Alta, UT

[tirolerpeter]

1/10/06

Alta, UT

I know this isn't in the NE, but my friends and I had an awsome day at Alta today. Sunny, temps in the high twenties/low thirties. Base depth aroung 100". We hammered the entire mountain today. The stuff in the trees was soft powder that just cascaded as we made turns. I took a couple of buddies that had never skied out west with me. The were awestruck at the beauty of the area, and the conditions. Neither of them had ever had a day of skiing where they encountered absolutely NO ice and were floating in powder. Tomorrow we will hit either Brighton, Solitude, or Snowbasin. It all depends on the the weather.

 

[Greg]

Moving to general skiing...

 

[SheikYerbouti]

I've had the luck to ski at Alta a couple times, and it was just gorgeous, hip deep powder, not really crowded, and when I went it was dirt cheap.

 

[Powdr]

Still pretty much the same thing. One of the phenomenal atributes about Alta is it's consistency. When they quote 500" annual snowfall, it also means that it doesn't deviate more than about 100" from that average. A bad year at Alta is 400". The only other place that I know of with that sort of consistency is Grand Targhee.

Powdr

 

[WICKEDBUMPER]

Alta is a great place. But Solitude is awesome. I love both of them places. One of my best ski days ever was at Solitude. It wasnt even a power day. it was 45 and sunny.

 

[Mark D]

alta blows. they hate too muchtheir up with mrg on the hating factor. the snow doesn't discramate why should they. ::shakes head::

 

[Marc]

alta blows. they hate too muchtheir up with mrg on the hating factor. the snow doesn't discramate why should they. ::shakes head::

Stay in school, kids.

 

[ski the trees]

headed up this weekend for 4 days - can't wait!!

 

[Powdr]

alta blows. they hate too muchtheir up with mrg on the hating factor. the snow doesn't discramate why should they. ::shakes head::

I know! The way Alta discramates is too muchtheir!

 

[salida]

alta blows. they hate too muchtheir up with mrg on the hating factor. the snow doesn't discramate why should they. ::shakes head::

mother nature descriminates too... its called a traverse... prolly sucks on a snowboard

 

[freeheelwilly]

Still pretty much the same thing. One of the phenomenal atributes about Alta is it's consistency. When they quote 500" annual snowfall, it also means that it doesn't deviate more than about 100" from that average. A bad year at Alta is 400". The only other place that I know of with that sort of consistency is Grand Targhee.

Powdr

Ummmmm....Snowbird?

 

[Mark D]

i just wish i got 100inches of snow a year!

 

[tirolerpeter]

Utah

Hi guys,
My friends and I just got back this morning on the JetBlue "Redeye" from Salt Lake. The day after Alta we did Solitude. It was delightful. The steeps like "Challenger" were great and a new lift in "Honeycomb Canyon" makes some incredibly steep, soft, glades a joy to access. Wednesday night it snowed (not as much as everyone had hoped) but all the mountains got between 8" and 11". With blue skies promised, we made the one hour run up to Snowbasin on Thursday. GLORIOUS is too mild a word. There is nothing like a "Gondola for four" anytime you want one. Two of my friends had never been to Snowbasin and were stunned by every aspect of the area. The furnishings of the lodges, the quality food, and the incredible conqeniality of the staff: e.g.."Welcome to our mountain, we are so glad you chose to ski here." was the greeting as they helped us unload our gear into carts to move it to the ski racks and lodge. Then, came the terrain and the snow. There were endless untracked lines through the bowls, trees, and then we took the breathtaking drop from the very top of the tram. Needless to say, we hit "last chair" and didn't make it down out of the trees until after 4:30. My two "Eastern Newbies" spent most of the day with their jaws hanging open. The saddest moment came as we came out of the baggage claim area at terminal six at JFK, and hit the reality of "back to the world."

 

[JimG.]

Re: Utah

Hi guys,
My friends and I just got back this morning on the JetBlue "Redeye" from Salt Lake. The day after Alta we did Solitude. It was delightful. The steeps like "Challenger" were great and a new lift in "Honeycomb Canyon" makes some incredibly steep, soft, glades a joy to access. Wednesday night it snowed (not as much as everyone had hoped) but all the mountains got between 8" and 11". With blue skies promised, we made the one hour run up to Snowbasin on Thursday. GLORIOUS is too mild a word. There is nothing like a "Gondola for four" anytime you want one. Two of my friends had never been to Snowbasin and were stunned by every aspect of the area. The furnishings of the lodges, the quality food, and the incredible conqeniality of the staff: e.g.."Welcome to our mountain, we are so glad you chose to ski here." was the greeting as they helped us unload our gear into carts to move it to the ski racks and lodge. Then, came the terrain and the snow. There were endless untracked lines through the bowls, trees, and then we took the breathtaking drop from the very top of the tram. Needless to say, we hit "last chair" and didn't make it down out of the trees until after 4:30. My two "Eastern Newbies" spent most of the day with their jaws hanging open. The saddest moment came as we came out of the baggage claim area at terminal six at JFK, and hit the reality of "back to the world."

Yeah, it must be tough to come back to rain and warmth. Glad you had a great time out there. When's the next trip to Hunter?

