Terrain	5.0
Service	4.3
Crowds	4.7
Activities	4.7
Value	5.0
Overall Rating	4.7

3 Viewer Reviews

Darryl K. Lewis from Jamaica, New York	Mar 22, 2007
Overall Rating:  4.4

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 that’s 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 week’s skiing trip in Utah. We skied Alta, Solitude, Brighton, and Snowbird. With that said, here are my impressions of Solitude:

Terrain – Rated 5.0:
Steeps, cliffs, chutes, cruisers, bowls, and glades, whatever you want regarding skiable terrain, Solitude has it. And then, there is Honeycomb Canyon! When we visited Solitude we were blessed with about a foot of fresh snow that fell the previous night. It was during the mid-week so it was easy to get first tracks almost anywhere. I enjoyed a steep cruising trail called “Challenger.” It could be accessed from the “Eagle Express” lift. The “Sunshine Bowl” can also be accessed from the “Eagle Express” and is a long and relatively steep intermediate bowl. What’s great about Solitude is that if you take the “Powderhorn” lift and head right onto the “Eagle Ridge,” you can drop into of multitude of expert/advanced terrain as you head down to the upper drop-off point of the “Eagle Express” lift. And then there is “Honeycomb Canyon!” On our second day at Solitude we watched skiers climb the cliffs to access the several steep chutes above Honeycomb Canyon (did you notice I said we “watched”). The climb was long and we got tired of waiting to see the results, so we skied the catwalk and dropped into Honeycomb Canyon. There were steep sections and some had moguls but the view and skiing experience was amazing. Even after two days at Solitude there was still terrain that we neglected to ski.

Service – Rated 3.0:
I am perplexed and confused regarding the real face of Solitude with regards to customer service. We skied Solitude on two separate days, and on the first day we got off the bus and found our own way to the “Moonbeam Lodge.” On the lower level we found a small and cramped locker facility with no benches for changing into ski boots and etcetera. Upstairs there was one bathroom accommodating both men and women and you had to wait for one to finish before gaining access. We experienced fresh snowfall the night before and when we boarded the chairlift the lift attendant failed to remove the snow off the seat. Our rear-ends were immediately soaked as we rode up to the summit (good thing the sun came out later on and dried our butts). On the second day that we skied Solitude, a resort customer service representative directed us to an adjacent building with a very adequate locker room facility and large segregated rest rooms for men and women. We were standing at the base and looking at a trail map attempting to plan the route we intended on skiing, when a roving customer service rep asked if he could answer any questions. We told him where we wanted to go and he gave us extremely helpful hints in circumventing some flat areas that required skating and poling. My question is, which day reveals the true Solitude approach to customer service? I had chili for lunch and the one thing that Solitude can’t produce is a good bowl of chili. The dish that I had looked and tasted like two-day old refried beans with no meat. On the first day I was recommending a “2” rating with regard to service, but on the second day the customer services jumped to a “4”. So what did I do? I split the baby in half and gave it a “3.” I am hoping the second day’s visit was the norm, and the first day’s visit was the exception.

Crowds – Rating 4.0:
On a beautiful mid-week powder day we had virtually no lift lines and wide open spaces to ski.

Activities – Rating 5.0:
Solitude doesn’t have a half-pipe, but it does have a small terrain park. The choices of activities are numerous due to the ski area’s 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 Solitude, Alta, Snowbird, and Brighton 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, Solitude gives everything you could ask from a ski resort. As a matter of fact, this holds true for Alta, Brighton, as well as Snowbird. The sizes of the resorts are the differentiating factors, but you won’t 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, Brighton, and Snowbird.

Tony Hynes from Newport Beach	Jun 20, 2006
Overall Rating:  4.8

Great value and absolutely no lift lines (don't temm anyone).

c mitchell from cedar hills UT	Sep 4, 2005
Overall Rating:  5.0

I LOVE THIS RESORT!!!!!!!