Sunday was a bit warmer than Saturday, and much of the groomed and lower mountain terrain at Snowbird transitioned to spring conditions. By word of mouth only a small amount of terrain at Alta retained dry snow after Sunday. Monday was similarly warm and sunny.
Tuesday was a bit cooler, with some wind on top of Hidden Peak. With the sustained dry weather and deep coverage 6 of us were ready to hike Baldy and ski the north facing chutes into Alta. Alas, when we checked with Snowbird patrol on Hidden Peak we were informed that Alta had closed them. Snowbird patrol speculated that the wind had honed a bulletproof surface at the top of Baldy and that that anyone who fell up there could slide all the way into Ballroom.
I skied Main Chute back in 1990, and observed a steady stream of people hiking Baldy from Alta on Saturday. So a lesson learned: If the Baldy Chutes tempt you and they are open, carpe diem!
A few more observations. The new high speed Collins Lift is the final step in making Alta a viable weekend choice. Back in the 1980's I would never set foot there on a Saturday due to huge lift lines. I also think that the 3-day Altabird Pass for $58/day is worth its $8-11 price premium over a single area ticket to have the run of 4,700 acres of the world's greatest skiing.
Tuesday was a bit cooler, with some wind on top of Hidden Peak. With the sustained dry weather and deep coverage 6 of us were ready to hike Baldy and ski the north facing chutes into Alta. Alas, when we checked with Snowbird patrol on Hidden Peak we were informed that Alta had closed them. Snowbird patrol speculated that the wind had honed a bulletproof surface at the top of Baldy and that that anyone who fell up there could slide all the way into Ballroom.
I skied Main Chute back in 1990, and observed a steady stream of people hiking Baldy from Alta on Saturday. So a lesson learned: If the Baldy Chutes tempt you and they are open, carpe diem!
A few more observations. The new high speed Collins Lift is the final step in making Alta a viable weekend choice. Back in the 1980's I would never set foot there on a Saturday due to huge lift lines. I also think that the 3-day Altabird Pass for $58/day is worth its $8-11 price premium over a single area ticket to have the run of 4,700 acres of the world's greatest skiing.
