Mt Brighton, MI 1/16/24 (no skiing)

MarzNC

MarzNC

Well-known member
Joined
Jul 18, 2020
On the way from staying a night with friends in Oberlin, OH to Caberfae I stopped by Mt. Brighton. Had the weather been different I might have used my Epic pass to ski a few runs. But with frigid temps and snowy roads expected farther north, I just took a look around the base and had a quick lunch. With the 20% Epic pass discount, the cost of soup was $6.58 with tax. Seeing the front side trails in person, I could tell enough about the pitch in comparison to other small hills I've skied elsewhere. Plus there were enough locals around to watch.

Mt. Brighton felt about the same as any other small feeder hills I've visited. It has 130 acres with vertical of 230 feet. The peaks are manmade, as is the snow. The staff were friendly.

I had a nice chat with a man working in the rental shop. He started a couple years ago after retiring, but was clearly a Mt. Brighton regular before that. He's skied at a few of the Epic resorts, presumably after Vail Resorts bought Mt. Brighton in 2012. VR spent a few million updating the lodge and a few lifts. From news reports a year later the locals seemed pretty happy.

Base lodge is apparently the original building from 1961
Mt Brighton Jan2024 - 5.jpeg
Mt Brighton Jan2024 - 3.jpeg


The pictures on the wall opposite the retail shop are of Perisher in Australia, W-B, Kirkwood, Park City, Keystone, Heavenly, Northstar, Breck, Vail, Beaver Creek, Crested Butte, and Stowe
Mt Brighton Jan2024 - 2 (1).jpeg


Can you see the mother and daughter? Near the green sign. They were skiing the entire hour I was watching.
Mt Brighton Jan2024 - 1 (1).jpeg


There are a few rope tows. The young folks in the terrain park were getting in plenty of laps.
Mt Brighton Jan2024 - 4.jpeg
 
Neat that you stopped by for a look see.Also give you credit for braving the coldest and snowiest weather we’ve had in a while driving In challenging conditions with not being used to lake effect. Most certainly the gal with the most guts from below the Mason Dixon.

I had some apprehension planning a March trip through the UP to Lutsen as a loner even w awd. It can get brutal even life threatening. Love the powder but hate the drive.
 
Nope, don’t generally drive from the Grand Rapids to the western Detroit suburbs to golf or ski. Lots more golf courses all over this state than ski areas.

Ted , you play it?
 
ciscokid said:
Neat that you stopped by for a look see.Also give you credit for braving the coldest and snowiest weather we’ve had in a while driving In challenging conditions with not being used to lake effect. Most certainly the gal with the most guts from below the Mason Dixon.

I had some apprehension planning a March trip through the UP to Lutsen as a loner even w awd. It can get brutal even life threatening. Love the powder but hate the drive.
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Keep in mind I'm from New York City, although I learned to drive in NC. First few times driving in snow or on ice was in NC or VA back in the 1970s. I did a few ski safaris in the northeast driving an old minivan with regular tires in 2013-19 when my daughter was in school in either Lake Placid or Boston. Compared to those experiences, driving an AWD RAV4 in snowy conditions is way easier.

I've learned a lot riding with my primary ski buddy during our trips out west in the last decade, especially when we've driven from SLC to Big Sky via a stop in Driggs to ski Grand Targhee. He's a born and bred New Yorker who moved to Albuquerque long ago. For ski trips, he has a Range Rover Sport set up with two ski boxes and Blizzak snow tires. I've driven it up to Alta Lodge a couple times when it was snowing a bit on the LCC road after taking a friend to the airport. Stressful, but added experience.

As for the UP and Bohemia in the winter, they are not on my bucket list. :sneaky:
 
MarzNC said:
I've driven it up to Alta Lodge a couple times when it was snowing a bit on the LCC road after taking a friend to the airport. Stressful, but added experience.
As for the UP and Bohemia in the winter, they are not on my bucket list. :sneaky:
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The Wasatch in Utahh gets Salt Lake Effect.
It’s like the Tug Hill in The UpState but just add thousands of feet vertical.
 
tirolski said:
The Wasatch in Utahh gets Salt Lake Effect.
It’s like the Tug Hill in The UpState but just add thousands of feet vertical.
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Not really. Driving up a canyon road like RT210 in LCC is nothing like driving across flat road with hardly any curves or change in elevation next to a Great Lake.

The only driving I've done that's similar was driving near Pocatello, ID when it wasn't snowing but it was blowing across the highway. So it was very hard to tell where the edge of the road was. My ski buddy (also a former New Yorker) was doing the driving the trip we left Driggs after skiing Grand Targhee and US20 to West Yellowstone on the way to Big Sky was closed due to blowing snow. It wasn't snowing any more. Taking the longer route on 2-lane highways took a while, even though it hadn't snowed for a few days.
 
MiSkier said:
They closed the golf course in 2020. I played it once in a golf outing. I liked the layout and it was in very good shape. Not 100% sure why Vail closed the course View attachment 22851
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Maybe the beanie counter$ figured they couldn’t compete with the numerous other courses the Ciscokid pointed out were available nearby.
 
tirolski said:
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Maybe the beanie counter$ figured they couldn’t compete with the numerous other courses the Ciscokid pointed out were available nearby.
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They were always busy and in 2020 to get a Saturday tee time you had to make it by Wednesday or you were golfing until 4 or 5 in the afternoon
 
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