Visiting Snowbird and Alta- 3/5-3/9 should I

[Anonymous]

Hey All

I am an East Coast skier and ski Jay Peak all the time- so can handle challenges on the mountain well. Anyway heading out to Utah early next month with my wife who is also an avid Jay Peak skier.

I was considering on the first day trying the Alta Diamond Challenge for Experts Only. It gives you 2.5 hours of the most challenging, secluded slopes with an experienced guide.

seems like it may be worth it- any comments?

I have skied Alta in the past but it has been a good 5 years.

Thanks
Chris

 

[jamesdeluxe]

I was considering on the first day trying the Alta Diamond Challenge for Experts Only. It gives you 2.5 hours of the most challenging, secluded slopes with an experienced guide.

PM Admin... he's running a 2-for-1 guiding special (think it's the same price as Alta Diamond Challenge for Experts) early next month.

 

[Admin]

I was considering on the first day trying the Alta Diamond Challenge for Experts Only. It gives you 2.5 hours of the most challenging, secluded slopes with an experienced guide.

PM Admin... he's running a 2-for-1 guiding special (think it's the same price as Alta Diamond Challenge for Experts) early next month.

So that's why I got that PM! Tsk, tsk [-X Jamesdeluxe...you owe me some money then, eh?

Skibum73, use the same skills that you'd use at Jay Peak. Some days the snow is in Beyond Beaver Pond, other days it's in Kitz, right? What makes the difference? Sun, wind and snow. It's no different here. Watch the weather conditions in the week or so leading up to your visit. Read the Utah Avalanche Center reports daily ( http://www.avalanche.org/~uac ). Grab a topo map of the mountain online (topozone.com, for example).

Now, put it all together. If it hasn't snowed for a while, it's all about sun. If the snow's firm, southern aspects will soften first, followed by eastern. West-facing aspects won't soften until after lunch. If a storm blew through, look at where the rain/snow line was (if applicable), and look at the prevailing winds throughout the course of the storm. Leeward sides of ridges will have the most blow-in, and windward sides will be favored for upslope snow.

Call ski shops in Alta and see if they can rush you a copy of the Powderhound's Guide to Alta which will contain more info about terrain choices than you'll ever want to know.

 

[Tony Crocker]

If you're willing to pay to speed up the learning curve, the Alta Diamond Challenge or Snowbird's similar Mountain Experience are reasonable options.

No doubt that admin and his posse could do as good a job. Alta is not Jay Peak. The rain/snow line comment was a bit superfluous. it rains at the base of Alta maybe once every 2 or 3 seasons. But in March the exposure comments are spot-on. If you hit a warm spell, as I seem to do at that time many years, spend more time at Snowbird than Alta, due to more steep north facing terrain that will still have dry winter snow.

 

[Admin]

My rain comment didn't mean to imply rain at Alta. Rather, when those storms blow in with a snow line at 6500-7000 ft there's a big difference between the snow in Wildcat and the snow off Supreme.

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks Guys I ordered the book mentioned and may take the mountain courses I was thinking of. I think the book will tell me everything I need though- and I know how to navigate the sun and shade sections well. I always know where to find the goods at Jay days after a storm and sure I will learn Alta well enough with 4 days on the mountain and maybe share Snowbird a bit in those 4 days.

Hoping the weather pattern stays the same in early March as it is now!!

Thanks again-
Chris