Today was my first visit back to Alta since relocating here late last month. It felt so good.
I rustled my wife Patricia out of bed in time to hit the road by 7:30. After a bagel stop, we pulled into the lot at 8:15 and scored a parking spot right up against the wall of the Albion base lodge. Why? Because unlike some of the other, flashier ski areas around the neighborhood, Alta doesn't start spinning its lifts until 9:15. I could've scored another hour of sleep instead! #-o
So, we got to enjoy what could charitably be called a "leisurely" start. I lined Patricia up for a lesson. We grabbed a picnic table on the deck and sat down with the Sunday paper as folks slowly gathered for breakfast. Now, Patricia has long whined about skiing, winter, cold air...anything remotely related to skiing. She's never been too jazzed to go, but figured that if she's living here she might as well give it an honest shot. She's better than she gives herself credit for, and she opted for the "Discover Green Runs" two-hour group session. Her first "revelation" about living here was that she could sit outside at 8:30 comfortably and read the paper. Yet, the thermometer was probably reading in the low 20s.
I buzzed down to the new Collins lift at 9:30 and took a couple of fast cruisers in the Sugarloaf area. The weather was truly bluebird, to use an overused phrase. Conditions were fast and chalky, but not scratchy. I then zipped back to the base of Albion to ensure that Patricia was all set for her lesson before skating down to Wildcat base to meet up with my friend Marc and his houseguests from NJ.
We went back up Collins, and traversed into Yellow Trail. The snow was firm and chalky, yet edgeable. It's been a couple of weeks since any decent snowfall in the Wasatch, and while coverage is excellent we could sure use a resurfacing. The warm days this week translated into a noticeable change in the surface since last week at Snowbird.
We took the last possible opportunity to traverse back to the Sugarloaf chair, then bounced across a decidedly washboard High Traverse to enter High Greeley via Piss Pass for more of the same as was found on Yellow Trail. Marc's friend opted to try my Salomon Scream Pilot Hots sitting in the truck, then we hopped back on Sunnyside, riding over Patricia making some fine turns with her instructor. She had opted for a group lesson, but ended up with a private as she was the only student in her class.
Onward and upward via Sugarloaf, and we descended via some firm yet edgeable bumps on Chartreuse Nose and cruised to Albion base via Home Run to catch Patricia after her lesson. Devil's Elbow was getting scratchy now from the day's traffic. We all then went back up Sunnyside to lunch at Alf's.
After lunch, Patricia and I split off, for I wanted to spend some time watching her learn. We skied Collins Return to Waldron's Way, but she freaked out slightly at the initial pitch on Razorback, so we traversed back to Devil's Elbow (no less steep, really) and then followed Supreme Access to reach the Cecret Chair, for I wanted to give her a chance to get her confidence back. The overcast was now taking over our sunny day, and even a flake or two of snow drifted through the air.
After two runs there she began pining to check out Big Dipper, so we hopped on the Supreme Chair, where she had what she felt to be her run of the day. There was much less traffic on Supreme than on Sugarloaf, and the confidence boost from Cecret worked, for Big Dipper has the same pitch as the steepest section of Razorback, but for a much greater length.
We went back up Sugarloaf, for I wanted to show Patricia the other half of Alta as well. We skied Mambo down to the mid-loading of the new Collins Lift, then followed Meadow and Rustler Cat Track to get down to Wildcat base. Patricia handled Rustler Cat Track like a champ -- many novices would flip out over the way the narrow road cuts across the steep Rustler face, but it didn't faze her a bit. I got the blood going one last time by cutting the corner via Rustler. We then used the Transfer Tow to return to Albion.
The outtakes from all of this?
1. There's plenty of snow everywhere, but we need a refreshening of the surface. See below - it's coming. I've been here for less than 2 weeks -- am I becoming a snow snob already? :roll:
2. Patricia is now psyched on skiing. I never thought I'd see the day. She actually just asked me to show her where we were on the trail map! She's talking about how she would be if she skied "three or four times per week." She mentioned how it was an escape, that she thought of nothing else the whole time she was up there. After several tries in cold Northeastern weather, she's shocked that she could spend the whole day on the mountain and actually be comfortable.
3. I logged 15,420 verts for the day -- not bad considering that I spent the whole afternoon following Patricia around.
The weather forecast? We're about to get that resurfacing:
URGENT - WINTER WEATHER MESSAGE
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SALT LAKE CITY UT
935 PM MST SUN FEB 6 2005
.A COLD MOIST PACIFIC STORM SYSTEM WILL SPREAD SNOW ACROSS THE
AREA TONIGHT THROUGH MONDAY NIGHT.
