Pros and Cons of Skiing the New Powder Mountain
Photo by Colin Cassidy on Unsplash
Over the past six years, I have been a happy part of a group of friends skiing Powder Mountain the first week of February. This year was different, because Powder Mountain is different.
We loved skiing there, not because the skiing was free for over 75 ( although that was a plus) but more for the laid back feel of the entire area including its uncrowded slopes. I have called it the friendliest place to ski.
However, since an ownership change things are different.
The 75+ crowd, which used to ski free, now is charged a season ticket of around $1,400. And if you don’t have the season ticket of any kind, you can’t ski there on a weekend in February.
Even with a pass, the allowable area to ski has been reduced, saving the rest for the homeowners who have invested upward of $ 2.5 Million for a lot and God knows how much more for a structure to live in. In addition, each homeowner has the privilege to pay an additional $30,000 to $100,000 per year to ski on their private terrain, but they can also ski on the public side if they choose to ski with us common folk.
So, in sort of a protest, I decided that I would purchase a season pass at Snowbasin across the valley from Powder Mountain for $549. Snowbasin has plenty of skiable terrain – 3000 acres of groomed and ungroomed terrain, plenty of high-speed six-packs and gondolas and about 2000 feet of vertical, comparable to Powder Mountain, including for lift-served terrain, and far better for lodges and other facilities.
The only drawback to Snowbasin is that they are on the Ikon pass and I have never seen more people at any ski area than I saw on Saturday and Sunday while I was there.
So the issue at Powder Mountain, which I no longer consider the friendliest place to ski, is it still might be worth spending the few bucks extra for the peace of mind that you won’t be run over by the crowds.
Will my buddies and I return to Powder Mountain next season? I don’t know. Stay tuned.
- My 80 Plus Patch and Its Potential - March 19, 2026
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Thanks for the report on Powder Mountain. Like you I’ve skied there for years (also in early February). For the same reason I opted out this year and went to Schweitzer instead. The base area reminded me of Beaver Creek, the mountain was great, and the crowds were absent except for afternoon skiing on weekends. I’m 81 and skied free all week!
Carl, we may go back to powder this year. Snow basin was beautiful but very crowded. Season pass comes with 8 50%of buddy passes. Making it comparable to snow basin but no-one there
Mike, Thanks for the Powder Mountain update. It’s a shame to see that big, beautiful ski area go that direction. It’s an interesting contrast between Snow Basin and Powder Mountain, both in the hands of people with big bucks but going different directions.
John, agree and see my response to you in David’s article. The skiing at snow basin in my opinion was getting too dangerous to ski
Mike R. sadly, where is it not dangerous to ski anymore…?
Ole, I don’t disagree with you, but I am not going to give up this sport that i love to do. I have added to my skiing apparel the ski guardian pole extensions, which are advertised on the right side of the screen. They seem to keep people away from you or at least it makes you more visible on the slopes. I have to admit that not too many people have flashed by me since I began using the ski guardian extension. they seem to work or at least it a placebo for me.
Thanks Mike. I have passes to both mountains I agree. What you didn’t mention was that because “PowMow” is based on top of the mountain, it is nearly always cold and windy up there. I have had severe hypothermia riding the high speed lifts into the wind. After turning 75 last winter I was excited to get a free pass, but instead had to pay nearly twice as much as at Snowbasin. After purchasing ours (with wifey) we were told a few weeks later there would be paid parking…I call that bait and switch. When we went on weekends for passholders only we had to be a three person carpool to park “free”.. Then we were restricted to about 2/3 of our previous terrain for not being “neighbors”. We also found out how many passholders there were after not restricting numbers, when we had to park in an alternate parking lot and climb over large snowberms to get to the runs.
At Snowbasin, the Icon Pass has brought many extra thousands from around the planet to see Ski Magazine’s latest “Number 1 Resort”. It’s lucky there are no accomodations there or it would be worse. Instead, the parking is rediculous on weekends and fresh powder days. I agree with you about the danger of skiing with thousands of others going various speeds and back and forth on groomers so smooth anybody can straight line top to bottom without regard to others.
20 years ago the resorts were so fabulous and uncrowded that I bought a house in Ogden. Now I’m ready to sell and move northward.
And Ole…it’s a place called Moose Mountain in Fairbanks, Alaska, where “terrestrial trams” drop up to 40 shredders every 5-10 minutes. With 40 runs to choose from, it’s pretty private on most any run.
Roger thanks for the update on the parking, I have to tell you I agree with you with the “neighbors” comment. One thing that was edited out of my article because it was probably too negative was that on a Saturday last Feb. I was sitting in the hot tub and a couple guys told me they were skiing at powder. I asked if they were seasons pass holders, and they said no but they bought a guided tour of the mountain for $900. (now this is secondhand information but) a lady was in the short lift line, and she was complaining that these 2 guys were not season ticket holders and why were they there? Once she was told that they had paid for a guided tour she begrudgingly apologized with” I am sorry but don’t ever come back!” so much for the neighbors!
