Resort: Alta, Utah
Date: April 24, 2016
Conditions: 10-12" Powder, Variable Conditions
Trip No.: 36
Report: It always comes too--soon--the final day for Alta. This year it felt earlier than normal because May 1st fell on a Sunday and, probably because of a bad 2014-2015 season, they decided to cut the season now instead of after another week.
Friday was near 80 F in the Valley making it likely in the 50's-60's up Little Cottonwood Canyon. But Saturday's front made for a cool, wet day down in the Valley and on and off snow up high. Reports were that the freeze on Friday night made for tough sledding on Saturday, but I was game for pretty much anything to close out the season for Alta. I went to bed at 11pm and got a text from the UPD advising that the Canyons required 4WD or chains. It was snowing up there in earnest. A quick look at the cam at Snowbird showed a solid 4-5" of dense wet snow.
My alarm went off at 7am and I was met with a text message advising that the Canyon was closed for Avi Control work. I also got a Powder Alert from Ski Utah and one from Snowbird--13" in 24 hours.
Up and at'em. Suprisingly there was no real traffic for a sleeper powder day. I pulled into Wildcat at about 8:35am and there was already a crowd waiting for first chair at 9:15. Charges and explosives thundered through the Canyon. So much for Spring skiing.
First spin was down High Main Street to Main Street where I got into the goods--a solid foot of dense snow that made for fun surfing. Some would kick up your side every now and then, but overall it remained underfoot. I was so happy that I grabbed my rockered powder skis--they made the turns so nice and easy without fear of sinking into the reef from the day before. The snow was just right--it stuck to the base and made the first flights very enjoyable. About half-way down I jumped onto the buttery groomed snow that was oh so nice.
At the bottom I encounted untracked snow right in Schuss Gully and lapped it up.
With crowds gathered at the Collins, and some of the terrain not quite open due to control work, I headed to Wildcat and spied the Rock Gully that begged to be skied. I worked my way down largely untracked tree shots to the gully and got third tracks in it...the previous two had cut the surface allowing some drier snow to shoot up on an occasional turn or two. I will take this over spring corn any day.
Wildcat was just too good to pass up and with the forecast calling for warmer temps and sun as the day went on I knew that I needed to hit it now while the getting was gone. I headed further west into the Wildcat Bowl and again found some good shots here and there around the trees. Last spin down Wildcat was an obligatory Johnson's Warm Up Bowl run down to Nina's Curve.
By now the masses were spread out and Collins had a five minute wait for singles so I lapped this for the remainder of the day. Impressed by the cover and consistency of the snow, I decided it was appropriate to go big on the final day of Alta. I aimed for the High Traverse and the Hammereds ate up the trenches and rolls on the traverse. I figured that I would do an Alf's High Rustler Run, or "High Boy", since it had been too long since I had skied it. In fact, my first and last time down it was in 2012 or 2013 with Mr. Snowmonster himself. It seemed so steep and tough, but I was ready for it.
After poking through the trees and around the rocks in the entrance, I came out to the very top to find excellent cover and few tracks. It was filled in really nicely. The pitch was perfect--not as steep as I remembered. I pointed them and let 'em rip down the nice, soft goodness that filled in the reef from the day before and made for some nice turns. Amazed, I hightailed it back up and did Stonecrusher, a favorite, that had quite a bit of avi debris about half-way down.
I took a breather and then returned back up to do another High Boy run--this time working the skier's right side down Rustler Four to 180 Degree Bend to find deep drifted snow with few tracks. I did another Stonecrusher to Lone Pine, working the sides to find the drifted snow, before finding a nice line in the Ballroom and hightailing it back to the bottom.
By now it was near 1pm and the sun and the crowds were working the mat. Bumps were forming on the main thoroughfares and the snow was getting a bit sticky and heavy in places. So I did a final spin down Jitterbug down to the bottom and called it a day at about 1:30pm or so.
An amazing day to cap off a really great season at Alta that featured some classic lines up high thanks to good cover. I am looking forward to more exploring there next year but for now it is time for a few more days at Snowbird before I call it quits for this season.
