Homestead skiing? vs Utah (Alta?) skiing for new skiing kids
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Anonymous
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Op here: thanks for the feedback and the laughs. I know they are incomparable wrt skiing but I guess I was hoping that we could also have a good time at homestead (pools, movie theater, etc?) and also ski. But if the skiing sucks that bad, we will head to Utah. My husband is a great skier. I am pathetic but can hold my own. My kids are between thrilled and lukewarm about it, but they are both excited about the kids we'll see there...
How does one sign up for half day ski school? Is it appropriate for a 3.5 year old? And is it expensive? Thanks! |
Anonymous
Here you go. http://www.alta.com/the-mountain/ski-school If your friend lives near Alta (which is cool - there aren't very many houses past Snowbird) she must know something about it as well. |
Anonymous
| There is only one place to ski with kids new to the sport. Deer Valley Utah. It's voted number 1 for a reason. The ski school is amazing as is the food on the mountain not to mention Utah is beautiful and everyone who works there is great. Look into it !! |
Anonymous
You just sign up on the day-- it's super easy. About $70 for 1/2 day, as I recall. |
Anonymous
If OP is staying at Alta though I don't think it's worth it to drive to DV every day. |
Anonymous
| My 3 and 6 yr olds started skiing at Snowbird (because we didn't know better) and it turned out great -- because awesome ski school, awesome snow and weather. They came home good skiers. And someone asked about ice -- that's an east coast question. I've never seen an icy ski mountain in Utah or Colorado. |
Anonymous
You are lucky. We go 2-3 times a season and have had plenty of ice. Interestingly Deer Valley has been one of the iciest places we've been in the west. It's well groomed ice, but it's still ice. Jackson Hole has been the least icy but we've mostly been there in March, only once in December and once in February. Alta is usually good. |
Anonymous
I love Deer Valley but Alta tends to get a lot more snow than Deer Valley. dV and Park City just don't get as much snow as the other Utah places. I am going to Utah in a few weeks and am staying in SLC so I can be flexible about where I ski. As a result I have been tracking weather and conditions and Alta has gotten about twice as much snow so far (around 80 inches for Alta vs 40 for DV). DV has some snowmaking but it's hard to make up for all that extra natural snow. Plus OP has a free place to stay at Alta. |
Anonymous
| One of the best days of my life was the day I skied at Alta. |
Anonymous
| My friend has a time share in Park City and says the daycare and ski camp at Deer Valley is good. There are several others...Alta & the Canyons are not beginner's slopes are they? I would totally go to Utah in your shoes. Homestead is great but honestly you can go skating, bowling and ski a crappy East Coast slope any weekend you want. You can also stay in Warm Springs or Douthat State Park cabins and just do the Jefferson Pools and ski slope separately. |
Anonymous
| My kids all learned to ski at Brighton. It's affordable and perfect for kids. You can always drive to Park City for dining/shopping/nightlife. |
Anonymous
I had heard that Brighton was more of a snowboarders mountain. Is it good for skiers too? We went to Solitude last year and I found it to be not great for beginners (but would be amazing for advanced skiers!) |
Anonymous
| There are snowboarders at Brighton which is the one drawback. However, the two easiest lifts have some fantastic runs for beginning skiers. If you are a more advanced skier, there are more adventurous slopes as well. Last time we were there the staff were so efficient and accommodating of our children and everyone had a great time! |
Anonymous
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Another benefit of Brighton is that kids under 10 (!!) ski free.
Family friendly Utah! Foreign to the culture here. |
Anonymous
| What about Solitude? |