IDZ025-UTZ007>010-017-018-071300-
CENTRAL AND SOUTHWEST MOUNTAINS-HENRY MOUNTAINS-WASATCH MOUNTAINS I-
80 NORTH-WASATCH MOUNTAINS SOUTH OF I-80-
WASATCH MOUNTAINS/IDAHO PORTION-WASATCH PLATEAU/BOOK CLIFFS-
WESTERN UINTA MOUNTAINS-
935 PM MST SUN FEB 6 2005
...HEAVY SNOW WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 5 AM MST TUESDAY...
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN SALT LAKE CITY HAS CONTINUED A
HEAVY SNOW WARNING FOR ALL OF THE MOUNTAINS OF UTAH AND EXTREME
SOUTHEAST IDAHO. THE WARNING IS FOR TONIGHT THROUGH MONDAY NIGHT.
SNOW WILL BECOME WIDESPREAD OVER THE MOUNTAINS BY LATE THIS EVENING.
THE SNOW WILL BE HEAVY AT TIMES OVERNIGHT AND PERSIST THROUGH
MONDAY EVENING. THE SNOW WILL TAPER OFF LATER MONDAY NIGHT.
IN ADDITION TO THE SNOW...SOUTHWEST WINDS OF 20-35 MPH AT
HIGHER ELEVATIONS WILL CAUSE BLOWING AND DRIFTING SNOW AT TIMES...
ESPECIALLY TONIGHT.
TOTAL ACCUMULATIONS OF 7-14 INCHES ARE EXPECTED AT ELEVATIONS
BELOW ABOUT 7000 FEET WITH 1-2 FEET AT THE HIGHER ELEVATIONS.
PEOPLE PLANNING TRAVEL OR OUTDOOR ACTIVITIES IN THE MOUNTAINS
TONIGHT THROUGH MONDAY NIGHT SHOULD BE PREPARED FOR HAZARDOUS WINTER
WEATHER CONDITIONS.
\
/ \/ \/
Marc, da bum, is taking the entire week off to ski with his friends. Me? I've got to work all week. ](*,)
Pictures? I took a couple this morning before skiing, but never pulled the camera out again before lunch, and the weather wasn't terribly photogenic in the afternoon. Here's what I got:
I rustled my wife Patricia out of bed in time to hit the road by 7:30. After a bagel stop, we pulled into the lot at 8:15 and scored a parking spot right up against the wall of the Albion base lodge. Why? Because unlike some of the other, flashier ski areas around the neighborhood, Alta doesn't start spinning its lifts until 9:15. I could've scored another hour of sleep instead! #-o
So, we got to enjoy what could charitably be called a "leisurely" start. I lined Patricia up for a lesson. We grabbed a picnic table on the deck and sat down with the Sunday paper as folks slowly gathered for breakfast. Now, Patricia has long whined about skiing, winter, cold air...anything remotely related to skiing. She's never been too jazzed to go, but figured that if she's living here she might as well give it an honest shot. She's better than she gives herself credit for, and she opted for the "Discover Green Runs" two-hour group session. Her first "revelation" about living here was that she could sit outside at 8:30 comfortably and read the paper. Yet, the thermometer was probably reading in the low 20s.
I buzzed down to the new Collins lift at 9:30 and took a couple of fast cruisers in the Sugarloaf area. The weather was truly bluebird, to use an overused phrase. Conditions were fast and chalky, but not scratchy. I then zipped back to the base of Albion to ensure that Patricia was all set for her lesson before skating down to Wildcat base to meet up with my friend Marc and his houseguests from NJ.
We went back up Collins, and traversed into Yellow Trail. The snow was firm and chalky, yet edgeable. It's been a couple of weeks since any decent snowfall in the Wasatch, and while coverage is excellent we could sure use a resurfacing. The warm days this week translated into a noticeable change in the surface since last week at Snowbird.
We took the last possible opportunity to traverse back to the Sugarloaf chair, then bounced across a decidedly washboard High Traverse to enter High Greeley via Piss Pass for more of the same as was found on Yellow Trail. Marc's friend opted to try my Salomon Scream Pilot Hots sitting in the truck, then we hopped back on Sunnyside, riding over Patricia making some fine turns with her instructor. She had opted for a group lesson, but ended up with a private as she was the only student in her class.
Onward and upward via Sugarloaf, and we descended via some firm yet edgeable bumps on Chartreuse Nose and cruised to Albion base via Home Run to catch Patricia after her lesson. Devil's Elbow was getting scratchy now from the day's traffic. We all then went back up Sunnyside to lunch at Alf's.
