Alta, UT 1/27/08

[Admin]

Day 27: Holy blowing breezes, Batman!

I'm finally getting around to throwing something up here about Sunday. Honkin' winds ahead of the approaching storm blew bits of graupel sideways, stinging any bit of exposed flesh. Every aspect it seems was windblown. The day was grey, and my camera batteries were unexpectedly dead. I split after lunch at 1:15.

I couldn't get up there today, but neither could anyone else. The next storm should hit on Tuesday night just in time for birthday turns on Wednesday.

 

[icelanticskier]

sunday was a great day for untracked at solitude. the wind and 4 inches of bc spongecake made for refills run after run. talked to some folks who skied alta on monday, they got up the canyon before the 9 am closure and said it was limiting at best. that damn LCC was closed again this a.m. but less showed up at solitude which was nice and the bluebird pow day today served up untracked in esoteric places till i left at 2 pm. tomorrow will probably be the same, LCC closed for a while so solitude may be alta for yet another day but, that's the wasatch.
good skiing
rog

 

[Admin]

talked to some folks who skied alta on monday, they got up the canyon before the 9 am closure and said it was limiting at best.

You've really got to lose that anti-Alta hatred, for you're starting to sound like a disgruntled ex-employee. From a friend's email on Monday night:

Stuck at Alta Lodge with the road closed and the lifts open, the ultimate of any ones dream. The people at the Lodge called it Country Club skiing. Only two lifts open but all that mattered to us was Wildcat, the trees were the only way you could see, so it was an all Wildcat day for us, (though I met [name deleted for privacy] in the locker room and he said the high traverse was awesome as well) At one point the snow rate was 3 inches an hour and we could never find our tracks as we just ripped lap after lap, its amazing that such a small area can have so many little nooks and chutes , so it seemed like no two runs were ever the same. Perhaps my best day skiing ever.

"Limiting at best"?

 

[icelanticskier]

i guess the folks i spoke with weren't your friend. anti-alta? no, pro-solitude? yes! i have many fond memories of working/skiing at alta but, they pale in comparison to my experiences at solitude, BCC has a whole different vibe than LCC. more laid back and less hurried for powder and the pow lasts longer. if i'm passionate about something, yer gonna hear about it, i can't help it, i make my living as a salesman.
love you longtime
rog

 

[tirolerpeter]

Got up to Alta around 11 AM today. Super Blue Sky, and lots of nice little powder stashes around. Yes, there was some pretty "firm" stuff on some aspects, but the woods beyond Catherine's were sweet. Met a new guy who really knew the mountain and he definitely earned a couple of beers showing me around. He was, of course, from RI and semi-retired to the place he likes the best. Of course, when the front blew in, and the light went flat, we headed down to the Watson Shelter for a couple of brews! We then called it: "A Day"

 

[Admin]

anti-alta? no

oh, but please still go to alta cuz that's the place to be.

if alta dosen't have at least an 80 inch base, there are other places i'd much rather ski in BCC, well i'd rather ski over there anyway but, i won't get started on that one.

same thing at wallyworld, i mean alta on a nuking day.

saddleback is to sugarloaf is what solitude is to alta, "if you only knew"
don't get me started on that one, i'll stop now.

working at alta in the mid 90's really opened my eyes to the quality of skiing i was looking for, ya altas got some ok terrain but, when i'd look out my dorm window on a midweek pow day and see lines forming over an hour before the lifts would spin, i'd just throw the skins on and hike the other way and then i discovered solitude-what an improvement.

i woulda blown off alta all together for a reasonable ski experience at solitiude. no excuse for liftlines like that, if people only knew.

i wasn't concerned with your contentment, you can wait in line and ski where ever the wind blows your hair back. i was piping in for those who may be a bit less in the know that other similar ski experiences are available without all the crowds that an alta sees on pow days so that one day alta won't be so crowded on those days and i can deal with skiing there again. it's just my twisted way of trying to change the world one post at a time. joey will listen, it just takes time plus, solitude is a silent investment for me and my future.

to pay that price wouldn't be so bad if the place wasn't so crowded. a place like alta, with it's steep avy prone terrain needs careful control work and anyone that goes skiing there should expect some inconveniences involved with skiing there. i'd pay double that price to ski powder at a less populated ski hill because the experience can give you a feeling that you can ski untracked all day without butting elbows on a rocky high traverse and it's still way cheaper than flying with powderbirds.

 

[tirolerpeter]

anti-alta? no

oh, but please still go to alta cuz that's the place to be.

if alta dosen't have at least an 80 inch base, there are other places i'd much rather ski in BCC, well i'd rather ski over there anyway but, i won't get started on that one.

same thing at wallyworld, i mean alta on a nuking day.

saddleback is to sugarloaf is what solitude is to alta, "if you only knew"
don't get me started on that one, i'll stop now.

working at alta in the mid 90's really opened my eyes to the quality of skiing i was looking for, ya altas got some ok terrain but, when i'd look out my dorm window on a midweek pow day and see lines forming over an hour before the lifts would spin, i'd just throw the skins on and hike the other way and then i discovered solitude-what an improvement.

i woulda blown off alta all together for a reasonable ski experience at solitiude. no excuse for liftlines like that, if people only knew.

i wasn't concerned with your contentment, you can wait in line and ski where ever the wind blows your hair back. i was piping in for those who may be a bit less in the know that other similar ski experiences are available without all the crowds that an alta sees on pow days so that one day alta won't be so crowded on those days and i can deal with skiing there again. it's just my twisted way of trying to change the world one post at a time. joey will listen, it just takes time plus, solitude is a silent investment for me and my future.

to pay that price wouldn't be so bad if the place wasn't so crowded. a place like alta, with it's steep avy prone terrain needs careful control work and anyone that goes skiing there should expect some inconveniences involved with skiing there. i'd pay double that price to ski powder at a less populated ski hill because the experience can give you a feeling that you can ski untracked all day without butting elbows on a rocky high traverse and it's still way cheaper than flying with powderbirds.

