Day 18: Outcome of the Christmas storm
There were at first conflicting reports of the canyon opening this morning. Some reports said 8:30, some said 9:00. Eventually, though, all converged on 10:30.
The Kid wanted to come along today to ski the 22 inches of new, and with it being Christmas and all I agreed to buy him a lift ticket (he's the one who insisted upon a PCMR season pass this year). We first headed out at 8:15 and hit Einstein Bagels, but as the reports changed to 10:30 we ate in and headed back home, leaving the house again around 10 a.m.
This was the first big test of the Salt Lake County Sheriff's new canyon closure program, and in my opinion they failed miserably. Sure enough, the roadblock was set up at the fork in the road where Wasatch Blvd and Little Cottonwood Canyon Road split (at the sign for La Caille), but instead of allowing us to park on the side of Wasatch, clearly out of traffic several feet beyond the fog line, a deputy forced all of us sitting there to "move along," which instead sent us cruising in circles through the adjacent neighborhoods. They've spared the folks at the mouth of the canyon and pissed off those in neighborhoods only slightly more distant, evidenced by some dirty looks from folks clearing their driveways. Now if they complain I suppose that we'll be sent further and further afield until we're left waiting in Magna. :roll:
In the end we timed it perfectly, for when they opened the canyon at ~10:35 we were maybe the 20th or 30th car allowed through. We pulled into the Wildcat lot by 11, and Collins wasn't yet loading. However, waiting for the others stuck further back it was around noon when we finally boarded Collins.
The snow was simply divine. Bottomless, yet denser than normal, which is precisely what we needed. All of the usual avi suspects were closed, including Ballroom, Baldy Shoulder, Backside, Baldy Chutes and Devil's Castle. Supreme and Cecret lifts never opened. But it just didn't matter.
As folks kept arriving the Collins liftline remained a steady 10-12 minutes (for the record, every other lift had zero line), so we headed straight to Greeley Hill for the first run. Riding back up Sunnyside and Sugarloaf we were surprised to find upper Chartreuse gate open for the first time this year, and took a couple of runs through that gate before returning to Collins.
By now, though, the temperature was plummeting. It just got damned cold. Really feeling it on a run out Santa Clause (how fitting!) it just got too nippy for me and I called it a day. With so much terrain closed today, tomorrow should be just as good.
Here's a short video, and a marked departure from my usual:
[skitube2]http://www.firsttracksonline.com/modules/crpVideo/pnmedia/videos/1230344250_2008-12-25_26_Alta.flv[/skitube2]
There were at first conflicting reports of the canyon opening this morning. Some reports said 8:30, some said 9:00. Eventually, though, all converged on 10:30.
The Kid wanted to come along today to ski the 22 inches of new, and with it being Christmas and all I agreed to buy him a lift ticket (he's the one who insisted upon a PCMR season pass this year). We first headed out at 8:15 and hit Einstein Bagels, but as the reports changed to 10:30 we ate in and headed back home, leaving the house again around 10 a.m.
This was the first big test of the Salt Lake County Sheriff's new canyon closure program, and in my opinion they failed miserably. Sure enough, the roadblock was set up at the fork in the road where Wasatch Blvd and Little Cottonwood Canyon Road split (at the sign for La Caille), but instead of allowing us to park on the side of Wasatch, clearly out of traffic several feet beyond the fog line, a deputy forced all of us sitting there to "move along," which instead sent us cruising in circles through the adjacent neighborhoods. They've spared the folks at the mouth of the canyon and pissed off those in neighborhoods only slightly more distant, evidenced by some dirty looks from folks clearing their driveways. Now if they complain I suppose that we'll be sent further and further afield until we're left waiting in Magna. :roll:
In the end we timed it perfectly, for when they opened the canyon at ~10:35 we were maybe the 20th or 30th car allowed through. We pulled into the Wildcat lot by 11, and Collins wasn't yet loading. However, waiting for the others stuck further back it was around noon when we finally boarded Collins.
The snow was simply divine. Bottomless, yet denser than normal, which is precisely what we needed. All of the usual avi suspects were closed, including Ballroom, Baldy Shoulder, Backside, Baldy Chutes and Devil's Castle. Supreme and Cecret lifts never opened. But it just didn't matter.
As folks kept arriving the Collins liftline remained a steady 10-12 minutes (for the record, every other lift had zero line), so we headed straight to Greeley Hill for the first run. Riding back up Sunnyside and Sugarloaf we were surprised to find upper Chartreuse gate open for the first time this year, and took a couple of runs through that gate before returning to Collins.
By now, though, the temperature was plummeting. It just got damned cold. Really feeling it on a run out Santa Clause (how fitting!) it just got too nippy for me and I called it a day. With so much terrain closed today, tomorrow should be just as good.
Here's a short video, and a marked departure from my usual:
[skitube2]http://www.firsttracksonline.com/modules/crpVideo/pnmedia/videos/1230344250_2008-12-25_26_Alta.flv[/skitube2]
