Ski Area: Alta, Utah
Date: November 22, 2014
Weather: Cloudy turning to heavy snow, temps in the 30's and falling.
Conditions: MG/SM/FG with about 3-5" of new snow; base depths only about 18-24".
2015 Report No.:
Report: Opening Weekend 2014-2015 for the LCC Areas. We've had a warm and dry fall; the cold temps have been on and off for a while now, but last weekend was the first REAL cold of the season. Thank God, because LCC is really thinly covered.
Snowbird is only rolling with GadZoom and one run. That is very little for them, even for the average early season. They have not even been able to blow snow so that one can ski from the Snowbird Center to Creekside. So I figured that Alta would be better. They were advertising at least three real lifts with about 8 trails (pretty much two routes off the top, one route off of Sunnyside). Having some choice was what I wanted.
I left my home in SLC with a mild breeze, but I could see that the clouds were lowering. The drive up was nice and quiet. Snowbird was quite barren...it looked like barely a dusting on the rough terrain. I got to Alta and snagged rockstar parking. Within the first 30 seconds I was greeted by smiles and some nice conversation. A guy from Nashville decided to "go skiing" and was asking the parking lot attendant about the conditions.
"It's thin, but the main runs are softening up because it's warm."
We conversed for about five minutes. It was his first time. I like a guy who just goes for it...even if it is thin and there are not many ways down.
From there all I can say is that I felt right at home. It was my first opening weekend at Alta. Lots of locals talking and smiling. Lots of nice conversation. I ran into four people that I know pretty well...the damn place was like Cheers where everyone knows your name. It reminded me of MidBurke and my family and friends there.
Well I got caught up chatting to folks and got to Collins just before the 9:15 opening. Got one of the first ten chairs. At the top met some friends and did three laps with them down the expected Main Street-Mambo-Meadows-Corkscrew run. Base depths were good on the main run. Off that, don't even think of it. First run was a bit firm, but with heavy snow starting and traffic, the second and third were much better. No big crowds, no real bad WROD moments.
The wind made things cold...so my friends went inside and I decided to go try out the backside run down Sugarloaf. Or, as the instructors called it, an "around the world tour". Grabbed Waldron's Way to Devil's Elbow and down Homerun. No traffic and better snow overall. The upper cat track was pretty thin. Nothing terrible, but thin. Reminded me of skiing East Bowl in that there was some skating involved and it was nice and quiet. A nice fun run that was not as steep as the frontside.
I did a run on Sunnyside--another good solid manmade base on Crooked Mile and no real crowd.
Back to Collins and it was already getting a bit icy in places and bumpy. The snow was turning to grappel. I decided to do one more run down Devil's Elbow and Crooked Mile before calling it quits at about noon.
Nice morning of skiing. We are getting a big storm right now....and we need it. Snowmaking is done for now at Alta. Snowbird didn't have any visible guns going that I could see.
More pics coming soon, but here is a sample:
Date: November 22, 2014
Weather: Cloudy turning to heavy snow, temps in the 30's and falling.
Conditions: MG/SM/FG with about 3-5" of new snow; base depths only about 18-24".
2015 Report No.:
Report: Opening Weekend 2014-2015 for the LCC Areas. We've had a warm and dry fall; the cold temps have been on and off for a while now, but last weekend was the first REAL cold of the season. Thank God, because LCC is really thinly covered.
Snowbird is only rolling with GadZoom and one run. That is very little for them, even for the average early season. They have not even been able to blow snow so that one can ski from the Snowbird Center to Creekside. So I figured that Alta would be better. They were advertising at least three real lifts with about 8 trails (pretty much two routes off the top, one route off of Sunnyside). Having some choice was what I wanted.
I left my home in SLC with a mild breeze, but I could see that the clouds were lowering. The drive up was nice and quiet. Snowbird was quite barren...it looked like barely a dusting on the rough terrain. I got to Alta and snagged rockstar parking. Within the first 30 seconds I was greeted by smiles and some nice conversation. A guy from Nashville decided to "go skiing" and was asking the parking lot attendant about the conditions.
"It's thin, but the main runs are softening up because it's warm."
We conversed for about five minutes. It was his first time. I like a guy who just goes for it...even if it is thin and there are not many ways down.
From there all I can say is that I felt right at home. It was my first opening weekend at Alta. Lots of locals talking and smiling. Lots of nice conversation. I ran into four people that I know pretty well...the damn place was like Cheers where everyone knows your name. It reminded me of MidBurke and my family and friends there.
Well I got caught up chatting to folks and got to Collins just before the 9:15 opening. Got one of the first ten chairs. At the top met some friends and did three laps with them down the expected Main Street-Mambo-Meadows-Corkscrew run. Base depths were good on the main run. Off that, don't even think of it. First run was a bit firm, but with heavy snow starting and traffic, the second and third were much better. No big crowds, no real bad WROD moments.
The wind made things cold...so my friends went inside and I decided to go try out the backside run down Sugarloaf. Or, as the instructors called it, an "around the world tour". Grabbed Waldron's Way to Devil's Elbow and down Homerun. No traffic and better snow overall. The upper cat track was pretty thin. Nothing terrible, but thin. Reminded me of skiing East Bowl in that there was some skating involved and it was nice and quiet. A nice fun run that was not as steep as the frontside.
I did a run on Sunnyside--another good solid manmade base on Crooked Mile and no real crowd.
Back to Collins and it was already getting a bit icy in places and bumpy. The snow was turning to grappel. I decided to do one more run down Devil's Elbow and Crooked Mile before calling it quits at about noon.
Nice morning of skiing. We are getting a big storm right now....and we need it. Snowmaking is done for now at Alta. Snowbird didn't have any visible guns going that I could see.
More pics coming soon, but here is a sample:
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