Day 41: Comma Chute's legal!!
For the first time ever, Alta and Snowbird Ski Patrols have opened Comma Chute. Previously you could ski it only after Alta closes for the season, as the only access to Comma Chute, even though it's on Snowbird property, is from Alta and ropelines have always kept it off limits. This weekend, though, they've made it legal.
There's a reason for keeping it off limits, for there's only one route through that section of cliff bands. And while it starts off on a steep snowfield that looks innocuous enough, one slip or trip there and the natural fall line will carry you tumbling and sliding straight off a 100-footer. This is a true DFU zone. Just before the cliff you have to bang a hard left and navigate your way along a narrow spine between the 100 footer on your right and another to your left, to the one point that you can get into the chute proper without getting cliffed out.
We waited until after lunch to hit it, however. After a quick run at Alta we headed straight to Snowbird, with Mad River Glen regulars Peter, Marty and Scott in tow. And once in Snowbird, we made a beeline for Great Scott.
The entrance is truly ugly, navigating your way through the rocks on a 45 degree pitch that's wind-scoured right down to the bulletproof rain crust from mid-January. Once in, though, it was billiard table-smooth steep chalk. The first time, Marty and Scott begged off and headed for the mid-Cirque instead. It was so good that we hit it a second time later in the day, and this time Marty dropped in, too.
The highlight of the day, besides Comma Chute, however, was the weather. Sunny and around 40 degrees. With the sun so low in the January sky things never got spring-like at all and snow stayed dry. Not a cloud in the sky, and not a breath of wind. We've had so few sunny days on weekends thus far this winter it was a welcome respite from our typical cloudy days, and from the inversion smog down in the Valley.
Enough words, here are the photos:
For the first time ever, Alta and Snowbird Ski Patrols have opened Comma Chute. Previously you could ski it only after Alta closes for the season, as the only access to Comma Chute, even though it's on Snowbird property, is from Alta and ropelines have always kept it off limits. This weekend, though, they've made it legal.
There's a reason for keeping it off limits, for there's only one route through that section of cliff bands. And while it starts off on a steep snowfield that looks innocuous enough, one slip or trip there and the natural fall line will carry you tumbling and sliding straight off a 100-footer. This is a true DFU zone. Just before the cliff you have to bang a hard left and navigate your way along a narrow spine between the 100 footer on your right and another to your left, to the one point that you can get into the chute proper without getting cliffed out.
We waited until after lunch to hit it, however. After a quick run at Alta we headed straight to Snowbird, with Mad River Glen regulars Peter, Marty and Scott in tow. And once in Snowbird, we made a beeline for Great Scott.
The entrance is truly ugly, navigating your way through the rocks on a 45 degree pitch that's wind-scoured right down to the bulletproof rain crust from mid-January. Once in, though, it was billiard table-smooth steep chalk. The first time, Marty and Scott begged off and headed for the mid-Cirque instead. It was so good that we hit it a second time later in the day, and this time Marty dropped in, too.
The highlight of the day, besides Comma Chute, however, was the weather. Sunny and around 40 degrees. With the sun so low in the January sky things never got spring-like at all and snow stayed dry. Not a cloud in the sky, and not a breath of wind. We've had so few sunny days on weekends thus far this winter it was a welcome respite from our typical cloudy days, and from the inversion smog down in the Valley.
Enough words, here are the photos:
