Within 40 minutes of Salt Lake City Airport, Utah plays host to seven major ski resorts. That’s seven big incentives to plan a trip north later this year, writes Thomas Bywater.

“Hello!”

“Welcome home, Elder Price!”

The concourse of Salt Lake City Airport might be the most overwhelmingly upbeat arrivals hall in the world. Each year, around 50,000 disciples of the Church of Latter-day Saints depart on mission through these halls.

The net result of this is that inbound travellers, turning right at “Nothing to Declare”, are met with a wave of positivity. There is a near-constant stream of returning Mormon missionaries.

It’s a bit like the finale of Love Actually except, instead of a montage of many small airport encounters, it’s one big wall of reunion. The extended family and church congregation are there to welcome the flock home with banners and balloons. Utah makes quite a first impression.

Arriving in early March, there were two clear demographics at the carousels of SLC arrivals. Those not wearing missionary garlands bypassed the reunions, heading straight for the ski conveyor belt.

Every winter Northern Utah and Salt Lake City in particular has become a mecca for the devotees of snow. Well-timed arrivals at the airport can be away, snowboard in hand, and have uplift on a chairlift within 45 minutes of touching down - providing a particularly large LDS congregation didn’t come in just before you.

The Great Basin, at the top of the American Midwest, is a place few Kiwis find themselves by accident.

It’s here at Utah’s Bonneville Salt Flats that 68-year-old Burt Munro came in 1967 to set the world land speed record on the “World’s Fastest Indian” motorbike. Three decades later, it’s also where the New Zealand Winter Olympics team would journey for the Salt Lake Games. Though with slightly less success than Burt.

I was not going to be breaking any records. Neither was I paying a visit to the Tabernacle of Salt Lake Temple, but I was there for a pilgrimage of sorts. I was here to search for the fabled Salt Lake snow and visit as many of the city’s ski fields as possible.

Every winter that basin fills with some of the finest powder snow on Earth. Thanks to the neighbouring salt flats, high altitude and ridges of the Wasatch Range, Utah sees “Lake Effect Snow” falling reliably on the local ski fields. And there are a lot of ski fields.

Within 40 minutes of the airport are seven major ski resorts.

From the imposing Cottonwood Canyon to the cruisy pistes of Park City that drop down into the historic high street, there’s a lot to unpack.

Alta or Snowbird: Which is the best Little Cottonwood Canyon ski resort?

The granddaddy of Utah’s snowsport scene - Alta is one of the last ski-only resorts in America. The routes on Mt Baldy have been hallowed ground for “ski purists” since the 1930s when the Utah Winter Sports Association started using surplus mining tramways to ferry people up the mountain. The Cottonwood Canyon makes for imposing terrain, with granite crags adding to the challenge. With less than 15 per cent of the resort graded Green “easy”, it’s not the immediate go-to for beginners.

There is, however, some exceptional backcountry skiing and colourfully named couloirs - “Elephant Butt Rock” for one. Check your travel insurance and prepare for some squeaky-cheeks riding.

Snowboarders don’t despair - the other side of Mt Baldy is Snowbird, Cottonwood’s other premiere ski field. Snowbird is larger, and far more generous with groomed ski piste. Yes, all snowsports are welcome here.

The focal point of the resort is the enormous Snowbird Tram. Built by Swiss engineers Garaventa, the gentle giant is capable of fitting more than 100 passengers. Despite this mammoth uplift, queues are tediously long for the 10-minute ride but worth the wait. Serious Clint Eastwood Where Eagles Dare vibes.

There are some other engineering marvels to be discovered across the resort, including the 180 m-long Peruvian Tunnel. Excavated directly through the mountain ridge, the tunnel connects the Cottonwood Canyon to the Mineral Basin via “magic carpet” conveyor belt. Decorated with knick-knacks from the area’s mining history, and the odd plastic packhorse, the effect is a strange meeting of supervillain’s lair, museum exhibit and Disney fun ride. It’s a ski world after all?

With 140 runs, versus Alta’s 116, there is also a much more generous provision for learners, with lessons for ski and snowboarders aged 3 and over from the Bryce Astle Training Centre and Snowbird Centre.

One thing to note: It’s not unheard of for Little Cottonwood Canyon to be closed by avalanche danger. Avalanche mitigation closed the road 32 times last season. Ski schools are very accommodating if access is cut off but be sure to check road conditions before setting off and make some backup plans.

Solitude or Brighton: Honeycomb and Big Cottonwood Canyons

Another pair of neighbouring ski fields at the other end of the Cottonwoods is the homely Solitude and Brighton.

Despite its proximity to Salt Lake City and the upmarket private residencies of Cottonwood Heights - including a concrete monstrosity locals lovingly refer to as “Post Malone’s Bunker” - the Big Cottonwood Canyon is seemingly a world away, inside the national park boundaries.

Brighton and Solitude both offer a casual, family-friendly set-up. Their location in the Wasatch National Forest means they have resisted some of the megastructures and developments at the other resorts. At just under 500ha each, both ski fields would comfortably fit in the boundary markers of Snowbird. They’re smaller than some of the other Salt Lake ski fields but perfectly formed.

There’s a surprising amount of terrain to explore at each. Brighton is your cruisy all-family crowd-pleaser, whereas Solitude offers this and opens on to some challenging backcountry terrain.

