Traverses

[Admin]

I, however, love the High-T. Traverses and sidesteps preserve powder. They allow a mountain to be skied without a lift up every damn sub-peak. You can also argue that they teach mountain sense...Last and most important, don’t bitch about it. Appreciate that the resort didn’t add another lift, preserving the mountain experience—and the powder.

This post is dedicated to Tony Crocker, especially the second to last sentence quoted above:
http://www.skinet.com/skiing/articles/ode-traversing

 

[Tony Crocker]

I have no problem with that article. Obviously powder lasts longer if a lot of it is out at the end of traverses. But even at Alta 20-25% of days at best are powder days (ignoring locals like admin who get to cherry pick them).

Other factors being equal, I like to see a ski area with a balance of direct skiing and off-the-beaten-track skiing. Like Snowbird. :stir:

The problem with the High T is not the powder days. It's the spring days when it's bulletproof all morning and the best preserved snow is out at the end of it on Highboy/Eagle's Nest/North Rustler. With an Mountain Collective dual mountain pass that's not a problem that particularly concerns me. I can drop in on Alta for the couple of hours that it's good.

 

[Admin]

I have no problem with that article.

Nor do you have any problem with whining incessantly about traverses. I have witnesses. :lol:

Other factors being equal, I like to see a ski area with a balance of direct skiing and off-the-beaten-track skiing. Like Snowbird. :stir:

Nor do I have any problem with you hanging out over there with the rest of the riff-raff. :wink:

The problem with the High T is not the powder days. It's the spring days when it's bulletproof all morning and the best preserved snow is out at the end of it on Highboy/Eagle's Nest/North Rustler. With an Mountain Collective dual mountain pass that's not a problem that particularly concerns me. I can drop in on Alta for the couple of hours that it's good.

And I can follow the sun at Alta to ski the countless other lines that are good until the T is ready. And even before it is, I don't care much about the tooth or two that I'll leave on the T heading out there.

 

[Tony Crocker]

Here's another quote from admin's reference:

A longtime Alta patroller once told me there should be a guidebook so people can properly use the High-T. In reality it’s basic common sense. Maintain your speed. Merge and exit as if it’s a freeway. Don’t stop! The sound of a pole tap means heads up behind you. Never take off your skis on a sidestep. Learn to use your edges and stay out of the back seat. Embrace it—it’s the path to good skiing. Go fast.

Traversing is an advanced skill on an Alta powder day, especially when visibility is not great. Like all advanced skills there's a learning curve. Thanks to admin, I've had a quite bit more practice in the past decade and thus it's less of a burden than it used to be. It remains difficult to keep a group of mixed abilities together on the High T though.

While I am in general against mountains banning snowboards, I believe that if/when they are ever allowed at Alta, the High T will be a highly unpleasant experience for most of them.

 

[Admin]

Here's another quote from admin's reference:

A longtime Alta patroller once told me there should be a guidebook so people can properly use the High-T. In reality it’s basic common sense. Maintain your speed. Merge and exit as if it’s a freeway. Don’t stop! The sound of a pole tap means heads up behind you. Never take off your skis on a sidestep. Learn to use your edges and stay out of the back seat. Embrace it—it’s the path to good skiing. Go fast.

Traversing is an advanced skill on an Alta powder day, especially when visibility is not great. Like all advanced skills there's a learning curve. Thanks to admin, I've had a quite bit more practice in the past decade and thus it's less of a burden than it used to be. It remains difficult to keep a group of mixed abilities together on the High T though.

While I am in general against mountains banning snowboards, I believe that if/when they are ever allowed at Alta, the High T will be a highly unpleasant experience for most of them.

And for most skiers, because of what the boards would do to the T. And God forbid a snowboarder would take off his or her board and walk because they couldn't hold their line. You'd be witnessing a fatality within the first week.

Erme gives some solid advice in the quote above. And if you can't yet maintain the speed and are holding up traffic, do everyone (including yourself) a favor and pull off to the side for a moment and let traffic pass. The key phrase there is "to the side." The biggest traverse faux pas (and danger to yourself and others) is stopping right on the traverse, something I witness much too often. I've even gone so far as to politely educate some on that point, but no matter how politely you do so, most for some reason become rather indignant about it.

 

[jamesdeluxe]

"THIS TRAVERSE IS LIKE NOTHING YOU HAVE EXPERIENCED BEFORE (...) GIVE THIS SPECIAL TRAVERSE THE RESPECT IT DESERVES!" :lol:

 

[Admin]

"THIS TRAVERSE IS LIKE NOTHING YOU HAVE EXPERIENCED BEFORE (...) GIVE THIS SPECIAL TRAVERSE THE RESPECT IT DESERVES!" [emoji38]

You may laugh, but the High T is unique. There are many, many people throughout the winter for whom the High T truly is like nothing they have ever experienced before. And that's part of the problem.

 

[EMSC]

The High T Traverse is hardly even worth mentioning (on a relative basis at least) to some of the Euro traverses I did. And that's ignoring the 7 kilometer traverse off the backside of La Grave which was notable for it's length but not much else.

That's the likely problem of it. The high T traverse is just not so huge and difficult that it will actually dissuade snowboarders from trying it and/or post holing it (if they ever get access to Alta). A truly 'big' traverse, and they would quickly realize the folly and not try such a thing at all.

IMHO

 

[Tony Crocker]

The High T Traverse is hardly even worth mentioning (on a relative basis at least) to some of the Euro traverses I did. And that's ignoring the 7 kilometer traverse off the backside of La Grave which was notable for it's length but not much else.
IMHO

I remember that backside La Grave traverse, all shaded and frozen granular too. Guided traverses in the Alps often include step-up sections and can be much more work that the High T. I think the challenge with the High T is the combination of difficulty and traffic. The High T is the one place at Alta where skier density can be a big issue.