Snowbasin’s John Paul Campout packed with amenities
Mandy and Gabriel Sampson from Mountain Green stake out their tent below the John Paul Lodge at the start of the Snowbasin Campout in Friday, July 17, 2015. (DENNIS MONTGOMERY/Special to the Standard-Examiner)
Debbie and Scott Wilson prepare their tent, complete with a giant air mattress, below the John Paul Lift at the start of the Snowbasin Campout on Friday, July 17, 2915. (DENNIS MONTGOMERY/Special to the Standard-Examiner)
Ryan Woolsey, from the Snowbasin staff, helps unload gear from a vehicle which carried Snowbasin Campout guests' quipment to the John Paul Lodge on Friday, July 17, 2015. (DENNIS MONTGOMERY/Special to the Standard-Examiner)
Craig Johnson (left) and Lannie Scopes from the group "Hired Guns" sang for Snowbasin Campout guests before dinner Friday and after dinner, they performed a rollicking western show for campers. (DENNIS MONTGOMERY/Special to the Standard-Examiner)
The Snowbasin culinary staff served a gourmet dutch oven and spit prepared dinner for guests at the John Paul Campout on Friday evening, July 17, 2015. (DENNIS MONTGOMERY/Special to the Standard-Examiner)
Debbie and Scott Wilson from Mountain Green carry an air mattress to their tent site below the top of the John Paul Lift during the Snowbasin Campout on Friday, July 17, 2015. (DENNIS MONTGOMERY/Special to the Standard-Examiner)
Campers take down their tents on Saturday morning, July 18, 2015, after spending the night at the top of the John Paul lift during the Snowbasin Campout. (DENNIS MONTGOMERY/Special to the Standard-Examiner)
Campers take down their tents on Saturday morning, July 18, 2015, after spending the night at the top of the John Paul lift during the Snowbasin Campout. (DENNIS MONTGOMERY/Special to the Standard-Examiner)
Amy Post (left) from the Snowbasin staff, briefs campers before guiding them up to the top of the Olympic Tram trail during the Snowbasin John Paul Campout held on July 17-18, 2015, (DENNIS MONTGOMERY/Special to the Standard-Examiner)
Doug and Karen Simonton , from Mariott-Slaterville, enjoy the view from the deck of the John Paul Lodge as they eat breakfast after a night of camping during the Snowbasin John Paul Campout held on July 17-18, 2015. (DENNIS MONTGOMERY/Special to the Standard-Examiner)
A tent overlooking Pineview Reservoir sits in the morning sunshine after a night of showers moved through the Snowbasin John Paul Campout on July 17-18, 2015. (DENNIS MONTGOMERY/Special to the Standard-Examiner)
Craig Johnson (center) talks with Riquel and Mason Gallegos near their campsite below the John Paul Lift at the Snowbasin Campout on Friday, July 17, 2015. (DENNIS MONTGOMERY/Special to the Standard-Examiner)
Guests at the Snowbasin John Paul Campout were treated to vivid displays of wildflowers during their camping adventure on July 17-18, 2015. (DENNIS MONTGOMERY/Special to the Standard-Examiner)
A tent pitched near the John Paul Monument below the John Paul Lodge greets the sunrise at Snowbasin on July 18, 2015 during the Snowbasin Campout. (DENNIS MONTGOMERY/Special to the Standard-Examiner)
A tent pitched beneath the John Paul Quad lift line greets the sunrise on Saturday morning at Snowbasin's John Paul Campout on July 18, 2015, (DENNIS MONTGOMERY/Special to the Standard-Examiner)
Some of the campers at the Snowbasin Campout held on July 17-18, 2015, elected to pitch their tents or lay out sleeping bags in the lower level of the John Paul Lodge to keep themselves out of the elements. (DENNIS MONTGOMERY/Special to the Standard-Examiner)
Snow basin held a campout at the top of the John Paul lift for 46 guests on July 17-18, 2015. (DENNIS MONTGOMERY/Special to the Standard-Examiner)
Craig Johnson (left) and Lannie Scopes (right) relate the tale of "Black Bart", a notorius western bank robber, with the help of a volunteer from the group attending Friday's Snowbasin Campout at the John Paul Lodge. (DENNIS MONTGOMERY/Special to the Standard-Examiner)
Lannie Scopes (left) greets Snowbasin Campout campers as they disembark from the John Paul Lift on Friday, July 17, 2015. (DENNIS MONTGOMERY/Special to the Standard-Examiner)
”In Your Backyard” is a series of articles about one- to two-day adventures within 2-3 hours of Ogden. This entry features Snowbasin Resort.
Snowbasin has long been a world-class winter destination, but with a few summer program additions, it’s making moves toward a world-class summer destination as well.
Last weekend my husband Mike and I headed sans kids (this practically guarantees success) up to Snowbasin for the glamping-style Dining Discovery event, the first-ever John Paul Campout.
The event showcased a few of Snowbasin’s summer programs — guided tours, world-class food, and trails — that they are building in order to attract visitors year-round.
“We want to be a year-round destination,” said Samantha Strauss, marketing coordinator for Snowbasin. “We have this beautiful mountain, and it’s at least 10 degrees cooler up here, so it’s a great place to be in the summer. We want to fully utilize all the potential that we have here.”
The evening began with a trip up the John Paul express chair while our tent, sleeping bags and ginormous air mattress traveled up in a truck. Snowbasin runs the Needles gondola on Saturdays and Sundays 10 a.m.-6 p.m., but turned on the John Paul for this event.
The chairlift in the summertime was a pleasant and slightly dizzying ride. The ground was much farther away with no snow covering it and the variety of plants and terrain was surprising. Riding the chairlift seems like one of the last dangerous activities left in America, so of course it was fun.
When we arrived at the top we were greeted by professional “howdier” Lannie Scopes, a member of the cowboy entertainment group “In Cahoots,” which would perform later that night.
The John Paul Lodge as a setting was dramatic, with the sunset reflected off the rough, towering cliffs and the windows of the luxurious lodge. We scoped out a few tent sites while waiting for our gear, and it was even cool enough to warrant some hot chocolate. Other guests milled around a few patio fires, set up camp, or chatted with Scopes and his business partner, Craig Johnson, while they set up their sound equipment.
“We just wanted to try something new and see what kind of response we would get,” said Strauss about why they added the campout to their summer activities. “It’s a very unique experience, and it’s definitely exceeded our expectations.”
Eventually Johnson and Scopes began to sing and strum on the patio, and our gear arrived. The clouds were gathering and it looked like rain, so we opted to camp close to the lodge, and set up our tent right off of the patio. The other reason we didn’t venture too far was that we needed power for our boat-like air mattress. We own a couple of thermarests, but we were glamping, so we figured, after reading the menu, that our stuffed selves would need a huge air mattress for the night. This almost backfired on us, because our air mattress barely fit into our two-man tent. The zipper was a little stretched. But if it wouldn’t have fit, we could have stretched out in the lodge basement, which is what a few guests opted to do.
Judy and Ken Crandall of Eden said they came up because it sounded like something fun.
“My husband wanted to go camping and we thought it would be an adventure,” said Judy. “I liked not having to hike up, and having somebody else cook the food, the variety. It was kind of nice.” The Crandalls pitched their tent on the lower deck of the lodge. They said they normally ski at Snowbasin and the event was a good way to see another side of the mountain.
Combining the dramatic setting, the funny and inclusive entertainment, and even a little education with the delectable food, made it a memorable, easy-going outdoor experience for the 45 people who filled the sold-out $125 per ticket event.
Doug and Karen Simonton of Slaterville were two of the guests who said they enjoyed the entire experience.
“I’ve loved the food and being outside and the atmosphere,” said Karen.
“And the nice show by the band with music and comedy,” said Doug. “Plus we’re on the top with just a few people.”
The dinner was prepared over the open fire with Dutch ovens and spits and included bourbon chicken, lemon dill salmon, cowboy cut pork chop, open-fire slow-roasted wagyu beef tenderloin, wild bison meatloaf, cheddar and green chili au gratin potatoes, cornbread with honey butter, brussel sprouts and pork belly, dutch oven peach cobbler.
Scott Sniggs, Snowbasin’s executive chef, said he and his crew began preparing the food two days ahead and they tried to match the menu to the glamping theme.
“We just wanted to do something a little different with a campout theme that was rustic and elegant. We knew the John Paul Lodge had a gorgeous fireplace that we could walk in and stand up in, so we wanted to utilize that as a focal point. So when we wrote the menu, we wrote things we could really utilize the building for,” said Sniggs.
After dinner, guests were invited by Amy Post, summer activities coordinator for Snowbasin, to go on a short hike to learn about the history of the lodge and the geology of the area (an ocean floor at 9,000 feet). Then it was time for some cowboy poetry, singing around the campfire and good old-fashioned storytelling by “In Cahoots.” We roasted marshmallows, laughed a lot and finally turned in for the night. Unfortunately, the cloud cover prevented us from seeing the stars.
We slept as well as we could in a tent, and the next morning, we packed up our gear, and ate like kings again before we headed out on a nature hike with Post. She showed the group different types of flowers, let us peek into the start houses for the 2002 winter Olympics and took us to the top of No Name Peak (yes, that’s it’s name). The view was stunning, with Pineview Reservoir and the valley laid out below us and pine trees towering in the background.
Lori and Bob Anders were there to celebrate Lori’s birthday and also said they enjoyed the view, especially seeing the mountain in the summer.
“As much as we ski here, I’ve never ventured to the top of John Paul,” said Lori. “This is a controlled environment with people that know about the area, and we love the outdoors. This is perfect for me to come up and experience this. I can’t say there is anything I haven’t enjoyed. Truly for me, I’ve enjoyed everything: sleeping outdoors, and the food was excellent. We’re thinking about hiking down.”
After our guided hike, guests were invited to either ride the lift down or hike the mountain, while their gear again traveled in trucks. We rode the lift down because Mike and I had our mountain bikes waiting for us at the bottom. We figured after all of our glamping we needed a little honest sweat, and we wanted to check out a few of the 26 miles of trail that can either be gondola-accessed or pedal-power-accessed. A mountain bike gondola pass costs $25, and a gondola ride hiking pass is $12. It’s still free to power yourself up the mountain, which is what we chose.
Snowbasin mountain bike trails connect to additional Forest Service trails to make nearly 50 miles of trail available to bikers. Mike and I started riding up the Needles summer trail, but wanted a little downhill, not all at the end, so we headed over to the Forest Service trails and hit the Mount Ogden Canyon overlook trail. We were on our way up to Sardine Peak when Mike’s chain broke. With no chain tool, we decided it was time to turn around and coasted back down to the parking lot, satisfied that we had both luxury and a little work combined into a swanky outdoor weekend.
While the John Paul Campout is a once-a-year event, Snowbasin offers plenty of summer activities that make a day trip worth making. The mountain biking trails alone are worth the trip. As part of Snowbasin’s expanding summer programming, Post leads nature hikes and educational tours every Saturday, June 20 to Sept. 26 at 10:30 a.m. ($15/person, or $20 w/ gondola pass). The summer tours include topics such as “Intro to Mountain Biking,” “Science of Snowmaking” and “How a Ski Lift Works.” The schedule can be found at https://www.snowbasin.com/the-mountain/summer-guided-tours/.
Post also leads Sunday Kids programs every Sunday, June 21 to Sept. 27, for ages 7-12, 2:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. These are a drop-off event and cost $25.
Beside the family and kid tours, there are other Dining Discovery events (prices vary) https://www.snowbasin.com/dining/dining-discovery/, Mountaintop Brunch ($35), Blues Brews and BBQ every Sunday (free music), https://www.snowbasin.com/the-mountain/entertainment/blues-brews-bbq/, a new climbing wall ($7), a playground (free), a strider and bike practice bike loop (free), and a trampoline “spider jump” ($7).
For more information see www.snowbasin.com.