Date: April 24, 2016
Conditions: 10-12" Powder, Variable Conditions
Trip No.: 36
Report: It always comes too--soon--the final day for Alta. This year it felt earlier than normal because May 1st fell on a Sunday and, probably because of a bad 2014-2015 season, they decided to cut the season now instead of after another week.
Friday was near 80 F in the Valley making it likely in the 50's-60's up Little Cottonwood Canyon. But Saturday's front made for a cool, wet day down in the Valley and on and off snow up high. Reports were that the freeze on Friday night made for tough sledding on Saturday, but I was game for pretty much anything to close out the season for Alta. I went to bed at 11pm and got a text from the UPD advising that the Canyons required 4WD or chains. It was snowing up there in earnest. A quick look at the cam at Snowbird showed a solid 4-5" of dense wet snow.
My alarm went off at 7am and I was met with a text message advising that the Canyon was closed for Avi Control work. I also got a Powder Alert from Ski Utah and one from Snowbird--13" in 24 hours.
Up and at'em. Suprisingly there was no real traffic for a sleeper powder day. I pulled into Wildcat at about 8:35am and there was already a crowd waiting for first chair at 9:15. Charges and explosives thundered through the Canyon. So much for Spring skiing.
First spin was down High Main Street to Main Street where I got into the goods--a solid foot of dense snow that made for fun surfing. Some would kick up your side every now and then, but overall it remained underfoot. I was so happy that I grabbed my rockered powder skis--they made the turns so nice and easy without fear of sinking into the reef from the day before. The snow was just right--it stuck to the base and made the first flights very enjoyable. About half-way down I jumped onto the buttery groomed snow that was oh so nice.
At the bottom I encounted untracked snow right in Schuss Gully and lapped it up.
With crowds gathered at the Collins, and some of the terrain not quite open due to control work, I headed to Wildcat and spied the Rock Gully that begged to be skied. I worked my way down largely untracked tree shots to the gully and got third tracks in it...the previous two had cut the surface allowing some drier snow to shoot up on an occasional turn or two. I will take this over spring corn any day.
Wildcat was just too good to pass up and with the forecast calling for warmer temps and sun as the day went on I knew that I needed to hit it now while the getting was gone. I headed further west into the Wildcat Bowl and again found some good shots here and there around the trees. Last spin down Wildcat was an obligatory Johnson's Warm Up Bowl run down to Nina's Curve.
By now the masses were spread out and Collins had a five minute wait for singles so I lapped this for the remainder of the day. Impressed by the cover and consistency of the snow, I decided it was appropriate to go big on the final day of Alta. I aimed for the High Traverse and the Hammereds ate up the trenches and rolls on the traverse. I figured that I would do an Alf's High Rustler Run, or "High Boy", since it had been too long since I had skied it. In fact, my first and last time down it was in 2012 or 2013 with Mr. Snowmonster himself. It seemed so steep and tough, but I was ready for it.
After poking through the trees and around the rocks in the entrance, I came out to the very top to find excellent cover and few tracks. It was filled in really nicely. The pitch was perfect--not as steep as I remembered. I pointed them and let 'em rip down the nice, soft goodness that filled in the reef from the day before and made for some nice turns. Amazed, I hightailed it back up and did Stonecrusher, a favorite, that had quite a bit of avi debris about half-way down.
I took a breather and then returned back up to do another High Boy run--this time working the skier's right side down Rustler Four to 180 Degree Bend to find deep drifted snow with few tracks. I did another Stonecrusher to Lone Pine, working the sides to find the drifted snow, before finding a nice line in the Ballroom and hightailing it back to the bottom.
By now it was near 1pm and the sun and the crowds were working the mat. Bumps were forming on the main thoroughfares and the snow was getting a bit sticky and heavy in places. So I did a final spin down Jitterbug down to the bottom and called it a day at about 1:30pm or so.
An amazing day to cap off a really great season at Alta that featured some classic lines up high thanks to good cover. I am looking forward to more exploring there next year but for now it is time for a few more days at Snowbird before I call it quits for this season.
