Powder Mountain, UT: Last Chance to Ski US’s “Biggest” Ski Resort?
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- čas přidán 14. 06. 2024
- An in-depth video review of Powder Mountain, a destination ski resort located in Utah's Wasatch Range, as well as an analysis of the upcoming resort changes under the leadership of Netflix co-founder Reed Hastings. Filmed on multiple occasions between March 2022 and March 2024.
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0:00 Intro
1:05 Resort Layout and Upside-Down Setup
1:32 Elevation
2:08 Resort Size and Acreage Caveats
2:39 Lift System
3:26 Lack of Crowds
3:58 Snow Quality
4:23 Snowcat Ride Experience
5:01 Snowfall Totals
5:18 Resiliency and Snowmaking
5:57 Beginner Terrain
6:39 Intermediate Terrain
7:13 Advanced Terrain
7:45 "Untraditional" Terrain Experiences
8:03 Double-Black Expert Terrain
8:25 Facilities and Ease of Navigation
9:01 Night Skiing
9:27 Upgrades for 2024 and 2025
11:37 New Terrain Restrictions for 2024-25
13:16 Getting There and Parking
13:54 Lodging
14:26 Aprés-Ski
14:47 Verdict
16:12 Pricing
16:32 Pass Affiliations
16:51 Score Breakdown and Rank
Overall Mountain Score: 67/100 - #6 in Utah
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Snow: 9/10
Resiliency: 7/10
Size: 9/10
Terrain Diversity: 8/10
Challenge: 6/10
Lifts: 2/10
Crowd Flow: 10/10
Facilities: 3/10
Navigation: 6/10
Mountain Aesthetic: 7/10
See our full resort breakdown and written review for Powder Mountain here: www.peakrankings.com/content/...
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1 ticket $230 !!!!! Pass $1600!!!!!!!! No wonder they’re empty 😂👍
Lol
lol
Don't forget the $40 cat rides 💀
And the 5 year waitlist for a season pass
Needs more microtransactions.
Yall missed it ! If you were there in the 90's before the SLC olympics, you know what I am talkin about ! The old POMA lift, the rope behind the snowmobile that you grabbed and got dragged across the ridge to whatever powder section you wanted to drop into...........the old school bus that couldnt come to a stop as you ran alongside and other skiers grabbed your skis from the windows as you desperately grabbed the handrail inside the door to yank yourself inside as the bus just kept chuggin uphill in 1st gear ! Gettin lost all the time as a noob and marching along to find a lift.
Ah yes. Planes, trains and automobiles was the slogan back then. I seem to remember the lift ticket being in the $ 30's. It was so cool, especially for all of us that lived by the Cottonwood canyons. A superb different goofy old school thing. Sadly, it will never be anything like that ever again.
I remember when all the chair lofts had rips in the seat covers and would not slow down when you loaded on to them. Good times.
My Super Senior Pass price was $69 this season, early renewal for next season $1,199. The other season passes are at least that expensive too. The resort isn't worth that price and it certainly isn't competitive either in price or skiing experience.
They don't want you there they only want people that pay a lot of money to be there
Me too
I'm currently in Utah, but today is my last day skiing. Just left Snowbird and I'm on my way to Brighton for my last day of night skiing. Really would've loved to experience Powder Mountain in its current state before it goes too corporate, but it is what it is. I'll have to visit it next year!
Wouldn't be surprised if it becomes a private resort
wont be worth visiting next year
One suggestion I have for visitors is to stay in downtown Ogden near the #674 bus stops. Enjoy the many cool restaurants and breweries and then hop on the #674 bus in the morning which takes you right to the front steps of the Timberline Lodge. This is by far the best way to go.
Powder Mountain Road is a 16% grade and when it is snowy it is treacherous. 4x4 AND snowtires required. Many slide offs. Take the #674 and don't stress the road.
Great review! This made me nostalgic for Kings Ridge, another (much smaller) top-down ski area in New Hampshire where I learned to ski. They went under in the late 90s but the top-down layout definitely has some benefits.
those terrain restrictions sound ridiculous!
Yeah, that's so ridiculous! Corporate ski resorts suck
Rich people decisions! Isn't unfair or what?
