Home » A Snowboarders Guide To Snowbird

Summary

Snowbird is one of the most well-known resorts on the planet. The place is massive, the runs are steep, and the snow is dry and deep. What more could you ask for? Maybe knowing your way around so you don’t get skunked on a powder day? But how could you possibly know your way around if you’ve never been there before? Well, I got you covered! My name is David Biddle, your Good Ride Travel Guide. Hopefully by the time your done watching this video, or reading this article, I will have equipped you with the information and the inspiration to go out and have an epic time.

Welcome to The Good Ride Trave’s Guide To Snowbird for Snowboarders

How This Travel Video Happened:

I drove to Salt Lake City with my dog. Stayed for free at a friend’s house. Rode one day. 

Ethics Statement: I was not paid by Snowbird, and it comes from an honest, objective perspective with no brand oversight. If this video helped, we’d appreciate it if you support our content by:

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Size: Lib Tech T.Ras Chris Rasman 161cm wide
Days: 1
Conditions: Bluebird 2ft of pow
Riders: Davey (Size 12, 6’3.5”, 250lbs)
Boots: Burton Ion
Bindings: Union Force
Jacket: Thirtytwo TM
Pant: Volcom Rain Gore-Tex Bib
Helmet: Smith Maze
Goggle: Smith IO Mag

Davey’s Set Up: 22.5” Wide. Stance Angles +18/0. Set as far back as possible for my stance width in powder.

Similar Boards We Like (but not the same):

Korua Otto, Jones Frontier, Ride Shadowban, Yes Standard Uninc, Yes Basic Uninc, Capita Black Snowboard Of Death, Jones Rally Cat, Cardiff Crane, Nitro Alternator,

Links to Full Reviews:

Lib Tech Rasman: https://thegoodride.com/snowboard-reviews/lib-tech-rasman-snowboard-review/#gsc.tab=0

Union Force: https://thegoodride.com/snowboard-binding-reviews/union-force-snowboard-binding-review-with-davey/#gsc.tab=0

Burton Ion Boots: https://thegoodride.com/snowboard-boot-reviews/burton-ion-snowboard-boot-review/#gsc.tab=0

Volcom Rain Gore-Tex Bibs: https://thegoodride.com/snowboard-pant-reviews/volcom-rain-gore-tex-bib-2020-2023-review/#gsc.tab=0

Smith Maze Helmet: https://thegoodride.com/snowboard-accessory-reviews/smith-maze-review-and-buying-advice/#gsc.tab=0

Smith IO Mag Goggles: https://thegoodride.com/snowboard-accessory-reviews/smith-io-mag-xl-snowboard-goggle-review/#gsc.tab=0

Getting to The Resort

Snowbird is located in Utah, 30 miles from Salt Lake City Airport and 6 miles into Little Cottonwood Canyon. Booking a rental near the mouth of the canyon can save you some valuable time in the morning. When there’s traffic, 15 minutes late out the door can lead to an extra hour or so of traffic time. So it’s ideal to stay as close to the Canyon as possible.

Trail Map

Snowbird consists of 3 major zones. The Cirque Traverse roughly splits the front side of Peruvian Gulch and Gad Valley. The backside is Mineral Basin. There are 2500 acres of skiable terrain, accessible by 140 trails. Serviced by 10 lifts, 1 tram, and 3 carpets. 

Lifts

 

The lifts, lookers left to right on the map, are: Peruvian, The Tram, Wilbur, Midgad, Gadzoom, Little Cloud, Gad Two, and Baby Thunder.

Terrain Ratings

The trails at Snowbird are rated 8% Beginner, 26% Intermediate, and 66% Advanced/Expert

Terrain Parks

I read that there’s a small terrain park under the Midgad lift, but I didn’t find it the day I was there. I also read that for a month from mid-April to mid-May, they run a Woodward Park under the Baldy Lift.

Parking

Hybrid approach. A mix of first-come, first-served free parking and paid reservation parking. There is also free priority carpool parking for those who drive up to 3 or more in a car. More parking becomes available along the highway when the snowline recedes in the spring.

Traffic

Always prepare for at least an hour’s drive to Snowbird. Most weekdays are closer to 2 hours, and weekends are closer to 3.

Baldy Traverse

I’m going to ride lookers left on the map off the summit. Passing over the Mineral Basin tunnel as we approach Mt. Baldy. To complete the traverse, I’m going to unstrap and hike with the crowd for about 5 minutes as we gain about 1-200 feet of elevation. For my first Mt. Baldy run, I only went one bowl over on the main Baldy face. For my second Baldy run, I traversed almost all the way across the main face.

Riding Mt. Baldy

I scored some pretty good pow on Baldy for both runs. This zone is the perfect pitch for a steep and deep powder day. Don’t let the double black diamond trail markings scare you away.

Mineral Basin

Mineral Basin is the backside zone at Snowbird. Only accessible from the Tram or via the Mineral Basin tunnel, located near the top of the Peruvian Lift. Mineral Basin is an awesome zone that has a good mix of blues, blacks, and double blacks. I can’t wait to return and jump off some of the cliffs. Mineral has an awesome collection of different sized cliffs.

Base Area Via Peruvian Gulch

Peruvian Gulch is almost a 3.5-mile run. It’s long and tiring so I recommend beginners staying on the lower half of the mountain if their legs are tired. 

Base Area & Chickadee Lift

The base area is very active. There’s a central conglomerate that consists of the base of the Tram, the base of the Peruvian lift, and the Chickadee lift. The Chickadee lift is a great way to minimize your walk back to the road.

Little Cloud Lift

The Little Cloud lift is located lookers right of the Tram on the map. The runs off of this lift are mostly black or double black. There are some epic traverse opportunities if you follow the Road to Provo to the Knuckle Head Traverse.

Little Cloud to Base Area Via Gad Valley

Gad Valley is the longest descent at Snowbird. It is a whopping 3.5 miles long. It can be pretty confusing if you don’t know your way around, and/or visibility is low. The runs are long, and it can feel like you’ve gone too far because the distances are pretty far. Bass Highway and Miner’s Road are the two main trails to take you back to the main base area near the Tram, from Gad Valley.

No Dogs Allowed in Canyon

Heads up to all my dog owners, no dogs in the canyons! The Cottonwood Canyons are protected watersheds for the city of Salt Lake, and they don’t want any potential contaminants in the canyons. If you arrive at a resort with your dogs, they’ll most likely tell you you can’t even leave them in the car and that you have to turn your butt around and take the animals home!

Final Thoughts

I mean, what can I say? Snowbird’s aura radiates so strongly that my words have very little value. It’s a place most snowboarders and skiers dream their whole life about visiting. It’s already cemented its place in snowboarding history, for a dam good reason too. They say someone could spend a lifetime and they wouldn’t ride everything Snowbird has to offer. I believe it. I couldn’t be happier with how my first time there went. I’m excited as all hell to get back there again, hopefully on another deep powder day.