Thanks Mike for your great article. For 20 years my husband and I rented a condo in Moose Hollow and skied PowMow for a month each season. We loved the uncrowded mountain, the laid back atmosphere, the staff and the allround magic of it. I and my adult kids are all bummed about these changes; but glad we got to spread my husband’s ashes there in 2/2024. We’ll all be looking elsewhere for skiing.
Carol, sorry to hear about your husband and that you spread his ashes on the slopes that he loved to ski. I carry the ashes of by best ski buddy every time I ski just to know he would be enjoying the places that I loved as well. After skiing Snow Basin and the crowds, I am considering going to buy the seasons pass for Powder which has 8 buddy tickets with it. this will lower the overall cost and hopefully reduce the crowds that I encountered all week at Snow Basin. I am 81 and lover the free skiing! Oh well, Powder may not be the friendliest place to ski but it may be one of the safest?
I am a mid week value pass holder 65 years and older at Snowbasin. I’m blacked out weekends and holidays, and I am fine with that. Fridays can be hectic, but Monday through Thursday there are no lift lines whatsoever. You need to get up there early in the morning and experience pristine, uncrowded slopes. Powder Mountain WAS my all time favorite place to ski. It has been ruined!
Ben, totally agree with you. we found that the weekdays we were there in early February were more crowded than we are used to. Maybe it was just the week we chose to go?
I have decided to limit my skiing to the East after skiing out west for many years. My choice is Sugarloaf in Maine. Being a Super Geezer at 80 YOA the pass cost me $35, no cost parking with van pickup from the parking lot. Great snow making and grooming. On the downside it can get a bit windy at times. Not half bad!
Not wining and I too am 81, I still love to go out west and will continue to do so. although I do plenty of skiing in NY and VT and I am happy with that too. Nice to have free skiing but am willing to pay the tariff if I need to.
I skied Powder Mountain back in the early 1980’s. It was an awesome little ski hill. Snow Basin was great back then too. Both have morphed and expanded radically.
FREE skiing for us old farts is a really great perk, but whining the loss shows a lack of gratitude for all the prior free stuff and a total lack of understanding regarding the operating cost for ski resorts.
Powder Mountain has come a long way since the early 80’s. All the improvements weren’t cheap. And a lack of crowds on weekends is priceless! Do some math (add up the costs to run a quality resort) vs complain.
Whine less and ski more – Alpine and Nordic
Weekend lift lines suck. Jump on the skinny skis. Go Nordic on crowded weekends.
Do rich people REALLY know how to ski??? So, why???
yeah, rich people can ski too. They may not want to ski with us commoners!
I am not giving up on Powder just yet. read some of my comments above.
Mike, you seem a little biased, hopefully not over $1,200 which is actually a bargain for the PowMow experience!
Truth be told I’m a little biased myself as I am a 72 year old part time Mountain Guide at Powder Mountain and my experience with the Guests I tour around the mountain is pure joy! The simple fact that the terrain is so vast and always untracked even days after a storm lends credence to why it’s called Powder Mountain! Your own acknowledgment of the crowds at SB are proof enough. With four new lifts including 7 minute access to Lightning Ridge, or bus ride laps to Woody’s World and Powder Country you’re getting helicopter skiing for the price of a lift ticket. And oh BTW, did I mention the groomers…they stay groomed all day because most of the guests are skiing in the trees! A true win for everyone! Come on over and book an All Day or Half Day tour and let me reacquaint you with the best resort skiing in North America!
Gordon, I have not given up on Powder. I will look you up next year when we come out. The bias comes from the cost vs when it was free for us
Why not try Canada? Utah has ben played for a while now. Or maybe the Pyrannes? Why Utah?
Have tried over 140 different ski areas and loved them all. Just that we have this group of guys that love powder, that’s why we go to Utah.
Do rich people REALLY know how to ski? The answer is generally NO. Check Deer within minutes of a good snow they’ve pushed it up into clumps and the following continue mindlessl
So why do the privileged choose dominate such a treasure from Mother Nature that really should belong to those who (locals) MADE it?
let them have their side and we will still enjoy the uncrowded slopes whether they can ski or not.
Skiing Powder Mountain the past 20 years was fantastic!! Uncrowded great groomers & anywhere jump out into the trees! Entry to lightening Ridge via snow mobile….back in the day NO lift service to Cobabe Canyon…it was WILD. .It was our mountain a secret apparently no one knew about. Now there are crowds, huge Cost….and just not like it was. In my opinion these ‘passes are destroying skiing’. You know what they say,,,”turn your kids onto skiing, and they’ll be poor the rest of their lives”. I LOVE to ski!!
Yes but the kids will always have a smile on their faces fir years to come
Carl, we may go back to powder this year. Snow basin was beautiful but very crowded. Season pass comes with 8 50%of buddy passes. Making it comparable to snow basin but no-one there