Up Alta Down Snowbird May 12 pics

[mbaydala]

Skinned up under Collins today, then up the shoulder to the upper Baldy gate. Since there were no signs saying we couldn't ski at the Bird we decided to ski North Baldy. The snow was nice and creamy all the way down to just below the amphitheater. Skied like bottomless cream, probably about 10-15 inches of snow up there. But as you can see from the pictures the sun was out, and it was taking his toll on the snow. Not sure if I'll head up there tomorrow, from the looks of it there is no more than a couple of inches on the way tonight or tomorrow. If things stay cloudy and cold tomorrow, it may not be all that fun up there.

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=66609&id=1231002422&l=2dfd6b798c

 

[Skidog]

Nice stuff.

I don know someone that actually called Bird patrol yesterday to ask exactly about what you did. Well sort of. They asked about uphill traffic, dropping in via alta, etc. Patrol said "no go". Not that i think they really would've done anything to you other than give you a "stern warning", but...they aren't "allowing" it.

Looks like you had a good time. Good thing im planning on backpacking this weekend down south cause i dont think it will get a deep enough freeze to be a decent corn cycle this weekend.

Again...looks nice. I shouldve gone up yesterday afternoon.

M

 

[Marc_C]

They asked about uphill traffic, dropping in via alta, etc. Patrol said "no go". Not that i think they really would've done anything to you other than give you a "stern warning", but...they aren't "allowing" it.

And if they did want to be bastards about it, they have the option of detaining you and having you arrested for skiing in a closed area - a class B misdemeanor in Utah, which could mean up to several thousand in fines and jail time.

I agree, it's very doubtful they'd go that far, but a lot of folks, including locals, aren't aware of how much of a hassle it could be. It's pretty certain that if you trigger a slide by skiing a closed area, you'll get a lot more than a "stern warning".

 

[mbaydala]

If that's the case and they don't allow it shouldn't they do a better job of letting the public know. Our thought process was simple.

1. From the road we saw that people had skied it earlier. (which means nothing)
2. There were no signs that said we couldn't go up hill at the Bird. Signs up on the shoulder and Wildcat were all gone but two and there were no rope lines anymore, as they too were taken down. One of the signs was a standard forest service sign saying you were entering the backcountry.... and the other was a sign that the Snowbird logo and was clearly an entrance. No where on the ridge or shoulder did it say you couldn't ski.
3. We checked the ski report at the Bird and nowhere did it say no up hill traffic allowed. In the past when Alta closes to up hill traffic its all over their website.

Don't you think Snowbird should make this clearer if they truly don't want people on the mountain? When we woke up that morning it wasn't our intention to ski the Bird as we usually ski the shoulder twice and end with a wildcat, but to us it looked like all systems were a go.

 

[Marc_C]

How much clearer than "All lifts and terrain are closed Monday through Thursday. We will re-open for skiing and riding on Friday, May 14th." can it possibly be?

 

[mbaydala]

You know what, I really didn't even notice the "terrain" part of that comment, so yeah that makes sense. I guess I'm just so used to when Alta closes that last week late season and they very clearly state "No Up Hill Traffic" all over their website, home page, snow report, weather report ect.

On another note, since there are no longer any rope lines or the normal signs up on the shoulder or wildcat I'm wondering if the Bird has decided to close Baldy for the rest of the season. I can't imagine them going back up and putting ropes lines back in now?

 

[Marc_C]

On another note, since there are no longer any rope lines or the normal signs up on the shoulder or wildcat I'm wondering if the Bird has decided to close Baldy for the rest of the season. I can't imagine them going back up and putting ropes lines back in now?

I always thought those rope lines, gates, and signage were Alta's, not Snowbird's.

 

[Tony Crocker]

They SHOULD be able to close it if there's high avalanche danger and no control work has been done. What has the Utah Avalanche Center had to say about conditions this week? I would have made mbaydala's call on that basis.

It appears I was correct predicting that Snowbird's Monday-Thursday closure would miss the powder window for this storm. Snowboard247 may have been riding only a modest 7 inches new at Mammoth on Tuesday, but it's one more demonstration that a ski area's commitment to spring skiing matters in the quality of late season experiences. The more common edge that Mammoth has is the extensive grooming/salting of intermediate runs during those awkward 3-4 days after the sun has destroyed the powder but before the off-piste has settled into corn.

 

[socal]

They SHOULD be able to close it if there's high avalanche danger and no control work has been done. What has the Utah Avalanche Center had to say about conditions this week? I would have made mbaydala's call on that basis.

UAC stopped issuing advisories in the last few weeks. So that wouldn't have helped any.

It appears I was correct predicting that Snowbird's Monday-Thursday closure would miss the powder window for this storm. Snowboard247 may have been riding only a modest 7 inches new at Mammoth on Tuesday, but it's one more demonstration that a ski area's commitment to spring skiing matters in the quality of late season experiences. The more common edge that Mammoth has is the extensive grooming/salting of intermediate runs during those awkward 3-4 days after the sun has destroyed the powder but before the off-piste has settled into corn.

Come on, was it hard to predict that being closed Mon-Thurs would miss the powder window, it is May. And the rest of that quote, I'm not sure that's on topic

 

[Admin]

They SHOULD be able to close it if there's high avalanche danger and no control work has been done. What has the Utah Avalanche Center had to say about conditions this week? I would have made mbaydala's call on that basis.

And you would have been left hapless, for the UAC stops forecasting activities in April. Even if you have access to the forecast, the ability to analyze the current situation on the precise slope that you intend to ski is critical. A forecast won't help you for jack crap in that regard. Therefore, absolutely no one should make a call on what to ski based on a regional avalanche forecast.

