Alta, UT 3/2&3/05

[Maury Markowitz]

Well now I understand what everyone is talking about. Don't get me wrong, Solitude is fun, but Alta is what I think about when I think "big hills".

Wednesday was amazing. That fluffing we got on Tuesday hadn't skiied off yet, so on my warm-up runs on the blues under Collins were on fresh snow. They didn't get packed down until lunchtime, and in the meantime I started skiing the fresh stuff on the traverses off to the right of Collins (Ballroom IIRC). For the afternoon I moved over to Supreme and started feeling really strong, so the rest of the day I was doing higher speed runs down No.9 and Challenger. Clearly that lesson I took on Monday has seriously improved my skiing.

I came back on Thursday, but about three hours in my legs fell apart. I sat it out for a while and considered taking a bumps lesson, but by 1 things weren't feeling any better and I called it a day.

My only complaint about Alta was the signage. There were a number of times where I didn't know where I was or how to get back to a particular lift. More annoying was the utterly useless signs for the bowls and other off-trail areas; after skiing a few labled "expert only" and able to clearly see they were essentially blues, I got myself into serious trouble going into another that looked the same and turned into a 10' chute that was well beyond my abilities. I was gunshy from that point on, for instance I never took a trip down Greely even though it looked like a green. Information is power.

Generally I absolutely loved Alta. It's exactly the mix of terrain I love to ski, and I was able to "step up" a bit into some bumpy stuff at various skill levels. I wouldn't suggest it to an outright beginner (largely because there are lots of people on the easy runs), but for me it offered huge variety and great snow.

When I come back next year I'll definitely open with Alta, I could easily spend an entire week here.

 

[Admin]

Well now I understand what everyone is talking about.

I was there 3/5 as well. Let me know next time you're around and we'll make a few runs.

My only complaint about Alta was the signage. There were a number of times where I didn't know where I was or how to get back to a particular lift. More annoying was the utterly useless signs for the bowls and other off-trail areas; after skiing a few labled "expert only" and able to clearly see they were essentially blues, I got myself into serious trouble going into another that looked the same and turned into a 10' chute that was well beyond my abilities. I was gunshy from that point on, for instance I never took a trip down Greely even though it looked like a green. Information is power.

Trying to label every line at Alta is an exercise in futility. So is trying to translate Alta into the two dimensions of a trail map, although this season a remarkably greater number of lines are now named on the map. I've been skiing it every weekend for half the winter now, after skiing it often over the past decade or so while visiting, and there are still more lines that I don't know the names of than there are lines that I can identify. You've got to be able to read the terrain, and act accordingly. Also take seriously any signs that say "Cliff Area" -- they mean it. ;-)

However, that said, part of Alta's mystique IMO is the way that she hides some of her best secrets. The average visitor, for example, will have to work hard to even figure out how to stand atop Eagle's Nest. Really, that's about the only thing that preserves some lines a little bit longer than others.

 

[Maury Markowitz]

I was there 3/5 as well. Let me know next time you're around and we'll make a few runs.

Yeah, I just saw your post. My flight out was at 7:20AM, so Sat was out. Too bad too, I was feeling seriously strong on Friday and would have likely tackled just about anything if I had a guide. Were you around Friday too?

However, that said, part of Alta's mystique IMO is the way that she hides some of her best secrets. The average visitor, for example, will have to work hard to even figure out how to stand atop Eagle's Nest. Really, that's about the only thing that preserves some lines a little bit longer than others.

I just need to get better in the bumps. Right now I can handle anything that's paved -- even the REALLY steep stuff off of Supreme that I could definitely not do last week -- and I can do soft bumps on a green/blue level or the perfectly-shaped machine-made ones we have out here.

Well that just sets my goal for next year. If I can seriously learn the bumps then I'll be a much better all-round skiier. If I can get to the point where I can do a bumped-up black run then I would feel more confident attacking this stuff without worry.

That's what I like about this sport, it's almost entirely self-directed in terms of progression. There's no limit to what you can learn, you can keep doing new stuff depending on your goals. Some day, maybe, I'll be the "crazy" treking up to the peak over Ballroom.

This is rather unlike skydiving, where I got to a particular level of performance and then got very bored -- nothing "up" from there interested me enough to stay in the sport.

 

[Admin]

Yeah, I just saw your post. My flight out was at 7:20AM, so Sat was out. Too bad too, I was feeling seriously strong on Friday and would have likely tackled just about anything if I had a guide. Were you around Friday too?

No, but it's my bad...I somehow looked at your subject line and saw 3/2&5/05" -- don't know why I thought it said that.

Some day, maybe, I'll be the "crazy" treking up to the peak over Ballroom.

Baldy Chutes, which are kind of like...

skydiving