Salt Lake City is one of my MOST favorite places to visit It's a
beautiful city surrounded by mountains and I just got back from spending a week
and a half skiing and I hit up one of my favorite ski resorts, Alta, a bunch of
times. In this video I'm covering Alta only I'll be making a separate video
about Snowbird if you're looking for that but I'm making this video to help
you get up get out and go travel there. I'll be breaking down this video with
info on getting in and parking, lift tickets, rentals, lifts and runs, food and
of course other helpful tips to help you plan your trip there. And if you're like
new phone who dis? I'm Christine with Where in the World is cL and I make
travel videos like this every Wednesday so check me out. I think I'm ready to
start this video. Alright let's start with getting in. One of the amazing
things about skiing in Salt Lake is that the mountains are insanely close to the
city. It's not like San Francisco to Tahoe where it takes three to six hours
with traffic to get there. It can take just 20 to 40 minutes to get to the
resorts so the drive into Alta is super easy and it's located off of roads that
are more prone to avalanches so make sure you're checking the road conditions
before driving in. There are two areas that you can park at let's just call it
the easy side and the hard side and what I mean by that is on the easy side you
have access to all types of runs from greens blues to blacks but on the hard
side you only have access to the Collins lift which is just intermediate blues
and blacks. there is a tow that connects the two together but you may want to
consider where you're going to park based off of what type of skier you are.
given how much I love this mountain I came several times. the first time I
parked on the intermediate or the Wildcat base or Collins lift side and
parking is free no matter which side you park on and there are tons of attendants
that will help guide you into a spot. the walk-in super short and easy and the
first thing you'll see is the motherlode ski shop where you can get your
equipment rental. for me I like to show up with my equipment so when I'm in Salt
Lake City I always rent from other ski shops such
as REI or Christy's. As a price comparison point I used Christy's
this time, link in the description below for more info, and if
you rent in advance a basic ski package which is
your skis your poles and your boots - will cost you just $22. At the resort
it's $30 if you rent on site, but again I'm just trying to save time so I can go
straight to the lifts. Whether you get it at Christy's or you get it at
Alta a helmet will be just $10 rental at both places. dang I feel cool. When it
comes to lift tickets the sales windows are right next to the entrance as well
and here's some important info to know: an Alta only ticket is $125
but if you're looking to do Alta AND Snowbird it's $160
Make sure you check the info in the description below
for other ways to save money as well as other discount options you can get at
the ticket window for things like afternoon or late afternoon or multi-day
skiing but here's another really important thing to know I used my IKON
Pass which gets me into Alta Snowbird but if you're trying to use your 25%
discount for friends and family know that because this gets you into Alta AND
Snowbird ($160 value) your friend or family (25% off discount)
doesn't get 25% off the ALTA-ONLY ticket.... they get 25% off
The ALTA AND SNOWBIRD ($160) ticket so if
you're looking to JUST ski Alta you may consider going and buying your lift
ticket somewhere else. for example at Christy's it's $125
discounted rate and that's even good on blackout days! if you park on the
other side of the mountain or the all level side or the Albion base same thing
super easy to get in super helpful parking attendants really easy walk in
and the rental area as well as the lift ticket window is right there. alright
let's talk about lifts and runs it's important to know that the lifts open at
9:15 and most of them stay open until about 3:30 or 4:30 with 119
runs it breaks out to be in favor of intermediate and advanced
skiers and it's important to know that if you're showing up with your IKON pass
or your day pass purchased from somewhere like Christy's these are
electronic so you don't have to go to the ticket window (awesome!)
you can basically stick them in your pocket and go straight through to the
gates to the lift. so don't forget that the Albion side has all
levels and there's a tow that connects the Albion side to the Wildcat base side
where the Collins lift takes you to intermediate and advanced runs only and
you can ski across and access both sides from the top!
Are you hungry? I'm always hungry let's talk about food. There are 14 base area
food options and 4 on mountain food options which is kind of a lot of
options, but I always find myself going to the same places and I'll tell you why
The first place I like to go to is Alf's which is mid mountain. I'm the type of
skier that likes to ski non-stop so the shortest quickest break for hot food is
where it's at for me. this is on the easier side of the mountain and it's a
counter place where you can grab pay and go. They've got plenty of food options
from hot drinks and beer to salad soups and chili to deli and a grill and a
pretty nice sweets selection and an average lunch which for a resort isn't
terribly surprising will run you about $40 I love this spot for a quick
bite and here's a helpful tip if you get a hot drink your $3 hot
chocolate tea or coffee if you save your receipt on the same day and at Alf's only
you can get a refill. The second place I love is Collins Grill this is mid
mountain and on the intermediate side. The entry has more casual eateries but
take a walk upstairs and you'll find it. The reason why I love this place isn't
just because it's a nicer restaurant with a friendly waitstaff, it's not just
because they have an awesome area where you can kick off your ski boots and put
on fluffy slippers, it's not just because the views are great, and it's not just
because the food options are awesome, the real reason why is because it's one of
the only accessible places on the mountain to get wine. I don't know why
it's so hard anywhere else. alright let's ski down the mountain
for my final stop which is Alta Java which is a really great place to warm up
with hot drinks. they have a really great selection of coffee drinks as well as
teas and you can get a hot chocolate for $4 it's a great place to sit
outside enjoy the views. here's my final tip for you I cannot believe how
inexpensive lockers are and they're available everywhere throughout the
entire mountain they can run you anywhere from $1 for the large ones to
$0.50 for the small ones so bring your quarters and get you lakas
What an awesome awesome time I love this mountain I'm riding the tow to get back
I hope this video is helpful again I'm here every Wednesday making travel
videos if you found this helpful please give it a like, share with your friends
I'm out of breath and I'll see you in the next adventure!!