Oh Solitude. What can I say about you that the hard core Solitude skier will not be mad about? Should I tell them all to stay away? Is that what you would like? Ok, everyone listen up….Don’t go to Solitude! Nah, I changed my mind I am going to tell people what is really up.
So here is the strait talk on the Tude. Yes it is a bit smaller than its neighbors in Little Cottonwood Canyon, but there can be an advantage to being a smaller. Smaller crowds, thats the biggest advantage. On a really busy day, like this past Monday when LCC was closed, you will have massive 5 minute lift lines. On a normal day you ski right onto the lifts, provided you can figure out how to get their retarded lift ticket scanners gates to open.
The terrain at Solitude is a bit shorter than I like, but this is made up for by the fact that most of the good lines hold untracked pow for multiple days. If you are willing to hike you will be able to find fresh snow on fun terrain almost any day of the year. Evergreen, Jim Klem and Fantasy Ridge are all favorites of mine. I am not going to tell you where my number one favorite line is, because I want it to stay fresh for the few days a year I spend at this little gem. If you are looking to scare yourself you definately can on Fantasy Ridge. F*ck, the hike alone would scare the powder cords off of most beaters. Take a look at the photo below.
Solitude gets the same 500+” a year as Alta and Snowbird, but without all the powder frenzies. If you are a ripping rider you will want to spend most of your time on the Powderhorn and Summit chairs and dropping off the backside into Honeycomb Canyon. Check out their website for more info at www.skisolitude.com.
