Day 11: Expectations
It's a beautiful day in this neighborhood
A beautiful day for a neighbor
Would you be mine?
Could you be mine?
Won't you be my neighbor?
I expected it to be freezing cold
Sometimes inversions are wonderful things, especially when you wake up to 11 degrees at 5,000 feet and the airport records a record low of 6. When I left the house it was -1ºF at the base of Collins and +9ºF at the top, so I threw on the insulated jacket rather than the shell. Oddly enough, we went through such a workout that I was sweating like a pig. The neck gaitor even got stowed on lift ride #3.
I expected that the locals who could escape work yesterday would've hammered it to death
There was an amazing amount of untracked left on the hill, as the photos below prove. Alta isn't always tracked out 90 minutes after a storm!
I expected it to be busy
The day after a 28.5-inch snowstorm ends you'd think that the place would be packed. Instead, I don't think that I've ever seen Alta that deserted.
I expected to be exhausted
I slept only from midnight to 4 a.m. as I had to take The Wife to the airport for an early morning flight, then I couldn't get back to sleep. I was barely able to drag myself out to the truck this morning, asking myself repeatedly why I was doing this to myself.
Here's why:
Days don't get much better than this! Bob Dangerous and I were on the Collins quad immediately after the 9:15 opening. We figured that the most untracked remaining would be in Catherine's, plus it would be warmer up high with the inversion, so we headed straight there. The gate for the cutover from Devil's Castle remains closed (in fact, Devil's Castle itself and the East Castle, along with Supreme Bowl, are about the only things that remain closed, save for a few lines off Chartreuse Nose), so we had to ride Cecret to get to Supreme.
Somehow the short hike up Catherine's doesn't seem as bad as it used to. Maybe it's because after two seasons I'm getting used to living here. Maybe it's because I've skied 10 out of the past 14 days. Whatever the reason, it was so good that we made two laps out there. The first 200 verts were rather wind-affected, but below that it was just pure 6% bottomless delight. How do you possibly top that? By heading OB on the second run onto the SW shoulder of Patsy Marley for even more untracked. Wow. Double wow.
Rather than schlep uphill back to Supreme, we instead pointed them downhill in the groomer track from crews starting to prepare the cross-country loop and returned to Sugarloaf. Bob had a hankering to hit Backside, and I couldn't disagree. I will say, though, that the wind and blowing snow across the Germ Return was about as bad as I've ever experienced. You couldn't keep your speed because of 1) the headwind, and 2) the big drifts you had to slide across. Bob's in the auto body business, and if he had any panels he needed to prep for painting he could've simply placed them on the Germania Return today for sandblasting.
We headed out, out, out the backside traverse, nearly to Susie's Trees. There we found plenty of untracked to enjoy...the day after the end of the storm!
Bob had to get to work, so he headed for his truck as I boarded Sunnyside, carved down to Sugarloaf, and headed up to again brave the Germ Return, this time heading for the High T. The T is in enormously better shape than it was on opening weekend, with only a bit of rubble to step across at the Sunspot Ridge. How empty was Alta today? I didn't see another soul on the entire length of the High Traverse. (In fact, except for Bob, I didn't ride a chair with anyone today, either.)
I opted for North Rustler, which was still only lightly tracked for half its width on the upper part, although the throat through the cliffs to the lower apron was a bit hairball to negotiate, with roots and rocks poking through in some critical locations. I was getting tired, but it was time for one more run, up Wildcat.
More lightly tracked and untracked down the old Watson Shelter Hill was my reward, but my punishment was a stupid head-plant on moderately-angled untracked. I put my tail between my legs and called it a day, well satisfied from the 8 runs and nearly 10K vert of perfection.
It's a beautiful day in this neighborhood
A beautiful day for a neighbor
Would you be mine?
Could you be mine?
Won't you be my neighbor?
