The following guide was sponsored in partnership with Powder Mountain.

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Powder Mountain, Utah, holds a special place in my heart. I could shower it with superlatives—and it would deserve every one—but instead, I want to start by telling the story of the first time I ever skied “PowMow,” as the locals call it.

It was about fifteen years ago. I was living in the Salt Lake Valley and spending most of my ski days in and around the Cottonwood Canyons. I’d heard good things about Powder Mountain in the lift lines—people spoke of it with a certain reverence—but I naively thought, “What could Powder Mountain offer that I can’t already get in the Cottonwoods?”

As it turns out, the answer was: a lot.

Untracked powder fields abound. Photo Credit: Powder Mountain

One day, a close friend of mine—someone who had skied PowMow many times and couldn’t stop singing its praises—invited me to join him for the short drive north. I figured it was about time I saw what the hype was about. After all, it had been a few days since the last storm, and the Cottonwoods were all skied out.

As we drove up Powder Mountain Road, I remember seeing untouched powder lining both sides of the road, with only a handful of ski tracks. I thought, “Wow, looks like there’s some incredible backcountry access from here.” What I didn’t realize at the time was that this wasn’t backcountry—it was in-bounds resort terrain. And that powder? Just a tiny taste of what was waiting for us. Powder Mountain wasn’t tracked because it’s just that vast—and that quiet—largely thanks to their policy of limiting the number of lift tickets sold each day.

Despite it being days since the last snowfall, the mountain felt like an endless playground of fresh turns. As we explored the sprawling terrain, I found myself in a constant state of disbelief. Everywhere we went: untracked powder fields. “Where is everyone? Why is nobody skiing this?” I couldn’t believe what I was experiencing—it was like stepping into a dream.

My friend, Kyle, skiing bottomless powder in Woody’s World. Photo Credit: Evan Thayer

If you think I’m exaggerating, let me tell you how that day ended. Sitting in the Powder Keg—home of the best après-ski bar in Utah, in my opinion—with a cold beer and a hot bowl of ramen, I turned to my buddy and said, “I don’t know how I’m going to do it, but I’m going to find a way to live here. This is going to be my home mountain.”

It took me six years, but I kept my word. In 2017, I bought a property at the base of Powder Mountain Road. I was now just an eight-minute drive from Timberline Lodge. PowMow had become my backyard.

Since that first day, I’ve skied hundreds of additional days at Powder Mountain. Some of them are so memorable that I can, at will, recall with detail every run done that day. Therefore, it is an honor to share this Insider’s Guide with you—and to pass along some of the tips and insights I’ve picked up along the way.

Powder Mountain Overview

Powder Mountain receives an average of 360” of annual snowfall, blanketing an astonishing 5,000 skiable acres of terrain. It offers 5 public chairlifts (not counting surface lifts) with an additional 3 resident-only chairlifts. It boasts 163 named runs (15% beginner, 29% intermediate, 56% advanced) and a vertical drop of 3,380 feet.

Daily hours are 9:00 am to 9:00 pm, with night skiing available on the Sundown lift. 

Getting to Powder Mountain

Powder Mountain is only about an hour and fifteen minutes from the Salt Lake City International Airport.

The simplest way to get there is to head north on Interstate 15 from Salt Lake City to Ogden. In Ogden, you head east up Ogden Canyon (SR-39). At Pineview Reservoir Dam, you turn left onto Utah State Route 158 (SR-158), which will turn into Powder Mountain Road as you head north. Keep going on that until you reach Powder Mountain. 

When you arrive at Powder Mountain, you have three parking options.

The first lift you will see is the Sundown lift and the Sundown Base Area. This is a relatively small section of the mountain that accesses mostly beginner and intermediate terrain. It’s also where night skiing takes place.

The vast majority of folks will continue driving just up the road to the Timberline Lodge parking lot. Timberline has by far the most amenities for skiers and snowboarders, including lift ticket sales, a restaurant, the Powder Keg, and a ski shop. Most people park at Timberline Lodge.

