03-April-2024 Alta. WOW!

I'm so sorry but this is going to be another post about skiing on a beautiful day.

WOW was today awesome! I went to Alta ski resort which is an old ski area (established in 1938). It's located in a national park so unlike many other ski resorts that have towns and shops and all sorts of things at the base this one does not – it's just all about skiing.

Everything was a skiers dream today: the weather, terrain, snow pack ... all amazing. Alta is way up there – the chairlifts top out at 10,500 feet, and the snowpack and views were great - another bluebird day!

Below are some pictures ... they never seem to do justice to just how vast and steep a ski area truly is. Alta had lots of runs and tons of skiable acres above the tree line – you can ski anywhere. The skiing was so good I decided I was going to have a granola bar for lunch on the lift instead of taking time off the slopes to eat - which tied me over for a little bit but finally at 2:15 PM I had to go in and get some nourishment. I was literally like a NASCAR pit crew: zoomed into the cafeteria, grabbed a bowl of soup (no line because it was 2:15 PM), found an open table on the deck, inhaled my soup and was back on the slopes within about 10 minutes. Boom!

During the afternoon the snow really softened up and those are my absolute favorite conditions. I found a few "soft slushy black diamond trails" which were perfect for my ability. I was delighted to discover that lift here are open until 4:30 PM – usually in New England it's 3:50 PM in the darkness of winter and 4 PM as it gets a little lighter – 4:30 is unheard of!! of course I got one of the last lift up and made the most out of this incredible day. When I got back to the bottom they had a band playing and people hanging out on the patio - it was so nice out!

I wanted to point out some of the avalanche control devices that they have here. In the pictures below you can see some of the snow cannons where they shoot into the snow to dislodge it so that it does not accumulate and become an avalanche. on one of the trails I was actually able to ski right up to a different type of avalanche control – you can see the compressed air cylinders. Another interesting feature of this ski resort and Canyon is that the buildings are fortified concrete bunkers - not beautiful glass structures with wooden decks. They are prepared for when the snow comes crashing down!

Cat update: unlike my dog Henry who was terrified of the vacuum cleaner these cats don't seem to mind the Roomba that occasionally cruises around. And Ali ttle Ullr and I discovered the fun of wall shadow games - he is so adorable!