No one local is happy about this change. They essentially took the things that made Powder unique and threw them out the window to try to make more money.
I skied this resort last year . Amazing! Did 5 bowls in 4 hours with guide ! Unbelievable and way empty, no lines.
Powder Mountain is great for families and groups because you separate and chose your run from the top and then congregate at the lift. Being able to see and contact your friends and family on the way down while experiencing different skill levels makes for great shared memories.
Iguana
As a regular skier of Powder Mt for last 15 years on vacations , your unbiased assessment I think is overall good. But the it’s hard to capture the stoke on powder days because fresh stuff is everywhere, usually not many powder moguls (giant moguls with some powder on them,) like Jackson Hole, and you can still find good stuff for another day or 2 after a storm. If not for that yes it’s got plenty of negatives. But if your into lots of easy tree skiing powder, no crowds and no glitz this could be your place. I have talked to a lot of people who once they ski here don’t want to go anywhere else. The access road is steep and they plow the heck out of it but it’s still the sketchiest in Salt Lake Area. Skied there today Friday 3/29/2024 , amazing powder day and in fact Monday and Wednesday also great days. I don’t think private lifts are a great idea. Build a great ski area and people will come buy lots, think Deere Valley, Vail ,Aspen, Whistler, Big Sky(née Moonlight Basin). You need regular folks buying season passes to pay the bills! Powder Mt is way too quirky for average affluent skier wanting a fancy home. I am going to keep showing up as long as I can!
Powder does not compare to those destination ski resorts you list because of the upside-down nature of the resort: there’s nowhere to put the village for people to party and chow down on food at after skiing all day at Powder. This is a major drawback if operations at Powder need to generate a profit every year. It has therefore always been my fear that PowMow would become something akin to the Yellowstone Club in Montana. Thus, the planned new chair and public terrain expansion to Wolf Creek is huge and positive news for all of us!
snowshoe WV & Blue Knob in PA are also upside down
Wintergreen Virginia too
huh where in PA is Blue Knob my family normally went to 7 Springs or Snow Shoe
So is montage, but none of them are destination resorts.
I skied this back in 2007 and I had a good time. I only skied it one day, so I am assuming I missed a lot of terrain. The place was like a ghost town back then. I do remember skiing some great trees. Nothing but powder and this was on a bad snow year.
If your ever in Washington, check out White pass ski resort.
Snow shoe in WV has the village at the top of the mountain also.
I just skied Utah this year with the Yeti pass, which means I skied one day at each mountain in the state. Here’s my take on Powder.
1. I skied in Feb, and the snow was excellent
2. Tons of people were skiing the Cat, hike and bus-only terrain (I did not)
3. The mountain is huge and extremely varied terrain-there’s tons of terrain for everyone. Great runs where you can take a chute and jump off a cliff, right next to a cruiser on one side and a powdery glade on the other. Your group can literally start on the same run, split up and ski their level, and meet at the bottom
4. The most friendly and helpful on-mountain staff
5. Very deficient facilities-lodges/restaurant etc are most completely lacking
Great summary of the mountain. I like the bare-bones aspect of the amenities and wish Powder would remain rustic as opposed to becoming more glitzy or “world class”.
+ 1 for the staff. Great people work at Powder Mountain.
This is why we hung up the skis a while ago. It’s become nothing but a playground for the 1%
It’s a sad day what the west has become. I can’t afford to play let alone live in the places I grew up.
I hope we wise up in the west and realize how quickly we are ruining what made us a fun and unique place to live/visit in the beginning…
Such a bummer that the new Lightning Ridge proposed chair will be a fixed grip quad. Building new chairlifts in 2024-2025 with outdated specs is absurd. All new lifts should at least be high speed quads (or better yet D-Line 6 pack chairs to allow for future growth). Wealthy homeowners will be disappointed to use a chairlift designed for the 1980's. Spend the extra money for modern chairs with shields (if not in a windprone area) and heated seats. That is what rich people want.
Non high speed lifts are fine when they're short. There's also a solid handful of technical reasons you would sometimes prefer a fixed grip lift, but if you're so outside the lift world you wouldn't already know that... It's not worth even trying to explain to you.
