you can get to fairly easily(one change from London). Once you are there accommodation and food are cheap. It's not worth going for one week but it costs in if you go for a fortnight.It's easy to make your own arrangements and better value than the packages on offer from the U.K.
Attractions are :-
1)an alternative to European resorts when snow is poor.
2)Reputation for good snow.
3)A chance to sample US style skiing.
Don't expect hundreds of kilometres of piste - Trois Vallees it ain't. Ditto numbers of lifts. There are not hundreds of them and they are not state of the art French-style things. Think Sauze d'Oux and some of the older kit they have.
Lift ticket is cheaper than a lot of US resorts but not great value by European standards. Snow was good in terms of quantity but I have had better both in Europe and also Canada. I am sure that is just luck of the draw though. I was skiing Alta in March. It may be better earlier.Cottonwood resorts snow was noticeably better than Park City snow.
I had one lesson/workshop for powder. Obviously they speak English so communication can be better than some of the French/Austrian/Italian instructors. Salt Lake city has no central cinema or supermarket where you can buy bits and pieces. It all seems to be in malls away from the centre. I found it easier to get a decent beer in Muslim countries during Rammadan ! Egyptian Stella beer is about 5% and I only found one Egyptian restaurant where beer was not available. In Utah, after you find a place that sells beer it is a devil of a job to find out how strong it is. Off licences close about 10 and do not open on Sundays. They do not sell bottle openers, so bring your own unless you drink beer out of a tin. People are friendly and the city was pleasant if dull. I was worried about getting stuck on a chair with Mormons handing out tracts and trying to preach at me but I never encountered any problems of that sort.
Brighton is a nice little resort if you want to snowboard. I preferred these two to Snowbird & Solitude.
In terms of North America
Banff is cheap but very cold. I had four items on my head at Sunshine Village. Whistler is great especially if you do stuff like Spankey's ladder. Lake Tahoe is livelier than SLC but you have a 4 hour drive from San Francisco.

Review Date
June 3, 2003

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Value Rating
 5 of 5

Used product for
Countless

Reviewed by: yellowcab643, Double Diamond, from SLC, UT, USA

Price Paid: $0.00

Summary:
I started skiing Alta in 1963 with Pete Carlson. I broke my leg in 1969. I met a lot of friends there but I eventually went broke. The skiing is excellent: going faster always and jumping higher. Alta is a good place to meet racers and mogul skiers.

Review Date
January 9, 2003

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Value Rating
 5 of 5

Used product for
Countless

Reviewed by: Altitude, Advanced

Price Paid: $0.00

Summary:
I don't think there is a better place to ski on earth. With its spectacular views, varied terrain, people that run the place and snow (really is the best on the planet)....there is no place like Alta. It is skiers only and the chairs are slower...its a bit of a throwback.. it is simply the most charming place I have ever skied.