-
Women skiers, this is the place for you -- an online community without the male-orientation you'll find in conventional ski magazines and internet ski forums. At TheSkiDiva.com, you can connect with other women to talk about skiing in a way that you can relate to, about things that you find of interest. Be sure to join our community to participate (women only, please!). Registration is fast and simple. Just be sure to add [email protected] to your address book so your registration activation emails won't be routed as spam. And please give careful consideration to your user name -- it will not be changed once your registration is confirmed.
TR Alta April 5-17, 2014
- Thread starter marzNC
- Start date
Olesya Chornoguz
Ski Diva Extraordinaire
Looks like a great trip! Thanks for sharing the pictures! I completely agree with Vicky. 
marzNC
Angel Diva
April 15 was a good spring skiing day. Warm enough to soften snow in the morning, but not too warm so that skiing in the afternoon was still fun if you weren't near the base.
I met up with a family on their first trip to LCC. Made the connection via EpicSki a few weeks ago. They are taking advantage of the Snowbird late season special. Something like $1000 for a family of four to cover lodging and lift tickets. Turns out that finding breakfast was a bit tricky because so much of the food service at Snowbird is already closed for the season. Also the shuttle bus over to Alta isn't running any more, but a ride could be arranged. They met me at the Wildcat base around 9:30am. Dad, mom, two tween girls, from NY. The girls race and are solid skiers. Dad has the most experience. Mom learned as an adult but has great form and has no problem keeping up with the family on any blue/black groomer, or even off-trail that's decent.
I gave them a tour of Alta (Collins, Sugarloaf), had lunch at Watson's, then headed over the top of Sugarloaf to Mineral Basin so they could ski back to the base at Snowbird. Bill went along too. Mineral Basin was soft and pretty nice. On the way down Chip's Run (long blue cat track) we ran into the EpicSki folks who showed Bill and I around last week. Learned from them that there is a free ski check at the tram deck. Definitely handy for a family to not have to lug the skis back and forth from their lodging. Mom and girls went in. Dad took a ride up the tram and went off with the EpicSki folks. Bill and I had to head to Baldy lift in order to get on before closing time at 3:30pm.
Going back over to Alta after getting off the Baldy lift. One gate from Alta to Snowbird next to one from Snowbird to Alta. Have to already have a combo ticket (RFID).
View of Mineral Basin with top of Baldy lift on right
View looking towards top of Collins lift from the start of the Collins return. Look at the middle of the left side of the pic to see dots that are people on the traverse. It's really more of a cat track than a traverse. Only a challenge when it's snowing or windy or there is low visibility. Takes a bit of work to keep up enough speed on a few inches of fresh snow.
I met up with a family on their first trip to LCC. Made the connection via EpicSki a few weeks ago. They are taking advantage of the Snowbird late season special. Something like $1000 for a family of four to cover lodging and lift tickets. Turns out that finding breakfast was a bit tricky because so much of the food service at Snowbird is already closed for the season. Also the shuttle bus over to Alta isn't running any more, but a ride could be arranged. They met me at the Wildcat base around 9:30am. Dad, mom, two tween girls, from NY. The girls race and are solid skiers. Dad has the most experience. Mom learned as an adult but has great form and has no problem keeping up with the family on any blue/black groomer, or even off-trail that's decent.
I gave them a tour of Alta (Collins, Sugarloaf), had lunch at Watson's, then headed over the top of Sugarloaf to Mineral Basin so they could ski back to the base at Snowbird. Bill went along too. Mineral Basin was soft and pretty nice. On the way down Chip's Run (long blue cat track) we ran into the EpicSki folks who showed Bill and I around last week. Learned from them that there is a free ski check at the tram deck. Definitely handy for a family to not have to lug the skis back and forth from their lodging. Mom and girls went in. Dad took a ride up the tram and went off with the EpicSki folks. Bill and I had to head to Baldy lift in order to get on before closing time at 3:30pm.
Going back over to Alta after getting off the Baldy lift. One gate from Alta to Snowbird next to one from Snowbird to Alta. Have to already have a combo ticket (RFID).
View of Mineral Basin with top of Baldy lift on right
View looking towards top of Collins lift from the start of the Collins return. Look at the middle of the left side of the pic to see dots that are people on the traverse. It's really more of a cat track than a traverse. Only a challenge when it's snowing or windy or there is low visibility. Takes a bit of work to keep up enough speed on a few inches of fresh snow.