I expected it to be freezing cold
Sometimes inversions are wonderful things, especially when you wake up to 11 degrees at 5,000 feet and the airport records a record low of 6. When I left the house it was -1ºF at the base of Collins and +9ºF at the top, so I threw on the insulated jacket rather than the shell. Oddly enough, we went through such a workout that I was sweating like a pig. The neck gaitor even got stowed on lift ride #3.
I expected that the locals who could escape work yesterday would've hammered it to death
There was an amazing amount of untracked left on the hill, as the photos below prove. Alta isn't always tracked out 90 minutes after a storm!
I expected it to be busy
The day after a 28.5-inch snowstorm ends you'd think that the place would be packed. Instead, I don't think that I've ever seen Alta that deserted.
I expected to be exhausted
I slept only from midnight to 4 a.m. as I had to take The Wife to the airport for an early morning flight, then I couldn't get back to sleep. I was barely able to drag myself out to the truck this morning, asking myself repeatedly why I was doing this to myself.
Here's why:
Days don't get much better than this! Bob Dangerous and I were on the Collins quad immediately after the 9:15 opening. We figured that the most untracked remaining would be in Catherine's, plus it would be warmer up high with the inversion, so we headed straight there. The gate for the cutover from Devil's Castle remains closed (in fact, Devil's Castle itself and the East Castle, along with Supreme Bowl, are about the only things that remain closed, save for a few lines off Chartreuse Nose), so we had to ride Cecret to get to Supreme.
Somehow the short hike up Catherine's doesn't seem as bad as it used to. Maybe it's because after two seasons I'm getting used to living here. Maybe it's because I've skied 10 out of the past 14 days. Whatever the reason, it was so good that we made two laps out there. The first 200 verts were rather wind-affected, but below that it was just pure 6% bottomless delight. How do you possibly top that? By heading OB on the second run onto the SW shoulder of Patsy Marley for even more untracked. Wow. Double wow.
Rather than schlep uphill back to Supreme, we instead pointed them downhill in the groomer track from crews starting to prepare the cross-country loop and returned to Sugarloaf. Bob had a hankering to hit Backside, and I couldn't disagree. I will say, though, that the wind and blowing snow across the Germ Return was about as bad as I've ever experienced. You couldn't keep your speed because of 1) the headwind, and 2) the big drifts you had to slide across. Bob's in the auto body business, and if he had any panels he needed to prep for painting he could've simply placed them on the Germania Return today for sandblasting.
We headed out, out, out the backside traverse, nearly to Susie's Trees. There we found plenty of untracked to enjoy...the day after the end of the storm!
Bob had to get to work, so he headed for his truck as I boarded Sunnyside, carved down to Sugarloaf, and headed up to again brave the Germ Return, this time heading for the High T. The T is in enormously better shape than it was on opening weekend, with only a bit of rubble to step across at the Sunspot Ridge. How empty was Alta today? I didn't see another soul on the entire length of the High Traverse. (In fact, except for Bob, I didn't ride a chair with anyone today, either.)
I opted for North Rustler, which was still only lightly tracked for half its width on the upper part, although the throat through the cliffs to the lower apron was a bit hairball to negotiate, with roots and rocks poking through in some critical locations. I was getting tired, but it was time for one more run, up Wildcat.
More lightly tracked and untracked down the old Watson Shelter Hill was my reward, but my punishment was a stupid head-plant on moderately-angled untracked. I put my tail between my legs and called it a day, well satisfied from the 8 runs and nearly 10K vert of perfection.
Attachments
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13 alta wildcat 061130.jpg -
12 alta n rustler 061130.jpg -
11 alta admin backside 061130.jpg -
10 alta bob_d exits patsym 061130.jpg -
09 alta bob_d patsym 061130.jpg -
08 alta bob_d catherines 061130.jpg -
07 alta catherines 061130.jpg -
06 alta catherines 061130.jpg -
05 alta bob_d catherines 061130.jpg -
04 alta riding cecret 061130.jpg -
03 alta sugarloaf and east greeley 061130.jpg -
02 alta lenticular 061130.jpg -
01 alta mt superior 061130.jpg -
00 alta 061130 suunto S6 data.jpg
