in SLC without a car

CantDog's thread got me thinking that I should start figuring out what I'm going to do in about 3 weeks....

Jan 1-10, I will be in a combination of Jackson and Utah, my brother will be with me, so I'll have a car then. But, when he leaves, I'll either have to stay in SLC with no car or go home with him. My hope is that I can strech the trip for another week or so because I don't particularly care to ski in MN, when I could be elsewhere.

The car thing is either the issue or non-issue... If I stay in SLC, I'm guessing it'll probably be the most accessible area to be in (as far as ease of getting around and home and as opposed to someplace like Jackson), but having never been there, I don't really know. For people who live there, how much a problem is it? Are there a lot of shuttles, etc? Also, wtf am I going to do with my gear and everything when I go home? I can only take so much on a plane or greyhound. Anyone in the area want to volunteer to babysit a pair of skis or two for a month and a half? Renting a car is out because I'm under 25 and the rates are too high...

Stay at the hostel in the village.
walk to tram.
walk to liquor store.
walk to Moose.
Want to goto town?...try the bus.
take Alltrans to SLC airport.
Fly home.

No car needed.

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Originally Posted by Stanley

Stay at the hostel in the village.
walk to tram.
walk to liquor store.
walk to Moose.
Want to goto town?...try the bus.
take Alltrans to SLC airport.
Fly home.

No car needed.

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You mean take Alltrans to JAC airport? Right?

Or stay at the Best Western in Sandy, free breakfast, city bus to either canyon, walk to grocery, liquor and restaurants, free beer at end of day. bus to airport.

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Originally Posted by iceman

free beer at end of day. .

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HUH?

where?

At the Best Western on like 9600 south, they have a "Manager's Reception" in the late afternoon every day, free beer and wine for an hour or so.. At least they used to a couple years ago.

City buses run every 15 minutes to all 4 BCC/LCC resorts. The light rail system TRAX runs down the center of the city and has a stop at 7200 South, which is where one of the ski bus stops is. This means you can ride the train to the ski bus stop and back from downtown with no mountain driving.

As for accomodations/nightlife, I'd recommend staying in downtown SLC since there are a plethora of clubs, bars, and restaurants to keep you entertained apres-ski. Your nightlife options are rather limited in Sandy (Sandy Station/Club 90 anyone? :rolleyes: )

You can stash your skis etc. in my garage if you want.

Don't they have dorm rooms at the Peruvian? That might be pretty cost-effective.

edit: yup, $782 for five nights or $1049 for seven nightd gets you a bed, three meals (GOOD meals) and and Alta passes for every day.

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Originally Posted by boarderline

You can stash your skis etc. in my garage if you want.

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Cool, I may take you up on that offer, maybe put my touring stuff there for a month or so. I'm coming back for spring break, so I can grab them then... I'll let you know when the time gets closer.

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Originally Posted by Mcwop

You mean take Alltrans to JAC airport? Right?

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Nope, Alltrans goes to SLC airport.
http://www.jacksonholealltrans.com/jacksonholebus/

Stay as close to Big & Little Cottonwood Canyons - somewhere on Ft. Union Blvd. (which is the road up BCC). The UTA Ski Bus is pretty reasonable, and riuns all the time both directions, with bunch of buses. I think you can buy a bunch of Ski Bus tickets beforehand (when you have use of a car), so you won't have to scrounge for money in your pockets in the morning on a moving bus. Check out the motels with an extensive Continental breakfast (croissants, bagels, oatmeal, etc.), but the full breakfast at Alta is not that much (me and all my friends did it a bunch of times, waiting for the first chair on two to three feet, sweet steep-and-deep). For lunch at Alta, I get the baked potato with lots of sour cream and lots of butter (under $5) - Snowbird and Solitude gets kind of pricey for lunch.

I think Homewood Suites (Ski Bus stop right across the road) on Ft. Union (it's north of Ft. Union but spitting distance - north - from I-215). It has a full kitchen, microwave, dishwasher, fridge, etc.), get a room as close to Wasatch Blvd. (south-east) as possible. You can check out this website: www.skiutah.com and get lodging in SLC, within your means. Either Midvale, Sandy, or southern SLC. I got to Snowbird (Tram entrance) taking the Ski Bus within 20 minutes, but that's early (cold and dark) and the bus was a quarter-full. I once did it in my rental car in under 10 minutes to the Tram - put on boots, pack, poles, skis, and locked the car. I know how to drive in snow, because I used to live in Boulder, CO for ten years (black ice, ice, mush, deep slush, steep hills, deeer, elk, etc.)

Getting to Brighton by Ski Bus takes at least 50 minutes, with little traffic on the road - you pass by Solitude on the way up and Brighton is a long way up from Solitude. Brighton reminds me of Arapahoe Basin or Loveland (CO). So if you want to maximize your skiing time, don't go. But do go if it dumps and is snowing all day - some powder stashes haven't been trashed. I only go to Solitude because of Honeycomb Canyon, and the trees off of the highest summit chair. Alta and Snowbird are pretty close to home ground for me - I ski those two as often as possible - me and my friends take off for two weeks over Christmas, last Christmas was EPIC! But all my friends pussied out for one damned reason after another.

The Lift House (Wasatch Blvd. & BCC road) has discount tickets (not Alta) - it opens at 8:00 AM. Get discount tickets when you have use of a car. But at the Hostel downtown - you're going to add at least 30 minutes (stopping, picking up people, etc.). It's not as convenient as the Hostel in Jackson Hole - but where else is in the West?

Have fun -

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Originally Posted by iceman

Don't they have dorm rooms at the Peruvian? That might be pretty cost-effective.

edit: yup, $782 for five nights or $1049 for seven nightd gets you a bed, three meals (GOOD meals) and and Alta passes for every day.

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But they add on Lodging Tax and Service Charge, almost at 25 percent. But the closest lodge is Goldminer's Daughter, walking distance (50-70 feet) to Wildcat Base.

Hmmm, 10 minutes to the Bird, 50 minutes to Brighton, and Alta is a mile up the canyon... It's been a while since you've been here, hasn't it?

BobMc