Days 38 & 39: Before and after.
Before:
Saturday started off sunny and windy (55 mph gusts at the top of Collins), but dark clouds were lurking over the West Desert and quickly moved in. Wind sift had filled the gully where Yellow Trail transitions into Backside, and that was delightful until ASP closed Backside due to the wind loading. Snowfall began at lunchtime and with it the wind died down, and the skiing just got better as the afternoon wore on. My brain, however, was hazy and I never really did get dialed in on Saturday. Add to that a one-hour drive home down LCC at 3:30 and the day was just "meh" for me.
After:
We started the day with a foot of new overnight and another 4" fell during the day. I finished shoveling my driveway at 7:15, and by 7:30 I figured, "What the hell," I'd drive up early to beat the crowds and have breakfast at GMD. I gave a hitchhiking Alta Lodge employee a ride up canyon, and I arrived at Entry 4 just as Unified Police closed Hellgate and forced us onto the Bypass Road. Evan from Wasatch Snow Forecast also came up early and joined me for breakfast. Just as we were finishing our meals, at 8:52 a.m. Evan and I witnessed something we've never seen before: Alta opened early. 23 minutes early. On a powder day!
Unheard of! I'm used to seeing Alta open late on a powder day, never early. I somehow lost Evan in the frenzy, but found AmyZ and Telejon who were just arriving. We went straight to Collins and got a lap in through an untracked Fred's Trees before those arriving for the usual 9:15 opening even knew what happened.
By then Backside was open, and we were joined by Skidog, rdwore, mrgskier with Clay from MRG, Pete from back East, and Arnie. Evan made the occasional cameo appearance. We couldn't buy a bad run all day if we tried to.
Hard to believe with that snow and after a cross-country flight, but I literally had to drag Clay -- an avid Patriots fan -- away from the TV in the GMD saloon for the afternoon.
My last run on Thirds proved how tired I was, when I went over the handlebars unexpectedly and got body slammed. That level of tiredness, however, is a great feeling thanks to a great day so I was happy when I split at 3:15...until I got into the Red Snake at Snowbird Entry 4. 3:15 is usually a safe time, but not today -- it took me an hour and 10 minutes to get home, a drive that takes 17 minutes on dry road.
Before:
Saturday started off sunny and windy (55 mph gusts at the top of Collins), but dark clouds were lurking over the West Desert and quickly moved in. Wind sift had filled the gully where Yellow Trail transitions into Backside, and that was delightful until ASP closed Backside due to the wind loading. Snowfall began at lunchtime and with it the wind died down, and the skiing just got better as the afternoon wore on. My brain, however, was hazy and I never really did get dialed in on Saturday. Add to that a one-hour drive home down LCC at 3:30 and the day was just "meh" for me.
After:
We started the day with a foot of new overnight and another 4" fell during the day. I finished shoveling my driveway at 7:15, and by 7:30 I figured, "What the hell," I'd drive up early to beat the crowds and have breakfast at GMD. I gave a hitchhiking Alta Lodge employee a ride up canyon, and I arrived at Entry 4 just as Unified Police closed Hellgate and forced us onto the Bypass Road. Evan from Wasatch Snow Forecast also came up early and joined me for breakfast. Just as we were finishing our meals, at 8:52 a.m. Evan and I witnessed something we've never seen before: Alta opened early. 23 minutes early. On a powder day!
Unheard of! I'm used to seeing Alta open late on a powder day, never early. I somehow lost Evan in the frenzy, but found AmyZ and Telejon who were just arriving. We went straight to Collins and got a lap in through an untracked Fred's Trees before those arriving for the usual 9:15 opening even knew what happened.
By then Backside was open, and we were joined by Skidog, rdwore, mrgskier with Clay from MRG, Pete from back East, and Arnie. Evan made the occasional cameo appearance. We couldn't buy a bad run all day if we tried to.
Hard to believe with that snow and after a cross-country flight, but I literally had to drag Clay -- an avid Patriots fan -- away from the TV in the GMD saloon for the afternoon.
My last run on Thirds proved how tired I was, when I went over the handlebars unexpectedly and got body slammed. That level of tiredness, however, is a great feeling thanks to a great day so I was happy when I split at 3:15...until I got into the Red Snake at Snowbird Entry 4. 3:15 is usually a safe time, but not today -- it took me an hour and 10 minutes to get home, a drive that takes 17 minutes on dry road.