However, there is a third option: to continue driving to the Hidden Lake Lodge. This is a unique experience in Utah, as it’s the only resort in which you can park at the top of the mountain. There is a ticket sales office at Hidden Lake Lodge, although I usually only recommend parking at the top of the mountain if you already have everything you need and can get in and out of your car quickly (it tends to be colder and windier up top). 

Powder Mountain Snow & Weather

Of course, since weather is my profession, and it’s also critical to delivering the best conditions possible, I would be remiss if I did not mention weather. Utah famously claims to have The Greatest Snow on Earth. Powder Mountain is no exception.

While it may not receive as much snow as some of the mountains in the Cottonwood Canyons, it still manages up to 360” annually, and can surpass 500” in big years. Powder Mountain also benefits from its favorability in a variety of different types of storms. It can receive big dumps in southwesterly flows, northwest flow, or zonal westerly flows. Often, storms will linger on the mountain long after the surrounding valleys have cleared out, adding several additional inches of fluff.

I have also found that the mountain tends to “ski deeper” than the reports. When they report 6 inches of snow, it actually feels like they got 10 inches or more. 

My favorite types of storms at Powder Mountain are colder storms, especially when they come during a cycle of storms that delivers consistent refreshes over a period of several days. These colder storms allow for better snow quality, which makes skiing the aspen glades more fun. It also ensures fluffy powder all the way down to the lowest elevations of the mountain, like the base of Paradise Express.

Exploring Powder Mountain

This section of this Insider’s Guide could be a standalone novel. I have so many “secret spots” around the mountain. Rather than spill the beans on all my stashes, I think it would be simpler to walk you through a typical powder day of mine at PowMow. My typical day starts with arriving at Timberline Lodge and gearing up before the mountain opens at 9:00 am. I then wait next to the yurt for the mountain to “open” and for them to allow you to ski down to the Timberline lift (reminder: there is no lift at Timberline Lodge, you have to ski down when they let you). 

Once on the Timberline lift, I like to scope out the aspects and terrain that looks like it’s skiing the best. To the looker’s right of the lift, you get some great north-facing tree aspects that often ski great during or just after a storm. You also get some west-facing slopes directly under the lift that can offer signs of where wind deposits may be stored. Based on this information, I decide where to go first. Usually, I head down to Hidden Lake Express. Hidden Lake is the heart of the mountain, accessing vast amounts of terrain. From the top, you can ski left or right or access several other lifts. It’s also one of the ways to get back to Timberline Lodge at the end of the day. I like to use Hidden Lake as my centering point, which you may need on snowy days when navigation around the mountain becomes more challenging. 

I’ll often do a few laps of Hidden Lake Express to score some of the more conspicuous powder fields that tend to get tracked faster. The slightly more gentle terrain also serves as a great warm-up for the more technical terrain of other lifts. Pro tip: If you like aspen glade skiing, you can head over to Sunrise, a Poma platter surface lift. From the top of Sunrise, you can get endless amounts of low-to-medium angle glade skiing. On days with 4-8” of new snow, this is the place to be for hero turns.

My friend, Kyle, enjoys the best aspen glades in Utah at Powder Mountain. Photo credit: Evan Thayer

On powder days, once the rope drops down to Paradise Express, that’s where you will find me. I have long said that on the right day, Paradise is the best lift in Utah. Perhaps the only downside was that in the past, it was a slow, fixed-grip lift. Now, however, it’s been upgraded to an express and is only an 8-minute ride to the top.

Paradise Express is now a high-speed detachable quad. Photo Credit: Powder Mountain

The entire lift essentially climbs and traverses a knife-edge ridge. From the top, all you have to do is follow the ridge down, and you will have limitless options on both the west and east sides of the ridge to drop in. Because you can follow the ridge as long as you like, there are so many options for where you can make turns. And as you get lower, the natural dispersion of terrain means the tracks get fewer and farther between. I have had days in which I lapped Paradise all day, from bell-to-bell, and never once crossed my own track.