At Solitude, pistes are groomed to fine corduroy sweeps. Eagle Ridge swoops down the side of the Powderhorn with cascading choices of black and blue runs. Solitude gains a slight advantage over Brighton in terms of skiable terrain, backing on to the Honeycomb Canyon - when weather allows.

The generous snow season has seen extra avalanche mitigation works, keeping mountain patrols busy and Honeycomb closed until late in the day. The day we were there was no different, with the final charges detonating at 2pm. Like a starter pistol, the canyon was quickly filled with skiers, given two hours to explore the ungroomed canyons. There was no danger of it being skied out.

The lack of high-speed lifts back out and the long journey to the top of Summit Express means just getting into the Honeycomb Canyon is an effort, though one worth making. Riders must savour every turn.

Park City, Canyons and Deer Valley: Upscale apres ski and city comforts

On the far side of the Wasatch Pass from Salt Lake is Park City.

It might stretch the remit of this article - 45 minutes from runway to ski valet - but Interstate 80 to Kimball Junction is part of the state’s well-established snowsports highway.

Park City in particular is a resort for those who aren’t interested in venturing into the Wasatch backcountry to get their kicks and like their apres ski on site.

Since 2014 Park City and Canyons combined into one super resort. With the installation of the Quicksilver Gondola joining the resorts under one pass, visitors have access to an enormous 3000ha of ski area. Park City and Canyon City might offer access to the same ski areas, but they do so in two very different manners.

Canyon City offers accommodation to suit all tastes, including ski-in, ski-out and that most American of ski amenities: the ski condominium hotel. Essentially blocks of independently owned apartments, Canyons is a lot more built up than the “genteel” Park City but big ski parties and conferences will find a lot more flexible options such as the Yotel and Lift apartment hotels pack a lot more options on to the pistes. It’s also the only ski resort where I’ve encountered a car-park cable car. The Canyons Cabriolet (”the can”) uplifts visitors from the free parking at the north village to the ski area.

Like most of the area, there is a Park City “before” and Park City “after” the Salt Lake Olympics. Many of the 2002 Winter Games were held here near Canyon City. If you’re off the slopes or looking for an indoor activity the Alf Engen Olympic Museum is worth a detour. For US$100, visitors can shred their nerves on the actual Olympic bobsleigh course. Or take part in the - lower-stakes - virtual ski jump simulator.

To the south of Canyons, Park City’s historic Main St is home to high-rent retail, galleries and Art Deco cinemas. Every January it throws its saloon doors open for the Sundance Film Festival. The Egyptian Theatre is the focal point for hundreds of pop-up screening rooms on the festival circuit. The photogenic Western-style fronts are straight from Hollywood central casting.

Forget Spaghetti Western, the heritage precinct hides some high-end dining such as the Pine Cone Ridge restaurant - the ninth and newest opening by Park City restaurateur Bill White. I was surprised to see New Zealand green-lipped mussels and tuaki clams on the menu; very possibly arriving at Salt Lake as freight, via the same air route as I had taken. It is by no means a budget resort, but there’s little you can’t find under the twee-sloped rooves of Park City. From an alpine distillery to a landlocked “Park City Yacht Club”.

Film stars may descend on Park City in January but, to the south, neighbouring Deer Valley is a regular celebrity holiday spot. Yes, Utah is home to two of the US’ three ski-only resorts. Deer Valley is a cut above the rest. With green-coated ski valets waiting to take your poles at the drop-off and a “Funiculaire” railway car that lifts guests up to the St. Regis Deer Valley hotel, like the opening chapter of a Hercule Poirot whodunnit. The 800ha of immaculate ski park and bright aspen groves are a playground for wealthy winter visitors.

Recently the backdrop of Gwyneth Paltrow’s recent cause celebre, suing a careless patron for a dollar, take care of where you are skiing. You may cross tracks with a litigious A-lister.

Beyond the seven, ski fields great and small

A little beyond the 45-minute cut-off, but worth mentioning are the ski fields of Ogden. Salt Lake City’s northern neighbour, at the site where the Eastbound and Westbound rail lines meet, is worth a detour from the beaten Park City ski track for two reasons:

The first is Snowbasin Resort, the site of the 2002 Olympic downhill ski event. Belonging to Premier League football billionaire and Burnley FC owner Alan Pace, Snowbasin is a seriously bling resort. With 1200ha of ski field and marble-floored ski chalets, it has great skiing and uniquely gaudy appeal. The opulence is even stranger considering there is no on-site accommodation. It’s all-day traffic, heading in from Ogden.

The second reason, and an even bigger incentive, for a trip north is Powder Mountain. With more than 3500ha of groomed and untrammelled terrain, it is North America’s largest ski area. Located up towards the tri-state border with Idaho and Wyoming, under the mountain range that inspired Paramount Pictures, it’s your All-American 24-star snow experience that definitely needs more than a day to explore.

CHECKLIST: SALT LAKE CITY

SKI PASSES

Ski Utah offers a variety of lift passes and options including these seven ski areas. With individual resort passes or multi passes, many Utah resorts are included on the Ikon 2023-24 international ski pass, including Solitude, Brighton, Deer Valley, Snowbird, Alta and Snowbasin.

The Yeti Pass sampler ticket costs $1072 and is valid at all 15 of the state’s resorts, for a single day each.

skiutah.com

GETTING THERE:

Air New Zealand star alliance partner United flies to Salt Lake City, connecting from Los Angeles, San Francisco or Houston.