lamby Posted December 17, 2009 Report Share Posted December 17, 2009 My wife and I are headed to Southern CA to be with family for Christmas and we we're thinking about Brian Head. It looks to be about 9 hours away (we are driving from Idaho), so we were thinking it might be a good place to shoot for - for our first day of driving. Does anyone have any thoughts on the place? Thanks, Lamby:confused: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shawndoggy Posted December 17, 2009 Report Share Posted December 17, 2009 cold, good light snow. If you are coming from Sun Valley, expect to be underwhelmed by terrain. And chairlifts (no high speed chairs at all). It's sorta like a time warp back to 1988. The main chair (giant steps / chair 2) took 15 minutes back in the day. Bet it still does. For a whopping 1100' vertical. If there is pow, its a super fun place to ski/ride. Lots of fun stuff in the trees, and it caters to Las Vegas, not a bastion of powder skiers. I'd say it's worth the stop to add another notch to your list of resorts, but it's no Mammoth. **disclosure, last time I rode there was Christmas 1990. crap, that was a half a lifetime ago. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AaronG Posted December 17, 2009 Report Share Posted December 17, 2009 You can drive a bit further and go to Las Vegas Ski and Snowboard Resort http://www.skilasvegas.com/winter/index.html It is a pretty small hill, I think they have three lifts. I went there with my brother on a few occasions when he lived in Vegas. Lots of people don't know that there is a ski resort near Vegas. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shawndoggy Posted December 17, 2009 Report Share Posted December 17, 2009 You can drive a bit further and go to Las Vegas Ski and Snowboard Resorthttp://www.skilasvegas.com/winter/index.html It is a pretty small hill, I think they have three lifts. I went there with my brother on a few occasions when he lived in Vegas. Lots of people don't know that there is a ski resort near Vegas. LOL, don't inflict that place on poor lamby! Lee Canyon's chairs date back from the dawn of time. And there are like 2 runs. But on the right midweek pow day..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AaronG Posted December 17, 2009 Report Share Posted December 17, 2009 Another thought, why don't you drive from Ketchum to Ely, NV and then over to Bishop, CA. You're still heading in the same general direction and once in Bishop you can go either to Mammoth or June Mtn. Mammoth is located about 45 minutes north of Bishop and June is aabout 70 minutes from Bishop. ONce the skiing/riding is over then down the 395 to Southern Cal or the 14 depending on where you need to go while you're in Southern Cal. Just a thought, not sure what the difference is between the two routes or what your time frame is but you might think about it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
philw Posted December 17, 2009 Report Share Posted December 17, 2009 I rode there in 1999 - only 10 years ago. I had to be in Vegas and hated the smell of the place so much I just drove away until I found the first ski resort, and that was it. It wasn't in brilliant condition when I rode there, but the scenery was unique and it was a fine local hill. Staying in the area was an experience. It was very much off the beaten track and be very "traditional". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lamby Posted December 17, 2009 Author Report Share Posted December 17, 2009 Thanks shawndoggy, oldvr, philw! Great input. Still considering which way to go - thru UT to laid back Bhead, or thru Nevada and Bishop way to Mammoth or June Mtn. Well, it will be fun to take in some new sights and terrain in a new place, a great way to break up the drive. I rather like the idea of Mom and Popping it and being underwhelmed at Brian Head, but the attraction of a big mountain experience at Mammoth also has us thinkin', thinkin', thinkin'. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shawndoggy Posted December 17, 2009 Report Share Posted December 17, 2009 Thanks shawndoggy, oldvr, philw! Great input. Still considering which way to go - thru UT to laid back Bhead, or thru Nevada and Bishop way to Mammoth or June Mtn. Well, it will be fun to take in some new sights and terrain in a new place, a great way to break up the drive. I rather like the idea of Mom and Popping it and being underwhelmed at Brian Head, but the attraction of a big mountain experience at Mammoth also has us thinkin', thinkin', thinkin'. Brianhead is definitely easier to do as a one day stop trip. I'm in Reno... it's 12 hours to sun valley from here, and 11 or so to SoCal. over 1100 miles total, I think. Reno to LA is 350+ miles of 2/3 lane 395. The part south of Lone Pine is some of the ugliest most disgusting driving in the west (apologies, Victorville residents). Mammoth to home (for you) in a day would SUCK... that's a long drive. You'd be closer to 900 on the Brianhead route and its all interstate. The scenery at Brianhead is southern-utah-unique too (views of Cedar Breaks' pink sandstone). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.