Alta, UT 1/17/2016

[Admin]

Day 36: Mobbed.

Yeah, it's a holiday weekend in the middle of a stormy cycle. Seriously, today was the busiest day I've seen all winter. I left the house at 8:20 and my drive to Alta, normally 17 minutes, took 55. Wasatch Blvd. was backed up all the way to Bengal Blvd (7200 S). My normal shortcut to avoid backed up traffic was also backed up. It was nuts.


Here, 9400 S is stop and (occasionally) go well back from the mouth of Little Cottonwood Canyon.

However, the snow was worth it! After roughly two feet of new snowfall since Friday, last night's wind beat it into a cool whip consistency. You rode near the surface, but bumps everywhere have been completely erased. We even did a non-stop High Boy top-to-bottom for our "warm up" run. And there were our usual little haunts to escape the people, although the vast majority were skiing groomers. Everything else, save for the Collins liftline until they finally got the EBT open to take the pressure off that lift, was delightfully under-populated.


Bobby Danger


Bobby Danger


Tiny Tim


Bobby Danger

Everyone but Tiny Tim split at 2 p.m. I did so partially because I was exhausted from yesterday's fun, but mostly because I didn't feel like a two-hour drive down the canyon at closing time.


Cars were parked on both sides of LCC Road from Snowbird Entry 4 all the way down to Snowbird Entry 1.

None of these little refreshers has been huge, but six, or eight, or 10 inches of new snow every other day or so makes for some absolutely wonderful skiing.

Oh, and funny: jojo_obrien is in town this week. Bobby stood right next to him this morning as jojo was taking touristy photos. Jojo didn't even notice.

 

[Tony Crocker]

Mobbed.
Yeah, it's a holiday weekend in the middle of a stormy cycle.

Sounds like a recipe for Powder Mt. Or maybe Solitude or Snowbasin. Not LCC.

 

[Admin]

I have zero regrets for my choice yesterday. None.

 

[jojo_obrien]

Even though it was more crowded than I have ever personally seen, the views yesterday were just unreal..... even at 1:30 pm I was still finding great snow...... it was a blessed day at Alta.

As I was flying over Lake Arrowhead I saw the red snake from Redlands to Big Bear......the bit of traffic headed up even on MLK weekend in LCC is nothing compared to the 330 in SoCal.............

 

[Tony Crocker]

Amen to jojo's Big Bear comment. On a busy weekend never, ever drive home down the 330. There are signs all over Snow Summit exhorting people to take the 38 back road to Redlands. Yet the hordes continue to crawl down the 330 for 3-4 hours. They could get most of the way to Mammoth in that time.

 

[Bobby Danger]

this was a way above average weekend for most resorts in the country to understand .... personally picking one day over the other would depend on ones personal preference in which type of quality was better . both days were of the extreme in quality in two completly different type of days. sat was pristine pow on the knee deep version with good density to provide effortless skiing on all aspects and pitch..... not quite hero snow . sun. was the morning after a eleven inch dump sat. evening with a sixty m.p.h. wind event with the storm in which it wasn't a prolonged wind event , just long enough to polish alta from top to bottom with the purest super hero snow... hospital speed could be achieved with no effort and sustained for long stretches on any aspect or pitch...bowling lane smooooooooooooth !!!! i would have put this weekends conditions against anywhere in the WORLD .. L.C.C. is a very special place

 

[Admin]

Mobbed.
Yeah, it's a holiday weekend in the middle of a stormy cycle.

Sounds like a recipe for Powder Mt. Or maybe Solitude or Snowbasin. Not LCC.

I don't recall telling you where you should ski while you were in Japan, did I? Had I done so, it would've been as well-informed a comment as yours. :roll:

 

[Tony Crocker]

To each his own. Some people really hate crowds. James, for example, would definitely have chosen somewhere else on a day like that.

If lift lines were reasonable (and I didn't hear any comments about that) the traffic junk show would have been a fair trade off for the quality of skiing IMHO.

 

[jamesdeluxe]

To each his own. Some people really hate crowds. James, for example, would definitely have chosen somewhere else on a day like that.

Absolutely true, but apples and oranges. Admin and crew ski far more challenging terrain than I'm capable of; they have a deep personal attachment to Alta; and they like to hang out as a group... hence their preference, even when it's mobbed.

 

[Bobby Danger]

trust me not alot of folks traveling our routes across the country side. yes people on traverses and the normal loitering spots , but not once you depart . and the lines were the longest five to six min. but looked far worse .....