Coming to Utah to Ski? Forget a Week...stay a Month!

Utah has the greatest snow on earth, which is true. But it comes in spurts. There may be three weeks without a strom and then a week solid of daily two-foot dumps. So why risk not samplin ghte greatest snow in the world with just a week's stay? Save up that time off, telecommute and stay for a month! Study out the resort you want to ski at and then use this simple guid to find a place to stay:

Alta

Everyone loves Alta, except for snowboarders. If you wanna ski at Alta, live in Sandy. Look for a room to rent on the east bench around 9400 S and as fast east (at least 1300 E) as possible. Rooms are frequently rented out for a month at a time for as little as $250.

Brighton

Brighton has some of the best snowboarding terrain in the world which is probably why many top riders call it home. If you want to ski at Brighton, find a place near 7000 S in Hollad, Sugarhouse, or Murray. Again stay as far east as possible and you'll be set.

Brian Head

Brian Head is a tricky one because its hard to find places close to the resort since it is so far up the canyon. Cedar City will be your town of choice though, look for something in the center of town near the highway that goes up th ecanyon.

Beaver Mountain

Logan is a sweet town, and the snow up the Canyon is extremely light and fluffy simply because the canyon is one of the coldest places in the state. Look for student housing around 900 N and 600 E. There are lots of people trying to sell contracts all the time and if you offer them a little extra for just a month (should be about $300) you can be within 30-40 minutes of some sweet, totally uncrowded skiing.

The Canyons

This Park City resort i spretty sweet, a bit pricey but sweet. They really go the extra mile to make some intense terrain parts and good amenitites. However, don't live in Park City unless you want to sell you left leg to afford rent. Live in Salt Lake on highland drive, you will only be about 20 minutes from the slopes.

Deer Valley

I don't see why you'd want to ski there unless you already have sold an appendage to science, but if you do, follow the advice I gave for the Canyons but plan on a five minute longer drive.

Park City Mountain Resort

Sweet terrain, sweet lifts, and a park that Shaun White calls home. Do the same thing for Deer Valley and the Canyons but add a few miutes drive time.

Powder Mountain

Oh my holy fudge. Powder Mountain has sweet snow. An added bonus is that it is always totally uncrowded. When you want to hit up this area, live in Ogden. Look for a place close to the canyon and if you really want something cheap, find something near the campus of Weber State University. Your drive will still be in the 30-40 minute range but your rent will be a little bit smaller.

Snowbasin

Host of the 2002 Olympic Downhill has some intense terrain and a great snowmaking system which makes sure their coverage and conditions are top notch. Follow the same advice as Powder Mountain and you'll be set.

Snowbird

Smae advice as Alta. If you want to make sure you get first tracks, sacrifice your warm bed for the back seat of your car the night of a big storm. Sometimes, the canyon is closed for avalance work while the canyon dwellers are getting all the freshies.

Sundance

Provo and Orem are the places to be. Try finding a place off of BYU campus is regular apartments or near the Riverwoods complex at the mouth of Provo canyon. Either way you'll be looking at a 15 minutes drive to Robert Redford's little resort.

Wolf Mountain

Same advice as Powder Mountain and Snowbasin but don't forget that this resort is super small and you'll probably get burned out after a couple of days, so don't go out and buy a 20 pack of tickets or anything before you check it out.