Last edited:
marzNC
Angel Diva
April 16 was much cooler. Never warmed up enough to soften much off trail on the upper mountain. Even after morning clouds gave way to blue sky. I wore my insulated jacket with a light shirt. Saw a "sun dog" for the first time. It's like a rainbow but around the sun. It was a good groomer day.
I checked out Mineral Basin around 10am. Turned out the conditions were pretty much the same as the Sugarloaf side of Alta, but with more people. I could see even more arriving from the tram. The front side of Snowbird stays cold much longer. I went right back to Alta. Made a new friend on the lift who had a combo ticket. His first time in LCC, so I gave him a quick intro to what was off the Sugarloaf lift. He had driven over from Park City because the skiing over there is pretty bad. His wife and daughter were in ski school at Snowbird. I think he's going to take them to Alta.
There was fun to be had in the afternoon. All groomers were just soft enough. Even some corn in places like the left side of the groomer on Extrovert. Even the ungroomed on Razorback was still pretty frozen (sun all day long). The Yellow Bear area (gully and trees) was soft enough that Bill ended up skiing there three times with the kids.
A lift line forming around 11am for the Mineral Express (on left) in Mineral Basin.
Spring afternoon views from the top of the Alta rope tow.
I checked out Mineral Basin around 10am. Turned out the conditions were pretty much the same as the Sugarloaf side of Alta, but with more people. I could see even more arriving from the tram. The front side of Snowbird stays cold much longer. I went right back to Alta. Made a new friend on the lift who had a combo ticket. His first time in LCC, so I gave him a quick intro to what was off the Sugarloaf lift. He had driven over from Park City because the skiing over there is pretty bad. His wife and daughter were in ski school at Snowbird. I think he's going to take them to Alta.
There was fun to be had in the afternoon. All groomers were just soft enough. Even some corn in places like the left side of the groomer on Extrovert. Even the ungroomed on Razorback was still pretty frozen (sun all day long). The Yellow Bear area (gully and trees) was soft enough that Bill ended up skiing there three times with the kids.
A lift line forming around 11am for the Mineral Express (on left) in Mineral Basin.
Spring afternoon views from the top of the Alta rope tow.
marzNC
Angel Diva
April 17 was my last ski day for the 2013-14 season. Alta came through with a great day of spring skiing. It got down to the mid-20s overnight then temps stayed in the 40s during the day. So the snow softened but didn't get too slushy/sticky except near the base. I bopped around alone on groomers on the Sugarloaf side first thing in the morning and checked out Mineral Basin for a few runs. I ran into the NY family. As expected, they were enjoying Snowbird, both Mineral Basin and the front side (after softening). I met up with litterbug, Bill, and the DC family for lunch at Alta Lodge. litterbug and I skied Collins groomers after lunch. I finished up the afternoon taking the DC father on the High T for his first run down Sunspot. Snow was soft and friendly. It's quite fun to be able to ski Upper Sunspot non-stop and without hesitation thanks to what I've learned the last few seasons.
DC father's kids did a semi-private with Arthur in the afternoon. The two of them had a good time and extended to 3 hours. I heard they wanted to have another off-piste lesson the next afternoon. Their mom had a private with Arthur the day before, which she also extended to 3 hours. I think she is convinced of the value of high level lessons from a Level 3 instructor.
View at 7:30am from Alta Lodge. The moon is just visible on the right above the mountain. The sun is just rising over Mt. Baldy on the left. Tan building is Goldminer's Daughter (Mother Lode Deep Powder House ski shop). Collins lift behind the Wildcat base building (Alta Ski School desk, Alta Ski Shop). Wildcat double to the right of Collins.
View from Alta Lodge hot pools. Of course, the lighting is quite different in the late afternoons when most people use them. One pool is hotter than the other, so kids tend to stay in the cooler one. The door slides open. A few folks like to roll in the snow, then get back in a hot pool.
A blue groomer on Sugarloaf side, about 9:45am. Soft enough to be good fun.
View of Sugarloaf base from the top of the blue groomer that leads from the top of the Sunnyside lift. Sunnyside is the training area from the Albion base. Not just green runs, also a couple blues, and even short blacks on Vail ridge that are good for teaching kids to ski deep powder. The three skiers half way down are an instructor with two kids who were probably age 5 heading to Sugarloaf.
My BPs did great in all conditions, from 6 inches of powder to hard groomers to softened crud.
Alf's is at mid-mountain near the base of Sugarloaf and Cecret.
