Alta/Bird 4/7/2014

[jojo_obrien]

The best thing about FTO is that you can say whatever you want ......and others might disagree or call it b.s........and that's fine........I try to provide as candid, honest, no b.s. reports as I perceived the day went for me. And today......it was one of the best days of the season, top 3 for me. Why? Basically nobody was there.......it was all locals and employees. Very few people book trips in April to go to Alta..........Jan- March are prime time.

Started out on Collins - 2nd chair. Went out to Piss Pass contemplating a run on High Boy but saw the completely untracked High Greeley area and just let it rip. Super smooth, creamy, untracked lines. Bluebird, full throttle........kick ass. Did 3 more laps in that area -- including 3rds. Beautiful beautiful lines. Snow was in great shape.......skied beautifully. Quite the contrast from last Tuesday w/ 14-18" of fresh but gone in a NY minute.......not so much today. Very few people out at Alta. Skied a West Rustler line -- the wind buff did magic -- it was totally ripable and just a blast......skied like a dream. Very few people skiing West Rustler.

Backside opened up and it was just ......a blast. Beautiful creamy smooth lines that skied like a charm. Not wet at all. I skied 2-3 laps on Backside and was very very very content. It stayed good all mid morning long.

Saw Chamonix @ Bird was untracked so took a run over there. Hit up Sugar Cliffs.........JUST a little bit wind affected -- not perfect by any means.....untracked but definitely required more edge than Backside Alta. Still skied beautifully.....went over to Chamonix and enjoyed perfect untracked full throttle lines. Noone out.

Went out to Backside Alta for some more fresh turns. Then around 1230 Devil's Castle opened up. I took 3 laps on DC and one on Cecret Saddle. 2nd line @ DC was the best line of the day. It's really an experience to get first or near first tracks in that area IMO. It really makes you feel the "magic" of Alta. Especially when no-one else is around. It's a beautiful experience .....almost sacred.

Skied one more Backside b/c I was getting tired and it was still good but Suzies tries were getting nuked by the sun. To be expected.

Today was the sh**. I'll take 6" fresh and essentially no one there vs. 16" and everyone in SLC up to ski any day of the week.

jojo

 

[Tony Crocker]

A "sleeper" storm, not hyped much and most Utah powder princesses think 6" in April is not nearly enough. Quality is not that surprising considering admin's report from Sunday afternoon, but few people knew about that either.

My closest experience this season was probably Wednesday March 26 at Mammoth, with similar wind-smoothed powder and not much competition. But at Mammoth the reason for the light competition was bad vis and high winds with the top closed. Getting this kind of skiing on a bluebird day is unreal. =D> =D> =D>

 

[jojo_obrien]

thanks..........it was killer......mad props to ASP for getting Backside open ASAP, then Ballroom (rippin lines on Tombstone .........) AND Devil's Castle...this was the first time this year I skied three gates (that are normally closed during storms) in ONE day. A record.

Side note Tony -- what is steeper -- Main Chute @ Alta or Hangman's @ Mammoth ?

 

[Tony Crocker]

Hangman's above the throat is probably steeper than Main, but that part is maybe 100 vertical. Main averages 41 degrees for 700 vertical per Google Earth estimate. In my experience sustained pitches over 40 are rare in lift service in North America. Big Couloir at Big Sky (43 degree average for 1,000 vertical) is the most sustained steep I've experienced.

I think length of sustained steep matters a lot in rating difficulty, so I would tell people that in general Main and Little Chutes are tougher than most of Mammoth's upper steeps. Confinement is another issue though, especially since I won't take to the air in that kind of terrain. Maybe 1/3 of the time I inspect Hangman's I decline to ski it due to conditions in the throat. I probably decline to ski Philippe's 3/4 of the time I inspect it. So in that respect Main is more comfortable due to its width. Little Chute I would decline without soft snow.

La Grave of course has much more but guides limited what we could ski there in March 2008 as it hadn't snowed in a month. La Vaute was ~2,700 vertical, top quarter was chalky powder in upper 30's. The rest was in low 30's but scarier since it was frozen granular and fall consequences would have been severe.

Steep terrain rating system by Andrew McLean from a few years back:
http://www.wildsnow.com/articles/rating ... le_web.htm
Recent revision to that scale:
http://www.wildsnow.com/more/ski-descent-rating-system/

 

[Philadendron]

Just rode Hangman's last Wednesday in 15 or so of fresh. In fact, I lapped the entire top of Mammoth for about 10 or so runs. Hangman's was my first, but it's much like everything else up there: steep in the beginning, eases up as it goes. For the most part, each chute is the same, just depends on how steep you wanna start, and what type of entry you want (cornice).

For what it's worth, I did Paranoid 4 and that hike along that ridge, plus that initial drop-in, were way more intimidating than Hangman's. I didn't even hesitate on Hangman's. P4, I contemplated for about 20 seconds before dropping.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Tony Crocker]

In normal years the Paranoid entries are much easier than Hangman's. This year there are rocks all along the top of the Noids, so most of us are using the traverse track from Monument that goes to P1 with a short and slightly rocky step-up beyond to P2. That traverse rates to melt out crossing the spines with much in the way of spring sun unless there is more snow.

I never inspected the Noids from the top in March, but I was guiding people that had never been to Mammoth. I wanted to show them P1 and P2 but also to get them there in the most straightforward manner.

 

[Philadendron]

In case you're interested, here's what Hangman's looked like last week. Lucked out and got it very lightly tracked, but coverage was very good. Would've hit it repeatedly, but I wanted to lap 23, not the Gondola.

Here's a snap:

Here's the video: https://vimeo.com/91471771

 

[Tony Crocker]

It's impressive that Hangman's opened up that much at all in a year like this. March 24-25 I could see from far beolow that there were lots of small rocks in the crux. The 3 storms over the next week must have covered them, probably temporarily in light of recent weather. :evil: