#23: Powder Mountain
Subsequent up on this record we transfer to Utah’s Powder Mountain, which might be the strangest vacation spot mountain in North America by quite a few measures. The resort affords an upside-down format, important restrictions on day by day carry ticket gross sales, and an marketed 8,464-acre footprint, making a stark distinction from almost each different mountain on this record.
Powder Mountain’s low resort site visitors leads to among the greatest snow preservation of any ski resort we’ve ever tried, and recent snow can keep untracked for days. As well as, carry strains are primarily non-existent, even throughout peak instances.
Nevertheless, Powder Mountain’s quirks aren’t all constructive. First off, the resort’s acreage claims don’t maintain as much as scrutiny, with lower than a 3rd of the marketed footprint accessible by way of carry service to the general public. As well as, Powder Mountain lacks a coherent snowmaking system, and mixed with a reasonably low base elevation, early and late season operations will be hit and miss. And whereas carry strains are by no means a difficulty, Powder Mountain’s on-mountain infrastructure is considerably behind the instances, with gradual lifts in sure areas and restricted on-mountain services.
Lastly, Powder Mountain has launched some pretty controversial updates for this upcoming season. The resort is increasing its lift-served footprint and upgrading its historic Paradise carry to a high-speed quad, however it’s additionally closing a couple of terrain zones to the general public and reserving them solely for householders. Regardless of some enhancements inside different areas of the resort, this transfer to a semi-private mannequin is not going to sit nicely with those that beforehand appreciated the down-to-earth vibe of this Utah resort.
Powder Mountain nonetheless has a whole lot of distinctive advantages, however its restricted facilities, less-than-perfect reliability, and difficult-or-impossible entry to a lot of its marketed footprint harm it towards a lot of the U.S. resort crowd. Moreover, Powder Mountain’s empty slopes include a steep value: 1-day grownup carry tickets begin at $156, and through peak instances, good luck getting one for lower than $200. The resort is not on any multi-resort go merchandise, so sadly, there’s no solution to get round this exorbitant value of entry.
1-Day Ticket Vary (Core Season):
Grownup 19-64: $109-$219
Youngster 5-12: $92-$202
Teen 13-22: $92-$202
Senior 65+: $92-$202
Youngster 0-4: Free
Cross Choices: