So you hear a lot of talk about the great powder in Utah. If you’ve been there you know that it's awesome. The Cottonwoods are an excellent choice if you are going for challenging terrain and not luxury. That’s not to say there aren’t great accomadations at the resorts in both Little and Big Cottonwood Canyon, it’s more like the main event is the on-mountain experience.
SNOWBIRD, UTAH
Starting with the tram, you will find that ascending to the summit via tram, you are headed for the real deal. It's a ten minute shuttle squashed among skiers and riders all mostly looking for that adrenalin rush. I doubt that there are loads of novice riders & skiers riding the tram unless they are seeking Mineral Basin which is where much of the intermidiate terrain lies. Where I love to ride the most is the Cirque, the Gad 2 area and the Wilbur Chutes.
Gad 2 & Gad Zoom
When the pow is flying and the wind is up, I got more runs in around the Gad areas. The tram is closed much of the time when there is a storm. So to get up high, the Little Cloud chair is a possible option if you can stand the wind and snow in your face. Gad 2 area is dense with trees and steep chutes. The one thing about Utah I find, is that you don't get long steep runs in like at Blackcomb B.C. That said, Utah delivers great moments. Black Forest and anything around that is challenging. Also, if you ride the Gad Zoom, you can dip off to the left and around a bend and under the chair if you want that bowl that teases pow lovers. You have to be willing to enter a very steep chute and ride it and go skiers left over to the bowl. The day I did it, it was on a pow day and I struck GOLD. Friends I rode with called it the "Elevator Chute" since I went down at 90 degrees. That's when they turned back!

—By Leslie Costa