 

[tirolerpeter]

Re: Utah

Hi guys,
My friends and I just got back this morning on the JetBlue "Redeye" from Salt Lake. The day after Alta we did Solitude. It was delightful. The steeps like "Challenger" were great and a new lift in "Honeycomb Canyon" makes some incredibly steep, soft, glades a joy to access. Wednesday night it snowed (not as much as everyone had hoped) but all the mountains got between 8" and 11". With blue skies promised, we made the one hour run up to Snowbasin on Thursday. GLORIOUS is too mild a word. There is nothing like a "Gondola for four" anytime you want one. Two of my friends had never been to Snowbasin and were stunned by every aspect of the area. The furnishings of the lodges, the quality food, and the incredible conqeniality of the staff: e.g.."Welcome to our mountain, we are so glad you chose to ski here." was the greeting as they helped us unload our gear into carts to move it to the ski racks and lodge. Then, came the terrain and the snow. There were endless untracked lines through the bowls, trees, and then we took the breathtaking drop from the very top of the tram. Needless to say, we hit "last chair" and didn't make it down out of the trees until after 4:30. My two "Eastern Newbies" spent most of the day with their jaws hanging open. The saddest moment came as we came out of the baggage claim area at terminal six at JFK, and hit the reality of "back to the world."

Yeah, it must be tough to come back to rain and warmth. Glad you had a great time out there. When's the next trip to Hunter?

I don't really know about Hunter at the moment. I would like to get some use out of my Bronze pass though. BTW, there was ABSOLUTELY NO ICE at any of the three areas, on any of the three days; incredible.

 

[Powdr]

Re: Utah

Hi guys,
My friends and I just got back this morning on the JetBlue "Redeye" from Salt Lake. The day after Alta we did Solitude. It was delightful. The steeps like "Challenger" were great and a new lift in "Honeycomb Canyon" makes some incredibly steep, soft, glades a joy to access. Wednesday night it snowed (not as much as everyone had hoped) but all the mountains got between 8" and 11". With blue skies promised, we made the one hour run up to Snowbasin on Thursday. GLORIOUS is too mild a word. There is nothing like a "Gondola for four" anytime you want one. Two of my friends had never been to Snowbasin and were stunned by every aspect of the area. The furnishings of the lodges, the quality food, and the incredible conqeniality of the staff: e.g.."Welcome to our mountain, we are so glad you chose to ski here." was the greeting as they helped us unload our gear into carts to move it to the ski racks and lodge. Then, came the terrain and the snow. There were endless untracked lines through the bowls, trees, and then we took the breathtaking drop from the very top of the tram. Needless to say, we hit "last chair" and didn't make it down out of the trees until after 4:30. My two "Eastern Newbies" spent most of the day with their jaws hanging open. The saddest moment came as we came out of the baggage claim area at terminal six at JFK, and hit the reality of "back to the world."

Yeah, it must be tough to come back to rain and warmth. Glad you had a great time out there. When's the next trip to Hunter?

I don't really know about Hunter at the moment. I would like to get some use out of my Bronze pass though. BTW, there was ABSOLUTELY NO ICE at any of the three areas, on any of the three days; incredible.

So...you liked it, then?

 

[tirolerpeter]

Re: Utah

Hi guys,
My friends and I just got back this morning on the JetBlue "Redeye" from Salt Lake. The day after Alta we did Solitude. It was delightful. The steeps like "Challenger" were great and a new lift in "Honeycomb Canyon" makes some incredibly steep, soft, glades a joy to access. Wednesday night it snowed (not as much as everyone had hoped) but all the mountains got between 8" and 11". With blue skies promised, we made the one hour run up to Snowbasin on Thursday. GLORIOUS is too mild a word. There is nothing like a "Gondola for four" anytime you want one. Two of my friends had never been to Snowbasin and were stunned by every aspect of the area. The furnishings of the lodges, the quality food, and the incredible conqeniality of the staff: e.g.."Welcome to our mountain, we are so glad you chose to ski here." was the greeting as they helped us unload our gear into carts to move it to the ski racks and lodge. Then, came the terrain and the snow. There were endless untracked lines through the bowls, trees, and then we took the breathtaking drop from the very top of the tram. Needless to say, we hit "last chair" and didn't make it down out of the trees until after 4:30. My two "Eastern Newbies" spent most of the day with their jaws hanging open. The saddest moment came as we came out of the baggage claim area at terminal six at JFK, and hit the reality of "back to the world."

Yeah, it must be tough to come back to rain and warmth. Glad you had a great time out there. When's the next trip to Hunter?

I don't really know about Hunter at the moment. I would like to get some use out of my Bronze pass though. BTW, there was ABSOLUTELY NO ICE at any of the three areas, on any of the three days; incredible.

So...you liked it, then?

What was it about my posts that made it seem like I was unsure about whether or not I liked it? Seriously, if you have followed any of my posts over time, you would have noted that I am selling my home here in the east, and moving out to Utah. I'm looking at the Sandy/Draper area to stay near the mouths of both Cottonwood Canyons. I plan to rent for 6 to 12 months to see if my wife and I are comfortable in the area. If so, we will either buy a home, or land to build a new one. Where in the Wasatch are you located?