The University of Utah's Independent Student Voice

The Daily Utah Chronicle

The University of Utah's Independent Student Voice

The Daily Utah Chronicle

The University of Utah's Independent Student Voice

The Daily Utah Chronicle

Write for Us
Want your voice to be heard? Submit a letter to the editor, send us an op-ed pitch or check out our open positions for the chance to be published by the Daily Utah Chronicle.
@TheChrony
Print Issues
Write for Us
Want your voice to be heard? Submit a letter to the editor, send us an op-ed pitch or check out our open positions for the chance to be published by the Daily Utah Chronicle.
@TheChrony
Print Issues

Mountain report: The Canyons has a buffet of terrain

By Jessica Dunn

If you’re a local and ride at any of the Cottonwood resorts, you’re in for a bit of a shock if you visit The Canyons. It almost feels as if you’re not in Utah anymore — at least until you cruise through the unmistakable powder.

The Canyons is definitely a resort that caters to the tourists. The bottom is like a miniature town, with many different restaurants, shops and hotels. It’s trendy, hip and expensive.

The majority of the runs fit to the standard tourist’s liking. They are mostly green or blue gently rolling groomers.

For the novice skiers and snowboarders, the abundance of greens and blues work perfectly. Try the High Meadow or Saddleback Express lifts for a tune-up. Upper and Lower Boa are good for warming up your legs, and the Tombstone Express and Peak 5 lifts both have some decent cruiser runs for the not-so-die-hard skiers and riders.

While The Canyons might be great for tourists and beginners, it is still a good place for the adventuring experts. It has a wide variety of terrain on its 3,700 acres — the most in Utah. There are plenty of steeps to choose from on either side of the resort. Super Condor Express can take you to black diamonds such as Yard Sale and Devil’s Friend. However, the best steeps are found off of the Ninety-nine 90 Express. This lift is the highest on the mountain — 9,990 feet to be exact. It has great backcountry access and would be amazing on a good powder day. Be warned that none of the runs off it are groomed, and the moguls are fat, icy and up to your knees.

If trees are more your thing, check out the new Dreamcatcher lift area. The trees are thinned just enough for some speed runs, and there’s lots of wide-open carving space.

Overall, The Canyons is a sick place to ride powder, but if you go there any other day, you might want to check out the terrain parks. It has two well-maintained parks in Painted Horse Progression and Respect. Progression is the beginner park with some ride-on, easier hits. Respect has the bigger features. Upper Respect has a huge selection of perfectly set up boxes and rails.

The Canyons also has six natural halfpipes. Canis Lupis is a long, smooth ride off Super Condor Express that’s great for wall hits and goofing around.

Be ready for flat spots all around the resort, and don’t venture into any unknown gullies or you’ll probably be hiking out.

You really can spend a whole day exploring The Canyons and still not hit every run, but you’ll definitely find a good variety.

[email protected]

Jessica Dunn

Snowboarders carve in the Canis Lupus natural halfpipe off the Super Condor Express at The Canyons. One of six natural halfpipes at the resort, Canis Lupus is great for wallriding and jibbing.

Leave a Comment

Comments (0)

The Daily Utah Chronicle welcomes comments from our community. However, the Daily Utah Chronicle reserves the right to accept or deny user comments. A comment may be denied or removed if any of its content meets one or more of the following criteria: obscenity, profanity, racism, sexism, or hateful content; threats or encouragement of violent or illegal behavior; excessively long, off-topic or repetitive content; the use of threatening language or personal attacks against Chronicle members; posts violating copyright or trademark law; and advertisement or promotion of products, services, entities or individuals. Users who habitually post comments that must be removed may be blocked from commenting. In the case of duplicate or near-identical comments by the same user, only the first submission will be accepted. This includes comments posted across multiple articles. You can read more about our comment policy at https://dailyutahchronicle.com/comment-faqs/.
All The Daily Utah Chronicle Picks Reader Picks Sort: Newest

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *