Sharon
New member
Another beautiful bluebird day (how many of these are there?). After considering to ski at The Canyons with the International group and a few others, word from there was that conditions were meager: Icy and rocky. My friend Shari who lives in Park City could get us discounts there, but her friend who is an employee said it would not be worth it. Shari, who has a pass at PCMR knew that Alta would be THE PLACE given the current conditions. And she was right.
It was really nice to not be led around Alta so I was forced to figure it out myself. I think I have it figured to some degree, at least how to traverse to the shaded northern exposures. Shari was not interested in hiking and after a while was bummed out about the traverses, though she knew they were necessary to get to the good snow. She obliged most of the day, but by the end she decided to take the groomers while I went and did the traverse and met her at the bottom.
We spent a lot of time on the West Rustler side and we also did a few runs on Chartruese nose. We found some nice conditions in the right places and awful conditions on sun-baked slopes, like that of Greeley bowl, as we wound our way around to Backside. The High T was a bit gnar, but worth the effort to get to Eagles Nest, West Rustler and any of those north faces on that side skied well. I enjoyed Ballroom. not sure what section it was, as when I got to the rocky area I decided not to risk it but to drop below the rocks and ski the smooth soft surface, while Shari watched from the traverse below.
For the first time I was navigating around Alta and I think I've got the main places figured out. I know that there is a lot that I don't know still, but at least I can find my way to good skiing. With this high pressure here for the rest of my stay, I may end up at Alta for the next few days.
It was really nice to not be led around Alta so I was forced to figure it out myself. I think I have it figured to some degree, at least how to traverse to the shaded northern exposures. Shari was not interested in hiking and after a while was bummed out about the traverses, though she knew they were necessary to get to the good snow. She obliged most of the day, but by the end she decided to take the groomers while I went and did the traverse and met her at the bottom.
We spent a lot of time on the West Rustler side and we also did a few runs on Chartruese nose. We found some nice conditions in the right places and awful conditions on sun-baked slopes, like that of Greeley bowl, as we wound our way around to Backside. The High T was a bit gnar, but worth the effort to get to Eagles Nest, West Rustler and any of those north faces on that side skied well. I enjoyed Ballroom. not sure what section it was, as when I got to the rocky area I decided not to risk it but to drop below the rocks and ski the smooth soft surface, while Shari watched from the traverse below.
For the first time I was navigating around Alta and I think I've got the main places figured out. I know that there is a lot that I don't know still, but at least I can find my way to good skiing. With this high pressure here for the rest of my stay, I may end up at Alta for the next few days.