The more common edge that Mammoth has is the extensive grooming/salting of intermediate runs during those awkward 3-4 days after the sun has destroyed the powder but before the off-piste has settled into corn.

That only applies to groomers, and who here cares about skiing groomers? If I was content with groomers I'd be skiing this weekend and would be perfectly content doing so at the Bird. Instead I'm off to the desert with Skidog and tcope.

 

[Tony Crocker]

That only applies to groomers, and who here cares about skiing groomers?

](*,) ](*,) ](*,) Again the jaded local perspective. If you fly in for your late spring break and hit that transition period between the powder and the corn, most people would be quite grateful for the more extensive grooming. Also Mammoth's wind may not be so great for the powder but it often results in smooth windbuff on the steeps that might be mank in LCC during warm spring days.

 

[Admin]

](*,) ](*,) ](*,) Again the jaded local perspective. If you fly in for your late spring break and hit that transition period between the powder and the corn, most people would be quite grateful for the more extensive grooming.

Nobody has flown in here to ski for nearly a month now. Given a choice between skiing groomers and the plethora of other outdoor activities that are coming into season in Utah right now, I choose the latter. I couldn't care less about salting.

And as long as we're at it, why do you insist upon comparing absolutely everything to Mammoth and/or Mt. Baldy? No one other than you mentioned anything outside of LCC. If I happened to mention that I just got back from a fabulous sushi lunch (I did), you'd insist upon comparing it to sushi bars in Mammoth Village or at the base of the Baldy access road. Gimme (us) a break.

 

[Marc_C]

They SHOULD be able to close it if there's high avalanche danger and no control work has been done. What has the Utah Avalanche Center had to say about conditions this week? I would have made mbaydala's call on that basis.

And you would have been left hapless, for the UAC stops forecasting activities in April.

This year Apr 11 was the last daily advisory for the usual reason - no money left in this season's budget:

Monday, April 12, 2010
Created at 3:59 pm
Updated at 10:09 am
Forecaster: Bruce Tremper

SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT


We have ended our avalanche advisories for the season.

This does not mean the end of avalanches, nor the possibility of more avalanche incidents. But we have run out of money in a lean budget year combined with an extremely active avalanche season. We have not yet added up the official numbers, but it appears that there were well over 200 unintentional, human triggered avalanches in the backcountry, which shatters our previous record and is more than double the average of 100. Despite this, we ended the season with only four fatalities, which is our average.

 

[Skidog]

On another note, since there are no longer any rope lines or the normal signs up on the shoulder or wildcat I'm wondering if the Bird has decided to close Baldy for the rest of the season. I can't imagine them going back up and putting ropes lines back in now?

People were hiking it last sunday not that this means anything....just saying.

M

 

[Marc_C]

On another note, since there are no longer any rope lines or the normal signs up on the shoulder or wildcat I'm wondering if the Bird has decided to close Baldy for the rest of the season. I can't imagine them going back up and putting ropes lines back in now?

People were hiking it last sunday not that this means anything....just saying.

By mid-May, when the Bird cuts back to just LC and MB, then all of Baldy (and Peruvian Gulch for that matter) is considered backcountry. There's usually a B/C gate at the right turn onto Chip's.

 

[Skidog]

On another note, since there are no longer any rope lines or the normal signs up on the shoulder or wildcat I'm wondering if the Bird has decided to close Baldy for the rest of the season. I can't imagine them going back up and putting ropes lines back in now?

People were hiking it last sunday not that this means anything....just saying.

By mid-May, when the Bird cuts back to just LC and MB, then all of Baldy (and Peruvian Gulch for that matter) is considered backcountry. There's usually a B/C gate at the right turn onto Chip's.

Agreed, but when that 7 feet fell a week or so ago, they had it "opened with a FS sign" on saturday, and the open Sunday but had Armpit closed at Alta where the day before they had an FS sign at Alta. I know extenuating circumstance for sure, but had to be done. Then last Sat it was closed, more likely due to it being major death cookies. Sunday was open. Didnt matter really though, cham chutes to baldy express, short walk...you're in Alta anyway.

M

 

[mbaydala]

How much clearer than "All lifts and terrain are closed Monday through Thursday. We will re-open for skiing and riding on Friday, May 14th." can it possibly be?

Guess its not that clear.

Just for kicks, I called the snowbird ski patrol today to ask them about Baldy being open although we had no intention on skiing it. Did it more so our friend Jeff couldn't try and convince us all to ski it because he loves it so much. Patrol told us they have actually had numerous inquiries about this same issue. The answer was No, but because there has been so much confusion Snowbird Ski Patrol has posted a sign at the bottom of Alta asking people to stay off Baldy from the Wildcat ridge. They said it is closed and they are "farming it" so we can all have fun on it Friday.

 

[Marc_C]

How much clearer than "All lifts and terrain are closed Monday through Thursday. We will re-open for skiing and riding on Friday, May 14th." can it possibly be?

Guess its not that clear.

Just for kicks, I called the snowbird ski patrol today to ask them about Baldy being open although we had no intention on skiing it. Did it more so our friend Jeff couldn't try and convince us all to ski it because he loves it so much. Patrol told us they have actually had numerous inquiries about this same issue. The answer was No, but because there has been so much confusion Snowbird Ski Patrol has posted a sign at the bottom of Alta asking people to stay off Baldy from the Wildcat ridge. They said it is closed and they are "farming it" so we can all have fun on it Friday.

Guess it's not particularly clear to morons who are unable to read the website or find places other than closed ski areas to ski.

 

[Admin]

Hey, hey...that was extremely inappropriate. [-X

 

[Marc_C]

It was meant in the kindest, gentlest, most teasing way. :stir: