Is Alta Good for Beginners?

Approximately 15% of Alta’s terrain is marked as green. The resort technically isn't working with as much green terrain as it used to have—the Cecret beginner lift was removed a few years ago, and the mellow runs previously served by that lift are no longer accessible without hitting intermediate or harder terrain first. As a result, the Sunnyside area comprises the extent of Alta’s green terrain.

This area is served by the Albion and Sunnyside lifts, both of which take essentially parallel lift lines. Albion is a vintage double without safety bars, and the Sunnyside lift is a unique detachable triple (try finding one of those somewhere else on your next ski vacation). If you're a beginner, Sunnyside is an absolutely beautiful place to learn. Like the rest of Alta, these slopes maintain striking scenery and a lack of buildup.

But overall, this resort is just not ideal for beginners. Besides the runs off these lifts, there are no green runs at Alta. As a result, beginners will have to learn quickly or run out of terrain to track. We feel guests will need to reach intermediate proficiency to really enjoy the full resort.

One caveat—the resort does offer the heavily discounted Sunnyside at 3 afternoon pass, which provides access to just the Albion and Sunnyside beginner lifts from 3-4:30pm. This pass is just $59 for the 2020-21 season, and to locals, learning for this bargain price may well be worth it. Full-day beginner tickets and daily Sunnyside at 3 tickets were suspended this season due to COVID-19.

See our full resort breakdown and written review for Alta here.