Day 52: Insane! (Insane snow, insane traffic, insane crowds.)
Hands-down the best day of the year so far. Also the most crowded I've ever seen the Cottonwood Canyons. Take a bluebird powder day and stick it on a holiday and, well...it's to be expected I guess. Driving up this morning took 50 minutes, double the normal time. Traffic southbound on Wasatch Blvd turning left to head up Big Cottonwood Canyon was backed up for a third of a mile, nearly to the sand pits. Little Cottonwood Canyon was backed up beyond the Swamp Lot, forcing me off onto residential streets to bypass a mile of it. By the time I left the ski area at 11:30 a.m. they were diverting all uphill traffic onto the Bypass Road and forcing them to turn downhill where it rejoins LCC Road at E-Gate, parking Alta skiers between E-gate and the Hellgate Condos. :shock:
There was not a single space on the shoulder of LCC Road the entire distance from Snowbird Entry 4 to Entry 1. By 11:41 the Salt Lake County Sheriff closed both BCC and LCC to all uphill traffic because "all ski resorts are at or near capacity." The singles line for Collins wrapped around and up the hill halfway to Wildcat. That equated to 15-minute liftline for Collins all morning.
But it was worth every second for Collins led to the goods today. Yesterday's snow was deep, but of medium or slightly heavier density. The last 9" of our 37" storm that fell overnight was far lighter, and the deeper stuff seemed to dry out in the clear and cold overnight air.
As a result, we were back to Utah pixie dust this morning, and we arrived atop Collins right as the Ballroom/Baldy Shoulder gate opened for the first time since the storm began. In GMD we bumped into our friend Denis, here from DC for his annual three-week Utah powder bender. He's now 70, and while he may tell you that he's slowing down trust me, this guy can still rip!
It was so good, we went back for sloppy seconds.
For our third run, Jon and I opted to head out to Backside while Denis went for a third Ballroom. The Backside traverse was only set about a third of the way across the hill, though, so we skied all the way down and around back to Collins. We looked up and spotted Susie's Trees barely touched, so with the traverse not yet set we finished up my day by accessing Susie's via Cheater's Thirds to Eddie's High. Great call! Deep and untracked in Susie's, a fitting way for me to return to work and Jon to continue skiing into the afternoon.
Hands-down the best day of the year so far. Also the most crowded I've ever seen the Cottonwood Canyons. Take a bluebird powder day and stick it on a holiday and, well...it's to be expected I guess. Driving up this morning took 50 minutes, double the normal time. Traffic southbound on Wasatch Blvd turning left to head up Big Cottonwood Canyon was backed up for a third of a mile, nearly to the sand pits. Little Cottonwood Canyon was backed up beyond the Swamp Lot, forcing me off onto residential streets to bypass a mile of it. By the time I left the ski area at 11:30 a.m. they were diverting all uphill traffic onto the Bypass Road and forcing them to turn downhill where it rejoins LCC Road at E-Gate, parking Alta skiers between E-gate and the Hellgate Condos. :shock:
There was not a single space on the shoulder of LCC Road the entire distance from Snowbird Entry 4 to Entry 1. By 11:41 the Salt Lake County Sheriff closed both BCC and LCC to all uphill traffic because "all ski resorts are at or near capacity." The singles line for Collins wrapped around and up the hill halfway to Wildcat. That equated to 15-minute liftline for Collins all morning.
But it was worth every second for Collins led to the goods today. Yesterday's snow was deep, but of medium or slightly heavier density. The last 9" of our 37" storm that fell overnight was far lighter, and the deeper stuff seemed to dry out in the clear and cold overnight air.
As a result, we were back to Utah pixie dust this morning, and we arrived atop Collins right as the Ballroom/Baldy Shoulder gate opened for the first time since the storm began. In GMD we bumped into our friend Denis, here from DC for his annual three-week Utah powder bender. He's now 70, and while he may tell you that he's slowing down trust me, this guy can still rip!
It was so good, we went back for sloppy seconds.
For our third run, Jon and I opted to head out to Backside while Denis went for a third Ballroom. The Backside traverse was only set about a third of the way across the hill, though, so we skied all the way down and around back to Collins. We looked up and spotted Susie's Trees barely touched, so with the traverse not yet set we finished up my day by accessing Susie's via Cheater's Thirds to Eddie's High. Great call! Deep and untracked in Susie's, a fitting way for me to return to work and Jon to continue skiing into the afternoon.
