Day 29: Colder than...
Holy cow! If I thought that Thursday at Alta was cold, today was 10 degrees colder still, a ways below zero Fahrenheit. Thankfully today's even stronger winds never quite materialized as forecast. I seldom wear even a neck gaitor, but today broke out the ColdAvenger Expedition Balaclava. Yeah, you look like a geeky Darth Vader, but damn...the thing works. It passes most moisture while your breath creates what is in essence a face heater. Nice.
That didn't help my extremities, however, and fingers and toes got nippy after only a few runs. On top of that the snow was even slower than yesterday -- you couldn't even glide off of Collins and instead literally had to walk off the lift. I went in to warm up in GMD followed by Amy, and we both eventually bagged it while Skidog and Tele Jon battled on.
The snow? Other than slow, it was skiing rather well with a few inches of fresh overnight atop a relatively spongy base. The crowds? Yeah, it was crowded, but only inside the lodges. Liftlines for Collins never exceeded a couple of minutes the whole time I was there.
Oh, and a special "thank you" to my favorite Alta parking lot attendant, who shall remain nameless to protect the guilty. I pulled into the Wildcat lot already about one-third full and as he guided me into the next available spot he gestured for me to wait a moment, then gestured again to have me follow him as he pulled his truck out of the very front spot #1, 25 feet from the Goldminer's door to make room for my vehicle instead. Thanks, bud, and Happy New Year! You know who you are.
Holy cow! If I thought that Thursday at Alta was cold, today was 10 degrees colder still, a ways below zero Fahrenheit. Thankfully today's even stronger winds never quite materialized as forecast. I seldom wear even a neck gaitor, but today broke out the ColdAvenger Expedition Balaclava. Yeah, you look like a geeky Darth Vader, but damn...the thing works. It passes most moisture while your breath creates what is in essence a face heater. Nice.
That didn't help my extremities, however, and fingers and toes got nippy after only a few runs. On top of that the snow was even slower than yesterday -- you couldn't even glide off of Collins and instead literally had to walk off the lift. I went in to warm up in GMD followed by Amy, and we both eventually bagged it while Skidog and Tele Jon battled on.
The snow? Other than slow, it was skiing rather well with a few inches of fresh overnight atop a relatively spongy base. The crowds? Yeah, it was crowded, but only inside the lodges. Liftlines for Collins never exceeded a couple of minutes the whole time I was there.
Oh, and a special "thank you" to my favorite Alta parking lot attendant, who shall remain nameless to protect the guilty. I pulled into the Wildcat lot already about one-third full and as he guided me into the next available spot he gestured for me to wait a moment, then gestured again to have me follow him as he pulled his truck out of the very front spot #1, 25 feet from the Goldminer's door to make room for my vehicle instead. Thanks, bud, and Happy New Year! You know who you are.