Preference is to allow your paying guests the most time doing the activity they paid money for... skiing. Having them sit on lifts longer than what current technology allows is unacceptable. It only costs money to build the proper foundations for the terminals and other intrastructure. In addition, it only costs money for the right lawyers and to make the right political contributions to clear the red tape (if any) with local, state, and federal bureaucrats. It only costs money... @@RD1R
I’ll take what I can get given what’s happening at Powder. I remember in the early to mid-1990’s you could get a helicopter ride to the top of James Peak for $50! Will “expanded cat-service include the top of James Peak?!? Come on Mr Hastings - make it happen!
@@SteveThompson-li2fcJust hike it
@@domotime19 I’ve only ever made it 2/3 the way up before my lungs give out. I live below sea-level for the majority of the year.
Most of us who have skied Pow Mow for years won't miss the Village or Mary's lifts. They are both VERY slow and serve terrain that isn't that inspiring. Plus they were installed only a few years ago. Putting a lift on Lightening Ridge on the other hand is a winner! Steeper terrain!
I rode Pow Mow today and even took a cat ride. Conditions weren't bad but their paradise chair went down about a week ago due to a cable that was not pre-stretched and ended up having too much "sag" to be able to be used. This lift services some of my favorite terrain so it was a big let down. However, I was able to make a lot of laps on their high speed quad and their ungroomed terrain still had some good untouched lines. By 2pm the warm sun began taking its toll on the snow but still overall a good day. Glad to hit it on the indy before it's off next season meaning I'll likely never be back. The upcoming change to make Mary's and the Village lifts private is fine with me as they service some of the least enjoyable terrain and are not easy to access anyways.
Great video! Please rate the New Mexico resorts.
Snow Shoe WV is top down as well btw
Sounds like the Mt Selwin (in Australia) equivalent in USA
Expensive resort - have you been to an Epic resort recently? Weekend lift tickets at the window are $300 at Breck - granted, Breck is a much nicer resort.
TBF most people dont pay the sticker price for any Vail resort
I've been skiing Powder since the 70's it was always a second choice.
Probably the best review I have seen you guys do! Y’all covered everything. Pow-Mow’s problem is that with the upside-down layout it was never going to make it as a destination ski-resort: there is just nowhere to put a village. I have always feared Pow-Mow would become something akin to the Yellowstone Club if its operation had to generate profit. I am very encouraged that Mr Hastings is expanding areas to the public even if we are losing others to ultra-wealthy members only. The Wolf Creek lift is huge news and opens up an area completely new to me after riding Powder Mtn for 30 years.
Might as well call it Wasatch Peak II or Yellowstone II.
It’s not expensive when rando guy gives me a cat pass for free. Was only 20 something $ anyway back in 06. It was heaven. Dangerous solo tho. Some of the best turns I ever had
Any skilift over 3500ft should be detachable.. they should prabably do a lot more, get consulting from the Alps, remodel to an Alps like resort design ;-)
Incorrect. Snowshow in West Virginia also has the base at the top.
Incorrect. SNOWSHOE!
That's not a destination resort though
^yeah not many people outside the Mid-Atlantic going there.
Didn't mean to be terse. Was a really great segment on Powder Mountain.
Le Massif in Quebec has its ‘base’ at the top.
New terrain expansion announced today should be promising for powder days
So, Netflix=bad? Sounds about right
you gotta do Whiteface NY
the resort wil go bankrupt dropping from the indy pass so you have to pay 200 bucks for a day for this resort and the other half is now for property owners only ? like how many people will use these lifts per day 50 thats not even paying for the electricity bill for the lifts lol. It wouldnt even come to my mind to go this resort for 200 dollars. that resort is going to be a ghost town next season
It's an Elitist approach certain to fail. The 2024 -2025 season pass prices are crazy high.
Yes, almost all those ski mountain purchases in last 4 years are doomed to fail, but it will take few years. I have seen this cycle 3 times. They borrowed money and bought all these resorts at the top of the biggest ski boom due to money printing. The average ski year can't sustain this debt and fees. It will fail.