Res ipso loquitor!

 

[icelanticskier]

that's right! sure glad you had enough energy to pull all that stuff up, energy that you could've used skiing the epic "country club" conditions at alta the past couple of days.
alta serves it's purpose, serves many in fact.
rog

 

[icelanticskier]

thanx toiletpeter, another sheep in the heard.
good luck gettin up LCC tomorrow.
rog

 

[Admin]

thanx toiletpeter, another sheep in the heard.
good luck gettin up LCC tomorrow.
rog

You're conveniently ignoring the fact that BCC was closed most of Monday, too.

I have no misconceptions of what the road situation will be in the morning, hence I'm thinking likely the Wasatch Back tomorrow.

 

[tirolerpeter]

thanx toiletpeter, another sheep in the heard.
good luck gettin up LCC tomorrow.
rog

You know, I once heard that the average American male wears the same size jockey shorts that they wore at age 16 regardless of any future growth or onset of corpulance. I doubted that when I first heard it, but your incessent negative prattle has pursaded me of the veracity of that bit of folk wisdom. Your shorts must really be crawling up your cheeks to make you so dyspeptic.

Now pay attention Aholeskier. The name is spelled Tirolerpeter.

 

[Admin]

Now, both of you...debate the relative merits of anything, but leave the name-calling and personal attacks out of it. Capiche?

 

[tirolerpeter]

Now, both of you...debate the relative merits of anything, but leave the name-calling and personal attacks out of it. Capiche?

Gladly, but the purile poster won't stop, and that is not to be tolerated.

 

[icelanticskier]

oops, sorry for my spelling error toiletpeter, must be my jr high edu. admin, BCC was closed late morning through the afternoon monday and the skiing was very nice. where were ya? organizing my quotes? thanx for that. your thoroughness and dedication is why i like this forum so much.
enjoy wasatch brokeback tomorrow
rog

 

[icelanticskier]

allright allright, i apologize for my attacks and hypocritical statements, alta bashing and what not.
enjoy the fresh snow tomorrow
rog

 

[tirolerpeter]

oops, sorry for my spelling error toiletpeter, must be my jr high edu. admin, BCC was closed late morning through the afternoon monday and the skiing was very nice. where were ya? organizing my quotes? thanx for that. your thoroughness and dedication is why i like this forum so much.
enjoy wasatch brokeback tomorrow
rog

Now I understand why President Bush pushed so hard for his "No Child Left Behind" program. He must have read your prose.

 

[Admin]

Gladly, but the purile poster won't stop, and that is not to be tolerated.

Neither is name-calling. Capiche? I really don't want to have to send any posters to a time out.

admin, BCC was closed late morning through the afternoon monday and the skiing was very nice. where were ya?

Alas, working.

organizing my quotes?

Nah, that took no time at all, you're so prolific. :wink:

 

[Admin]

alta bashing and what not.

Bash away. It's not only welcome, it's encouraged. Expect people to call BS when appropriate, though.

Personal attacks are another story.

 

[icelanticskier]

good enough
rog

 

[jamesdeluxe]

I'm siding with Icelantic on this one... and it's purely a matter of taste. Some people like the feeling of being in a big-tent club where tons of people show up and do the same thing. And it's not just Alta, but Snowbird, Whistler, any of the big boys with huge groups of followers.

I understand why the product is so popular and why people come from all over the world come to experience it... but being part of a group always makes me uncomfortable. Maybe it's the old Woody Allen line, "I'd never want to belong to a club that'd have me as a member."

For Alta, good for them, they've got an incredible product that appeals to tons of people. I'd find it hard to believe that the ski area isn't making money, which isn't a given in the ski business.

The last two days I was at Jackson Hole, whose terrain and snow are certainly in the Top 5 in North America. But something about being in a group, everyone in similar uniforms (130-waist skis, Marker Duke bindings, guys in goatees, etc.), all using the same slang straight out of the TGR chatboard, all after the same thing, really creeps me out.

In short, while I love the product, the crowd dynamics aren't something I'd to be a part of on a regular basis. So if this is what Icelantic is getting at, I agree. Even though many people would say the terrain at Solitude isn't as good, it's the same snow as Alta, Honeycomb and the Summit/Powderhorn areas are fantastic, and you get all of that without the cult atmosphere or crowds.

I'm at Grand Targhee for the next three days, and this is the kind of place I like. Yeah, I know it doesn't have the terrain of JH, but the snow is amazing, the people are friendly, and I don't feel like a lemming either on the mountain or in the village.

Rant over.