Report from Tuesday, January 9, 2024
After a wet and warm start to the winter season in New England, I finally decided it was time for a BIG change of scenery. The Cottonwood Canyons have been on my bucket list for some time now, so it seemed only right to spend a week chasing storms around the four Big and Little Canyons resorts. With a few inches of new snow over the past few days and a 135″ season total, Solitude Mountain, Utah, seemed like a great way to start a week-long trip.
Solitude was high on my list after hearing so many good things from friends and family who have found themselves there in previous winters. Solitude sits in the Big Cottonwood Canyon, and parking was not an issue at 9:30 AM the morning we arrived (carpool with 4+ people for free parking.) Clouds had started to set in for a gnarly storm cycle forecasted to drop FEET of snow over the following few days. With 1,200 acres of skiable terrain and half of the terrain being expert, I knew I was in for a great Tuesday.
We started our day by taking some laps on Eagle Express, the six-pack on the skier’s left side of the mountain. There’s nothing like soft bumps on steep terrain to warm your legs up for the day. We found Inspiration to be our favorite run in that terrain pod. The mix of blue and black-rated terrain off that lift was quite fun to lay edges into, and the snow was soft and carvable.
After bumping around for some of the morning, we ventured to the Summit Express via Powderhorn II. This is where Solitude showed off its best terrain. Both sides of the lift provide access to phenomenal steeps, trees, and wide-open bowls. Our first lap brought us to Black Forest, a mix of glades and wide-open steep terrain, depending on how far you’re willing to traverse. There were still plenty of pockets of fresh snow throughout, providing some exquisite turns that left me wanting more.
Some other highlights from the summit included the headwall forest. Steep and deep was the name of the game on this trail, with a fun mix of trees and tight turns to keep the adrenaline pumping. This is where we found some of the best snow on the mountain, and as the day went on, the refills started coming in.
Though all of Solitude’s 82 trails were not open due to snow depth and avalanche conditions, there were many opportunities to explore and see this place’s potential on a powder day.
Trees and sheep aren’t your speed? Solitude has a great mix of beginner and intermediate-groomed terrain within the resort’s boundaries to scratch the itch and some steeper groomers to satisfy a need for speed.
Express lift access and a few midweek lines keep terrain accessible, and there’s always something new just a bit further down the traverse. Though I showed up just as the next storm cycle was starting, things are looking quite promising for the opening of even more terrain. The weatherman is calling for 4-5 feet over the next week, and I think Solitude will be the place to be. Hopefully, the new snow is enough to open up more terrain off the summit, like the Honeycomb Chutes and Black Bess Chutes.
I’m incredibly grateful for the opportunity to check out Solitude. As a New Englander, it isn’t all that often that I get to hot lap steep trees and a whole bunch of natural snow. I’m looking forward to the next time I can get here, hopefully with even more snow, to check out more terrain and have even more fun.
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