@@AW33COM the plan isn’t to target average skiers. The plan is to target the ultra-wealthy.
Snow Nook, here we come.
The bus service is no problem at all
Where ski lift?
Never been
👇
Like beggar 😂
Btw, we need to chip in money for this guy and send him to a ski trip during snow storm. This guy has never seen snow. I swear, he is the most unlucky skier. Powder mountain does not look like in this video at all. I'm going to send this guy on date of my choosing and I will get him my skis. Or maybe, just maybe, he secretly does not like powder, but won't admit hahaha
I just spent a week skiing with him and he's an excellent skier. You can't predict the weather you get when planning a vacation. We got perfect spring conditions in Utah last week, and then it dumped right after we left. 😒
No, he is an average skier like most people in resort. Nothing against him, just saying good skier starts with 10 foot cliff drop. Everyone else is average. It's all relative though. I'm sure he is happy. @@burninghops4449
Yeah. PowMow has way more snow in March 2024 this year
He probably chooses to shoot video in sunny conditions only so that viewers can see the whole mountain.
Sunny or not, no snow. Sometimes I have a feeling those are not his videos.@@humanbeing2420
I spent a couple days snowboarding Powder Mt 2017 one day in resort and Lightning ridge and 1 day cat skiing with guides in the backcountry. Conditions were very good lots of untracked deep powder (72" of new snow the week leading up to the days I arrived) My favorite was lightning Ridge big open terrain with decent pitch mostly untracked perfect for ripping big turns. Now with a lift that will change the allure for me. It will get tracked out much quicker. I was hoping to return 2024-2025 with my son to spend a lot of time splitboarding up to lightning ridge and for my son to ride the mellower areas that will now be private so maybe need to change my plans. The Rich are taking over everything and hoarding it for themselves and this another example of that. The super wealthy have been gearing up and planning whole gated communities and cities for the wealthy only. That will be our future haves and have nots. When I was out there in 2017 I got the impression that this guy bought this place as his own personal playground for he and his wealthy friends and now appears that's what is going to be.
Lefty's Canyon will still be open for public splitboarding. Nobody goes there even now.
The new owner will care most about those thin lines. Great for skiers, not for pocketbooks. They’ll do everything to fill them as tight as possible, guaranteed.
Reed Hastings is fucking this whole resort up lol
I like PowMow ok. I will happily give the homeowners Mary’s if I don’t need to buy the lightning ridge snow cat. I think it was $35 the day I was there. I should get more than one ride for that. Personally I would rank Solitude well above it just on esthetics alone. Honeycomb canyon is superior to anything at PM. The magic trick at PM is you are very likely to ski powder in prime season. I skied fresh tracks ALL DAY off of raintree. That just doesn’t happen anywhere else inbounds.
Yep.
The rating seems high for the video.....seems overrated in the scores.....especially with only 2200 vertical
We gave it points for the quality of its beginner and intermediate terrain, but after next season…
Understood but on the video the impression was that it was not worth the cost of travel, unless you like travelling through airports for greens and blues and so so scenery and facilities. I am certain based on your channels there are others with the same plus better scenery (and reasonable crowds on weekdays). I was thinking based on the video the numerical rating would have been more comparable to some NE resorts such as Killington, Jay Peak, Stowe, Sugarloaf or Sunday River. @@PeakRankings
What you don't know yet: The area that will be closed off is already zoned for construction. You can buy 2 million and 3 million lots there. They probably came up with a plan to build a private mountain for themselves. I was there on top of that hill staying in one of those brand new homes. It was magical. I told my brother to buy it (he has the money) before someone figures it out. IT was just a matter of time in this ponzi civilization. Now they will most likely build a huge community up there on that side, and that side was my favorite there. It was empty when the mountain was crowded.
You need to figure out what Corner Hopping is, and how they are buying land in order to close off Federal Lands from the public. All these things should be illegal including any kind of construction on mountains, but America became a dumb country. Nothing works at this point. Total obsession about money leading us all into biblical crash.
Those mountains and big corporations including Vail will bankrupt, but it will take few years. I have seen this cycle 3 times, but this time it's bigger due to expansion of money last 4 years.
