Utah LCC/BCC April 2024 conditions - Alta, Snowbird, Solitude, Brighton

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Today at Alta/Snowbird was an example of the importance of paying attention to the overnight temps as well as the forecasted daytime temps. It didn't nearly as cold overnight compared to the night before. The Baldy groomers in Mineral Basin were already soft by 9:30am. Yesterday Catherine's at Alta was closed all day. Today the area opened up after lunch. The snow in the afternoon was very nice, soft but not too soft higher up, and never sticky. Since there was cloud cover most of the day, the greens off Sunnyside didn't get sticky either. Patsy Marley was pretty fast around 3:45. Lower Rustler at 4:15 was soft bumps all the way down.

From Alta website on April 19:

 

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The partying for Closing Day at Alta on April 21 will start early today. There wasn't a hard freeze overnight. Once the Wildcat parking lot fills up this morning, it will be closed for the day.

Parking reservations were required for April 21, even though they were not required for April weekends (Fri, Sat, Sun) in general. The Alta website made it clear that carpooling was the best way to spend the day at Alta since the UTA bus from Historic Sandy to LCC stopped running on April 13 and parking reservations would be checked at the entrance to Alta parking lots. Normally license plates are scanned after cars have parked, probably soon after the lifts open at 9:15.

From Alta website on April 21:

 

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Snowbird also has a party planned for this afternoon. Six of Snowbird's 12 lifts will be running, including the two in Mineral Basin and the Peruvian Tunnel (access from the front size to MB). The Gad Valley area closed early for major construction projects for the Mid-Gad food service building and the old Wilbere lift. There is no beginner terrain, which isn't that uncommon after mid-April at Snowbird.

Snowbird has used a mix of free and paid parking for 2023-24, as it has done for a few years. No reservations are required for free parking, which has meant there were times when people drove up some weekend mornings (Friday included) only to find there is no parking available. While Snowbird encourages carpooling, Alta found that requiring parking reservations (free for Alta or Alta/Snowbird pass holders, discounted for people who buy a day ticket) has meant less hassle, more carpooling, and surprisingly more skiers then expected at times. The Alta GM expressed frustration with the Snowbird parking approach in February 2024 at a Town of Alta meeting.

February 19, 2024

Alta town has ‘tenuous’ relationship with Snowbird. Canyon traffic is to blame.

Roadside parking, rush for spots at lower resort negates measures taken by Alta, general manager says.

www.kpcw.org

From Snowbird website on April 21:

 

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Solitude has closed Honeycomb Canyon but has all the other lifts running. According to OpenSnow, the latest storm left 6 inches at Solitude. Temps are supposed to stay mostly in the 30s during the day for the next few days. Sounds like good spring skiing conditions.

Solitude has a spring pass for $399, good from April 1 to Closing Day. They plan to stay open until May 12 at least. Solitude staying open past late April is relatively new. The current COO came from Sugarbush in Vermont. Alterra has enhanced snowmaking infrastructure not only for early season, but also to have a deeper base on core trails for late season. That's a common approach in the east, but not that common in the Rockies.

From Solitude website on April 27