After lunch, Patricia and I split off, for I wanted to spend some time watching her learn. We skied Collins Return to Waldron's Way, but she freaked out slightly at the initial pitch on Razorback, so we traversed back to Devil's Elbow (no less steep, really) and then followed Supreme Access to reach the Cecret Chair, for I wanted to give her a chance to get her confidence back. The overcast was now taking over our sunny day, and even a flake or two of snow drifted through the air.
After two runs there she began pining to check out Big Dipper, so we hopped on the Supreme Chair, where she had what she felt to be her run of the day. There was much less traffic on Supreme than on Sugarloaf, and the confidence boost from Cecret worked, for Big Dipper has the same pitch as the steepest section of Razorback, but for a much greater length.
We went back up Sugarloaf, for I wanted to show Patricia the other half of Alta as well. We skied Mambo down to the mid-loading of the new Collins Lift, then followed Meadow and Rustler Cat Track to get down to Wildcat base. Patricia handled Rustler Cat Track like a champ -- many novices would flip out over the way the narrow road cuts across the steep Rustler face, but it didn't faze her a bit. I got the blood going one last time by cutting the corner via Rustler. We then used the Transfer Tow to return to Albion.
The outtakes from all of this?
1. There's plenty of snow everywhere, but we need a refreshening of the surface. See below - it's coming. I've been here for less than 2 weeks -- am I becoming a snow snob already? :roll:
2. Patricia is now psyched on skiing. I never thought I'd see the day. She actually just asked me to show her where we were on the trail map! She's talking about how she would be if she skied "three or four times per week." She mentioned how it was an escape, that she thought of nothing else the whole time she was up there. After several tries in cold Northeastern weather, she's shocked that she could spend the whole day on the mountain and actually be comfortable.
3. I logged 15,420 verts for the day -- not bad considering that I spent the whole afternoon following Patricia around.
The weather forecast? We're about to get that resurfacing:
URGENT - WINTER WEATHER MESSAGE
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SALT LAKE CITY UT
935 PM MST SUN FEB 6 2005
.A COLD MOIST PACIFIC STORM SYSTEM WILL SPREAD SNOW ACROSS THE
AREA TONIGHT THROUGH MONDAY NIGHT.
IDZ025-UTZ007>010-017-018-071300-
CENTRAL AND SOUTHWEST MOUNTAINS-HENRY MOUNTAINS-WASATCH MOUNTAINS I-
80 NORTH-WASATCH MOUNTAINS SOUTH OF I-80-
WASATCH MOUNTAINS/IDAHO PORTION-WASATCH PLATEAU/BOOK CLIFFS-
WESTERN UINTA MOUNTAINS-
935 PM MST SUN FEB 6 2005
...HEAVY SNOW WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 5 AM MST TUESDAY...
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN SALT LAKE CITY HAS CONTINUED A
HEAVY SNOW WARNING FOR ALL OF THE MOUNTAINS OF UTAH AND EXTREME
SOUTHEAST IDAHO. THE WARNING IS FOR TONIGHT THROUGH MONDAY NIGHT.
SNOW WILL BECOME WIDESPREAD OVER THE MOUNTAINS BY LATE THIS EVENING.
THE SNOW WILL BE HEAVY AT TIMES OVERNIGHT AND PERSIST THROUGH
MONDAY EVENING. THE SNOW WILL TAPER OFF LATER MONDAY NIGHT.
IN ADDITION TO THE SNOW...SOUTHWEST WINDS OF 20-35 MPH AT
HIGHER ELEVATIONS WILL CAUSE BLOWING AND DRIFTING SNOW AT TIMES...
ESPECIALLY TONIGHT.
TOTAL ACCUMULATIONS OF 7-14 INCHES ARE EXPECTED AT ELEVATIONS
BELOW ABOUT 7000 FEET WITH 1-2 FEET AT THE HIGHER ELEVATIONS.
PEOPLE PLANNING TRAVEL OR OUTDOOR ACTIVITIES IN THE MOUNTAINS
TONIGHT THROUGH MONDAY NIGHT SHOULD BE PREPARED FOR HAZARDOUS WINTER
WEATHER CONDITIONS.
\
/ \/ \/ Marc, da bum, is taking the entire week off to ski with his friends. Me? I've got to work all week. ](*,)
Pictures? I took a couple this morning before skiing, but never pulled the camera out again before lunch, and the weather wasn't terribly photogenic in the afternoon. Here's what I got:
