We were standing in line at Collins when the lift opened this morning. At my house at 5,000 feet "snain" was falling, and while it was all snow at the base of Alta, it was definitely the heaviest, wettest snow that I've ever seen in Utah. The snow report from early morning claimed 3" of new, but it was more than that by the time that the hill opened, and it continued snowing at varying intensities throughout the day. Boot-top could be found if you searched for where it blew in courtesy of last night's strong southwesterlies, and I even heard a couple of avi bombs detonated this morning.
The snow nicely refreshed surfaces that baked during the sunny week. It was tricky going -- you had to remain focused due to the constant weight shifts by the heavy snow, but it was still a blast to ski in. The goal for much of the day was to find high-elevation trees, for the snow was drier up high but trees were needed for definition while skiing in the clouds. We found perhaps the best combination of these factors off the Supreme Chair, as we blasted through tree island after tree island off of No. 9 Express.
Our posse split into 2 groups for the day: those with moderate testosterone poisoning, and those who either for terrain preferences or for exhaustion chose to take it easy today. I opted for the former group, with a pair of friends visiting from MA and a friend of a friend visiting from NJ. Our group pounded for most of the day, save for a lunchtime rendezvous with the other group. The mountain was busy today, for this was a snow day as well as the first weekend day since last Monday's nearly 2-foot dump. Our plans to lunch at Alf's were shifted to the Albion base lodge when we failed to secure a table at Alf's.
We really skied all over, including a first run on Yellow Trail (huge mistake in the fog when we encountered the surprisingly manky new snow for the first time); Fred's Trees x2 (highlight of the day); woods off No. 9 Express on Supreme; Catherine's Area; Piney Glade to Supreme Challenge; High Nowhere/North Rustler (another highlight); and tree islands wherever we could find them. I called it a day at 3 pm after 15,000 verts, the guy from NJ lasted one run more than me (commendable, for he was skiing day 7 in a row with a cold), and a couple more runs on Wildcat finished off my two friends from MA by 4:30. I needed to keep some energy in reserve for tomorrow. :wink:
It was a slow drive down canyon in 2nd gear in the snow, even at 5:30, as I got stuck behind a guy who from the smell of it will definitely need new brake linings after today. :roll: The lack of mountain driving skill around here continues to surprise me.
Sorry, no pix...with the low visibility, the camera never left my pocket today. Maybe tomorrow. The storm is winding down now, but another system is scheduled to move in tomorrow night and Monday. It's a great time to be in Utah right now.
The snow nicely refreshed surfaces that baked during the sunny week. It was tricky going -- you had to remain focused due to the constant weight shifts by the heavy snow, but it was still a blast to ski in. The goal for much of the day was to find high-elevation trees, for the snow was drier up high but trees were needed for definition while skiing in the clouds. We found perhaps the best combination of these factors off the Supreme Chair, as we blasted through tree island after tree island off of No. 9 Express.
Our posse split into 2 groups for the day: those with moderate testosterone poisoning, and those who either for terrain preferences or for exhaustion chose to take it easy today. I opted for the former group, with a pair of friends visiting from MA and a friend of a friend visiting from NJ. Our group pounded for most of the day, save for a lunchtime rendezvous with the other group. The mountain was busy today, for this was a snow day as well as the first weekend day since last Monday's nearly 2-foot dump. Our plans to lunch at Alf's were shifted to the Albion base lodge when we failed to secure a table at Alf's.
We really skied all over, including a first run on Yellow Trail (huge mistake in the fog when we encountered the surprisingly manky new snow for the first time); Fred's Trees x2 (highlight of the day); woods off No. 9 Express on Supreme; Catherine's Area; Piney Glade to Supreme Challenge; High Nowhere/North Rustler (another highlight); and tree islands wherever we could find them. I called it a day at 3 pm after 15,000 verts, the guy from NJ lasted one run more than me (commendable, for he was skiing day 7 in a row with a cold), and a couple more runs on Wildcat finished off my two friends from MA by 4:30. I needed to keep some energy in reserve for tomorrow. :wink:
It was a slow drive down canyon in 2nd gear in the snow, even at 5:30, as I got stuck behind a guy who from the smell of it will definitely need new brake linings after today. :roll: The lack of mountain driving skill around here continues to surprise me.
Sorry, no pix...with the low visibility, the camera never left my pocket today. Maybe tomorrow. The storm is winding down now, but another system is scheduled to move in tomorrow night and Monday. It's a great time to be in Utah right now.