Powder Mountain, situated some 20 miles northeast of Ogden, UT, is internationally-known for its all-natural powder skiing. The resort encompasses 7,000 acres and has an average annual snowfall of 500 inches. 3,000 acres of its terrain are lift accessed, with the remainder being reserved for true powder hounds.
One of the best parts about enjoying the off piste skiing at “PoMo” is that you don’t have to hike for most of it – 1,200 acres of the resort makes up an area known as “Powder Country.” You can check out Powder Country on either side of the canyon road on the drive to the ski resort. This terrain is fully accessible from two of the resort’s lifts. At the top of these lifts, traverse away from the traditional runs and follow signs pointing the way to terrain that often stays deep and untracked for days, even a week or more, following snowstorms.
As you follow the ridgeline on either side of the canyon, the forested slopes below lead back to the canyon road. After bounding through endless pillows of deep powder and widely spread pine trees, the slope funnels skiers and riders to a bus pickup. A vintage bus arrives, very reliably, every 30 minutes and drops off at a lower and upper parking lot, where you can do it all over again.
The “old-school bus”- accessed terrain is just part of PoMo’s unconventional approach to getting skiers and riders to the top, standing and drooling at loads of terrain, which tracks out very slowly. Their snowcat services Lightning Ridge, 700 acres of terrain characterized by trees, chutes, and wide open bowl skiing, depending on your choice of starting points. Some of it is just a short jaunt after stepping off the snowcat. James Peak, featuring the open bowl skiing, chutes, and wide open snowfields, is an additional 20 to 30 minute hike.
A few friends and I skied and snowboarded Powder Mountain on Sunday, February 7th, my first day of riding during the 2010 season (what a shame!). Although there had not been a significant snowstorm in the area for the better part of a week, we found our fair share of pristine powder to leave our tracks in. Lightning Ridge provided some of the best of it. But, surprisingly, we encountered plenty of good untracked turns within the bounds of the lift-served terrain, as well – a testament to the resort’s apt choice in names.
For complete information, other snowcat options at Powder Mountain, check out: http://www.powdermountain.com/
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