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Nick
Nick Como
Solitude PR & Marketing Coordinator
Escaped from the NYC skyscrapers
to the ones of the Wasatch. Insists upon pizza & powder
that both are fierce and tasty.
JB
Jay Burke
Director of Mktg. and PR
I've been here long enough to know when it's time to sneak away from the desk.
Caroline
Local SLC resident and Solitude
ripper.
You may recognize her smiling
face on our brochures and billboards.
ABe
Adam Barker
Marketing & PR - Ski Salt Lake
A Utah native all his life. Enjoys a one-dimensional diet of fresh powder and grooms his snow mustache daily.
Michael
Michael Harp
Professional Firefighter for Salt Lake City, currently serving as a media specialist.
A self diagnosed powder hound searching for eternal freshies.
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| Still snowing. Lift upgrades. | Solitude |
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My feet are wet as I write this. Take a look at the date of this post - April 24. My feet should be muddy. Instead it is snowing like Christmas Weeks is about to hit. It isn't even that wet spring slushy wet snow - this stuff is downright blower. It's all out fault it is snowing, you see. Our work crews are out trying to clear snow from around Apex to make way for new lift towers. In case you didn't know - Solitude is replacing the Apex double chair with a high speed quad over the summer. It is just like the minute you finish shoveling the driveway another foot of fresh falls (at least a foot in Utah - less everywhere else). As you can see the chairs and liftline is already down - so take one last look and wish and old favorite goodbye.
Because we love you guys so much, we are also upgrading Moonbeam to a high speed quad this summer also (presently it is a fixed grip quad). Check out these photos taken today of the progress. There will be more info to come one these exciting projects. If you want to keep up with what is happening, this blog act as homebase. You can subscribe to it by clicking the little orange box in the address bar with any web browser or RSS Aggregator.
 | | Nick | 04/24/2008 |
| 569" = 569 memories. | Solitude |
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I think they day was December 7th. That is when it started snowing. Correction: That is when it started dumping! Utah is know for it's great snow cycles, but by definition, cycles begin and end. This season, the snow never stopped, so it wasn't really a cycle - it was more of a deluge. Here we are now in mid-April with 12 or 13 feet of snow on the ground and I can only recall one day that was a non-powder day. Fittingly, I am referring to closing day, which was a classic spring day with alot of sun, fun, BBQ and smiles. If only every season could be this snowy!!
PS - We open for summer the first week of June - Mountain Biking, hiking, brunch, disc golf, etc. The big question is - how much snow will still linger up on the hill? | | Nick | 04/21/2008 |
| Epic!! | Solitude |
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As a skier in the Wasatch the word epic gets thrown around every now and then, especially when it snows a foot or two every other day for over a week. The dictionary describes it as "something beyond the ordinary" and even refers to the word heroic in another description. It is hero snow. When you have guys like me popping 30 footers without hesitation knowing that powder pillows await, or find us flying through cliff bands and trees with reckless abandon, you know something's up. With the powder allowing us to dump speed or turn on a whim, along with over 300 inches of snow filling in the terrain, you now know it qualifies as EPIC. The first of February was the best day one could possibly ask for. Thigh deep powder with freshies at 3 o'clock. Unheard of? Not at Solitude. Enjoy some sun Saturday because the dumping will continue and Monday will be another day like Friday. EPIC P.S. A huge thanks to the Patrol, who somehow have had the ability to open those gates every day this week. You rock.
 | | Mike Harp | 02/04/2008 |
| Home sweet home. | Solitude |
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| The grass is always greener - or so they say. Such was my thinking leaving the snowy Wasatch for a three day trip to another Western state (no, it wasn't Colorado!!). As it turns out the grass isn't greener, the snow certainly isn't whiter and it sure as anything wasn't deeper. While it is great to visit other states, other resorts, ski new terrain and check out new views, but when it comes down to it only one thing matters: SNOW. Simply stated - the Wasatch has it. Other places are fun for a day or two, but the Cottonwoods have the goods - huge snowfall, sweet terrain, plus Solitude's lack of crowds. While I was skiing three day old pow states away, my buddies were blowing my phone up about the 7" of fresh in the Wasatch. As another old adage goes: Fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me. I won't be straying from the 'tude anytime soon in search of greener or whiter pastures. | | Nick | 01/25/2008 |
| Words | Solitude |
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Words can't describe what I experienced the last three days - - each day unique unto itself, but the blizzard of aaahs Sunday was the most amazing. Untracked, untracked, untracked, untracked, untracked, it went something like that. Summit opened to the chosen few, and people called out in ecstasy as we became one with the mountain. As if five runs of untracked didn't spoil me enough, I look over to see the Honeycomb gate open, I couldn't believe my eyes, or my fortune. There were no wrong decisions on where to go because they were all good. The hardest decision of the day was what kind of beer I should order at Creekside during our Après ski meeting. Monday the weather broke for a bluebird powder day, the first in a long while – great for shooting images (see photo). More is on the way they say…. Solitude is mine, and yours if you choose.
 | | JB | 01/08/2008 |
| Another amazing weekend of Solitude | Solitude |
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Another amazing weekend at Solitude. Saturday morning we got over to Solitude just in time for the opening of Honeycomb Canyon! This was my second Saturday at Solitude, and nothing could have made me happier – great snow, no crowds and great friends. We skied run after epic run of sparkling, deep fresh powder underneath perfectly blue skies, seemingly to have the whole canyon to ourselves. My favorite runs of the day were Middle Slope and the Cathedral. Despite my soreness, I had to come back up on Sunday and we headed right back to Middle Slope, which had been fantastic yesterday. The wind had blown over our tracks from the day before making our turns smooth and creamy. After that, we decided to hike Evergreen, and were so stoked to get first tracks down the Ortovox chute. At the bottom, one of my friends exclaimed, “Is this Solitude or is this Alaska?” After a remarkable weekend shredding pow, hitting cliffs, jumps and pillow lines, we all went to grab some food and drinks and watch football at the Thirsty Squirrel. I would highly recommend the Irish coffee to warm up after a cold day. I love all the resorts in Utah, but Solitude is perfect for escaping the Holiday crowds.
 | | Caroline | 12/26/2007 |
| Solitude of Solitude...on a Pow Day. | Solitude |
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| Friday the 18th was super deep, and to my surprise, I found blue skies along with that deep "untracked" Solitude Powder. My only regret...not having my camera to capture the action of another truly remarkable Solitude day. The saying - - "no friends on a powder day" held true, as my buddy realized I still had to pick up my seasons pass. "I'll be on Powderhorn!" he stated, as we both knew deep down we wouldn't see each other for a while (maybe not at all). It was a me day. All about that white fluffy stuff billowing up with every turn. After working every little stash I know off of Powderhorn, around 11:00AM news broke of the Summit Chair opening, I nearly killed myself trying to get there for 1st tracks. You know the rest of the story, it was off-the-hook. I found myself barreling through the Headwall forest with a grin from ear to ear. Run after run of powder hounding had my legs screaming for mercy. I would find myself waiting a few minutes contemplating another ride... then boom, up the lift again for some more. Only at Solitude can you get this kind of quality, and no stress powder day!
More big dumps are on the way, so get your snorkel. | | Michael | 12/23/2007 |
| Honeycomb Canyon - Day 1. | Solitude |
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I woke up this past Saturday morning early to get up to Solitude to ski for a television program being filmed up there. Honeycomb canyon opened for the first time this year. Over the past couple of years of filming and shooting photographs, I have always got the best footage from Solitude, and specifically, Honeycomb canyon. There is no other resort that I know of where you can go days after a storm and still ski a completely fresh, untracked line. And Honeycomb has wide open, low angle powder fields for the intermediate skier, yet also has big cliffs, steep lines and other challenging terrain for the expert skier. The producers were so smart to pick Solitude. We were able to get so much good footage without having to battle any crowds or get early chairs. Every season that passes I am constantly amazed that run after run, I can traverse out to Honeycomb and the only lines I pass are my own!
 | | Caroline | 12/18/2007 |
| First turns of the year (at least, for me) | Solitude |
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| I had a real nice streak going, avoiding those first awkward turns of the season under the guise of too busy with work, gear still in closets, etc. etc. Well, all things must come to an end and I finally made it out onto the hill. Of course, this was under duress, since uhhh I had alot of paperwork to catch up on. But, alas, a Photo of the Day must eventually be taken from up on the mountain. How many times do you guys really want to see a photo of someone eating lunch in the village or a snowman built behind the Inn or whatever inventive photograph I can create? Three turns (telemark turns, to be specific) into the run I should have kicked myself for waiting so long. The coverage was great, the snow quality top-notch and the crowds non-existent. Yeah, pretty much whate very single day is like at Solitude. Mad at myself for becoming one of those "spoiled locals", the kind that only skis pow, made me miss out on at least two weeks of really good skiing. With the Eagle Express running you can get over 1,000 vertical each run. That is certainly enough reason to be out there, making turns top to bottom. See ya on the hill. | | Nick | 12/04/2007 |
| Things Shaping Up Nicely! | Solitude |
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| I'm still the optimist in regard to this winter. Here is a reminder to all, it is only Dec. 1st! We opened Eagle Express today for the season, on par for when we normally open it. We now have 4 lifts open, reported a conservative 5" of snowfall this morning (and it is snowing as I type this). It looks like a storm potentially on the horizon for mid to late next week too - so we are opening ourselves up to some great storm flow, which is NORMAL for this time of the year. It is going to be another great Utah winter! See you soon. | | JB | 12/01/2007 |
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