I’ve been going to Powder all my life, and it was always just a matter of time until the secret got out. If you think it’s bad now wait until the Chinese own it.
Thanks for the info. Sounds like a pain. I'll skip it.
Timberline Lodge has lodge and parking at top of treed terrain. So not unique in North America.
How do these bloody cyber-tycoons end up owning these resorts... rampant capitalism gone crazy. The federal government should declare these as national parks and then allow for city/provincial management councils to run them at break-even... otherwise skiing in the US will never rid itself of the perception that its a sport only for the rich and famous. Follow the European models FFS, they have managed to keep ski passes well within the realms of affordability for many decades... why the hell can't the US do the same??!!
Too many lawyers here in the US. The guy whom Gweneth Paltrow crashed into at Deer Valley thought he had been hit by a pot of gold. The skiing is much cheaper in Europe but try to buy a nice house there…
unlike many other resorts that our on federal lands and leased by the ski areas. Powder Mountain's land was privately owned By a Dr. who sold it to the current super wealthy Tech geek who had plans to turn it into his own private Idaho. , which as you can see is doing now
You guys dont get it. You need to watch the history of powder mountain and talk to those folks locally that get it.
$40 for a cat ride.... Where can anyone get a cat ride for $40.
Slower chairs to keep all natural snow better.
New terraine is great for those cliff jumpers...
Nothing better than 100% natural snow.
100%!!! Pow Mow is just a special place.
@@SteveThompson-li2fc Was a special place.
Over priced lift tickets and passes.... but they're on indy so I'll be there for my two days lol
No more indy.
@@AW33COM what do you mean??
Better hurry they are closing for the season April 7
looks good for noobs
Eat the rich
Been done before. Resulted a dictator named Napoleon who marched every able bodied man taller than 5’9” off on a one-way trip to Russia. France today still has on average the shortest men in Europe. Let’s just coexist with the rich instead. We poors ain’t so bad once you get to know us.
RIP Powder Mountain. Rich people have ruined my local resorts
Does anyone believe that "elevation sickness" is a significant concern when people decide where to go skiing? I call total BS!
Zero terrain. Its a giant beginners mountain.
So the new owner basically just bought it for the real estate investment, fucking disgusting
I love PowMow. It was cheap and uncrowded. Cheap because it is not a steep mountain and has weird slow lifts. It is not worth the prices they are now charging. I will go to better mountains now for less or the same cost. So sad to see it be ruined. If you have Billions do you need to make more money by making the PowMow experience now unaffordable to average working people? I would have put in new lifts and kept the prices the same.
Yeah that’s exactly what I would do too if I worth 4.4 Billion, same, I guess that’s why we aren’t billionaires ? They are obsessed with making money no matter what, I don’t think their brains can handle operating anything at a loss?
I'm beginning to hate big tech Rich a holes,,
Billionaires got money to play with. It’s just Monopoly money to them.
Early in my sales career I was selling software packages to major industry players. I quickly realized that the bigger the deal and the amount of money involved, the worse the character of the people involved with or attracted to the deal were. I do not envy the “ultra rich”.
No problem, just put your skins on and go for a hike, for free, any day
I'm glad your negative! Keep people away!
The greed of Americans will be its undoing. It’s disgusting how quickly families will sell their souls for a few quick bucks.
Powder Mountain struggled with money believe it or not. They will all bankrupt. I have seen this cycle 3 times. Mountains will be empty again.
@@AW33COM difference this time is the specific targeting of an ultra-wealthy clientele. They can pay any price to keep Powder afloat. On the flip if it does go broke I might be able to buy a property there some day in my fantastical future.
It looks flat.
Dude, you are so confused. The reason the conditions are so good is because of the weird infrastructure, and because you have to use your brain. The relative dearth of facilities keeps the ticket prices down.
These things aren't a liability, they are an asset...stop whining about them. Guess it doesn't matter--the conditions will tank after the improvements go in. You value the wrong things.
Powder Mountain is like New Orleans: you can’t get anywhere fast unless your going downhill.
This resort looks like a total pain in the ass. Not impressed