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Snow Sprayer
from Pennsylvania
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May 9, 2007 |
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Overall Rating: 3.8   |
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Amazing powder, juat like its neighbors, and terrain to match the other cottonwood canyon resorts as well. Brighton's biggest drawback is its lower vertical, but I suppose if you're just there for the powder that doesn't matter very much to you. Friendly personnel overall, and they definitely left a good impression on me. It is definitely worth a return visit, as are any of the other resorts of the Cottoonwood Canyons
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Darryl K. Lewis
from Jamaica, New York
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Mar 22, 2007 |
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| Overall Rating: 4.4 |
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Skitown Review
Ski resort reviews can be helpful only if you know the skill level and skiing perspective of the person authoring the review. My perspective is focused on the actual skiing experience (Terrain/Crowd/snow/factors), and not so much on the ancillary aspects surrounding skiing. I am a middle-age advanced skier with no interest in jumping off cornices or cliffs. I will often at high speeds hit a small lip in the terrain and get a little air, but thats about the extent of it. I venture in and out of moderate mogul fields in an attempt to become a better all-around skier, but I tend not to spend a majority of my ski day dealing with the bumps. If I had to describe the type of skier with which I most closely identify, it would be a high speed cruiser who enjoys medium to giant slalom turns. Three other ski buddies and I just finished a weeks skiing trip in Utah. We skied Alta, Solitude, Brighton, and Snowbird. With that said, here are my impressions of Brighton:
Terrain Rated 5.0:
I must admit that I was all prepared not to like Brighton. I had heard that it was the choice of snowboarders, and visualized it as one big half-pipe and terrain park, where I would be run over by over exuberant riders. Boy was I wrong! The boarders and skiers alike were mannerly and considerate. Some of our best cruising was accomplished at Brighton. We really enjoyed taking the Crest Express lift to the right as you face the mountain, and then hanging a right to access Pacific Highway to Snow Drift. The cruising was so nice we did it twice, but on the next run, we took the next trail past Snow Drift and was able to really crank up some speed and cruise all the way back to the base lodge. We later took the Great Western Express lift on the left in order to access the wide open and steep black and double black terrain. This area of the mountain has sparse vegetation and you can use the small but widely spaced trees as slalom poles. Once again Brighton is a mountain that delivers whatever you want regarding skiable terrain; steeps, cliffs, chutes, cruisers, bowls, and glades. And the view at the top of the Snake Creek Express lift is nothing short of spectacular.
Service Rated 3.0:
The service at Brighton was nothing more or less than you would expect at any decent ski resort. The lifts ran well which is 90% of the ballgame. I had their chili for lunch (again that is nothing unusual for me). It had a good flavor but lacked a chili kick. Interestingly enough, they left solid chunks of tomato in the sauce and didnt pulverize it into mush. With a little more kick it would have been excellent.
Crowds Rating 4.0:
It was a Friday when we skied Brighton. The crowds werent bad. The lift lines were relatively small at the Crest Express lift at the base of the mountain. At lunchtime the four of us easily got seats in the cafeteria.
Activities Rating 5.0:
Brighton has all the amenities for the riders; a monster half pipe, rails, jumps, etcetera, etcetera. The choices of activities are numerous due to the ski areas proximity to Salt Lake City. On our day off from skiing, we shopped, visited Temple Square, Trolley Square, the University of Utah, and toured inner Salt Lake City. We took a short trip to Antelope Island, which is a desert isle in the middle of the Great Salt Lake. We got a chance to view bison (buffalo) in the wild, and was told that 700 head of buffalo roam the island in an unrestricted but natural setting. On Antelope Island we also had the opportunity to sample some buffalo burgers. Although its flavor was different, it really was quite good.
Value: - Rating 5.0:
The Cottonwood Canyons Super Pass allows you to ski Brighton, Solitude, Alta, and Snowbird, at a common but reduced lift ticket price. It also allows you free access on the UTA ski shuttle buses to each of these resorts. In addition, it also gives you free access to the light rail system (TRAX) into downtown Salt Lake City. If you stay at any participating lodging facility (which are quite numerous in the Salt Lake City area), you can purchase your Super Pass right at the front desk. The Super Pass allows you to plan a ski vacation without including the price of a rental car.
In summary, from the pure skiing perspective that I present, Brighton gives everything you could ask from a ski resort. As a matter of fact, this holds true for Alta, Solitude, as well as Snowbird. The sizes of the resorts are the differentiating factors, but you wont go wrong if you choose any one of the four. It is extremely tough to rank them, but if I had to, it would be as follows: #1 Snowbird; #2 Solitude; #3 Alta; and #4 Brighton. If this review was helpful, feel free to consult my reviews of Alta, Solitude, and Snowbird.
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Angie
from Bozeman, MT
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Mar 19, 2007 |
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| Overall Rating: 4.6 |
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I enjoyed the terrain at Brighton and loved the backcountry access gates. Our group had a lot of fun skiing here. This place is what I want from a ski resort, it had all the right factors.
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Trevor Zobell
from Salt Lake City, Ut
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Apr 4, 2006 |
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| Overall Rating: 4.8 |
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Screw Park city, Screw snowbird, its all about the Big B. Their park is amazing, you can ride the park from top to bottom (try doing that at park city) And thiers tons of variety in their park for everyone, lots of rails and kickers and even a wall ride. Everyone says "snowbird is the best for free riding" well i use to think that until i rode a whole season at brighton. There is so much good tree riding at brighton, and the terrain off the milly lift is awsome. Lots of steeps, lots of fun little clif drops and even some bigger clifts if your feeling up to it. Brighotn usualy gets a little bit more snow then little cotton wood canyon and a lot more then park city as well. There is usualy not too many lines, even during the holidays the lines arent crazy, there is maby 5 minuite waits on holidays. There isnt realy any night life up here, so if you come here on vacation and stay at the Brighton Lodge dont expect to find much to do after sking or snowboarding, but they got night boarding, so you can always do that if you are board to tears in your hotel room.