The author, Evan Thayer, skiing the final run of the day powder off Paradise ridge. 

Perhaps Powder Mountain’s superpower, however, is that when all this “core terrain” gets skied out, there is still an endless amount of periphery terrain to be explored. And luckily, some of this terrain is easier to access than ever thanks to the new Lightning Ridge chairlift.

Previously, to access Lightning Ridge, one would have to either hike the ridge from near the top of the Sundown lift or ride the snow cat up the ridge from Sundown. Now, however, one can hop on a brand new chairlift adjacent to the base of the Timberline lift and expedite your trip up to some of Powder Mountain’s most technical terrain – for those seeking a more advanced, big mountain ski experience. 

The adventure, though, doesn’t stop at chairlifts. Some of PowMow’s most expansive terrain doesn’t involve a chairlift at all. Powder Country on the west side of Powder Mountain Road and Woody’s World on the east side of the road provide a truly unique experience. Rather than skiing down to a chairlift, you drop perfect powder fall lines down to the road, where one of Powder Mountain's shuttle buses then whisks you back up the mountain.

Woody’s World, in fact, is named in honor of one of Powder Mountain’s most beloved legends – Richard “Woody” Wood – who drove the Powder Mountain bus for many years and became synonymous with PowMow’s legendary powder days. 

The author, Evan Thayer, dropping down from Baldy in Powder Country. 

Of course, there is so much additional terrain at Powder Mountain that I can’t even begin to mention in this short Insider’s Guide. As I mentioned, the real value of PowMow is that it’s an endless journey that you will never truly finish. Just when you think you have seen it all, you find another pocket that you had never explored before.

Food & Après

Dining options on the mountain have always been top-notch, from Lucky Slice Pizza to delicious Mexican food at Hidden Lake Lodge.

The real jewel, however, is the aforementioned Powder Keg bar, located on the lower level of the Timberline Lodge. Their food options are always incredible. My favorite après-ski food has always been a bowl of hot ramen, and “the Keg” has always delivered some of the most delicious ramen I’ve ever had, and that includes all the ramen I have had while skiing in Japan. Live music is also frequently enjoyed there as well and table dancing has been known to occur.

Personally, for me, it’s everything an après-ski bar should be with equal parts relaxation and revelry. 

Lift Tickets & Passes 

Daily lift tickets for Powder Mountain can be purchased online or at the ticket windows. I highly recommend booking your lift ticket ahead of time, as the mountain limits the number of lift tickets sold each day, and you will want to guarantee your spot. The best way to fully experience Powder Mountain, of course, is with a Season Pass.

• Passholder Weekends: Experience exclusive weekends designed just for passholders—with special events and crowd-free access. Passholder weekends will be February 7 - March 1, 2026.
• Buddy Tickets: Bring friends and family along for the adventure next season with eight half-off buddy tickets.
• Resort Discounts: Unlock 20% off dining (excluding alcohol), lessons, rentals and retail next season.
• Early Access Days: Beat the crowd with early morning access to fresh powder and the best runs before anyone else on January 24, February 14, and March 14, 2026.

With unparalleled perks for passholders, it’s hard to argue against going this route. Trust me, once you ski at Powder Mountain once, you’ll want to ski there every day.

Final Thoughts

Powder Mountain is better experienced than explained. While I tried my best in this Insider’s Guide to describe the magic of this mountain, I’m not sure words can do it justice.

They say a photo’s worth a thousand words, well, I provided several of my own photos, plus thousands of actual words to try to convey the point, and it’s probably still insufficient. You just have to experience it to fully understand it. Every day you wait is another day you will live without PowMow in your life. Don’t wait another minute! 

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Visit PowderMountain.com for all lodging, event, and other ski-related information. 

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OpenSnow Resources

Snow Forecast & Report: Powder Mountain

Daily Snow Forecast: Utah

Download: OpenSnow App

Evan Thayer

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This guide was sponsored in partnership with Powder Mountain.