DC father's kids did a semi-private with Arthur in the afternoon. The two of them had a good time and extended to 3 hours. I heard they wanted to have another off-piste lesson the next afternoon. Their mom had a private with Arthur the day before, which she also extended to 3 hours. I think she is convinced of the value of high level lessons from a Level 3 instructor.
View at 7:30am from Alta Lodge. The moon is just visible on the right above the mountain. The sun is just rising over Mt. Baldy on the left. Tan building is Goldminer's Daughter (Mother Lode Deep Powder House ski shop). Collins lift behind the Wildcat base building (Alta Ski School desk, Alta Ski Shop). Wildcat double to the right of Collins.
View from Alta Lodge hot pools. Of course, the lighting is quite different in the late afternoons when most people use them. One pool is hotter than the other, so kids tend to stay in the cooler one. The door slides open. A few folks like to roll in the snow, then get back in a hot pool.
A blue groomer on Sugarloaf side, about 9:45am. Soft enough to be good fun.
View of Sugarloaf base from the top of the blue groomer that leads from the top of the Sunnyside lift. Sunnyside is the training area from the Albion base. Not just green runs, also a couple blues, and even short blacks on Vail ridge that are good for teaching kids to ski deep powder. The three skiers half way down are an instructor with two kids who were probably age 5 heading to Sugarloaf.
My BPs did great in all conditions, from 6 inches of powder to hard groomers to softened crud.
Alf's is at mid-mountain near the base of Sugarloaf and Cecret.
Last edited:
marzNC
Angel Diva
In addition to the ski shops more or less on the mountain, I found out that there is a rental shop at the Peruvian (far end of the Wildcat parking lot towards Snowbird). Bill and I rode up the Collins lift with a guy who was checking out Kastle skis from the Peruvian.
At the end of the demo day, I learned that if someone had wanted to buy a DPS demo ski they could get it through the Alta Ski Shop. In general, the Alta Ski Shop (Wildcat base, Alf's, Watson's) seems to be the best choice if paying to rent demo skis for a few days. Can swap out on mountain. Prices are good too.
skibum4ever
Angel Diva
I was very frustrated that there were no women's powder skis to be rented in Keystone River Run Village. I was told I had to go into Frisco or Dillon. Wouldn't work well for swapping out skis during the day, so I guess I will resume the quest for a powder ski next season.
Unless ... big unless ... Mammoth gets some fresh snow in May. That would be a real test of a powder ski - super hard-core Sierra cement in May.
Unless ... big unless ... Mammoth gets some fresh snow in May. That would be a real test of a powder ski - super hard-core Sierra cement in May.
marzNC
Angel Diva
As a postscript for anyone reading later on because they are considering a late season trip to LCC . . . Alta/Snowbird just got two FEET of snow in the last couple days on the last weekend of April. Granted the initial snow was pretty "wet" (10%) but the second round overnight ended up about a foot of dryer snow. I gather the Wildcat parking lot actually filled up, which is unusual after Supreme closes.
Snowbird made adjustments to which lifts were open when the tram had electrical issues. People were walking through the tunnel to get to Mineral Basin. Alta ran the Wildcat lift in addition to Sunnyside and Collins. Even though the Sugarloaf lift is closed for the season, the entire area is open as BC. So possible to get "round the world" runs on untracked snow by going up Collins, over to the Sugarloaf side, and then take the transfer tow back to the Wildcat base to repeat.
Snowbird made adjustments to which lifts were open when the tram had electrical issues. People were walking through the tunnel to get to Mineral Basin. Alta ran the Wildcat lift in addition to Sunnyside and Collins. Even though the Sugarloaf lift is closed for the season, the entire area is open as BC. So possible to get "round the world" runs on untracked snow by going up Collins, over to the Sugarloaf side, and then take the transfer tow back to the Wildcat base to repeat.
marzNC
Angel Diva
On the last day I had time to stop and ask questions of the guy in the little ticket booth next to the gate between Alta and Snowbird above Mineral Basin. Turns out that it's possible to upgrade either an Alta pass or a Snowbird lift ticket/pass there. I think the cost is around $30. So someone does not need to make a decision until they can see what conditions are like up top.
Really hope Snowbird will install at least some RFID gates in the near future. With more people using the MCP to ski both Alta and Snowbird, it only makes sense to make it easier. Definitely a pain to have to fish out the RFID card to be scanned every time loading a lift at Snowbird. Especially when carrying skis to the tram. By the afternoon during late season, they weren't bothering to scan in Mineral Basin.
Really hope Snowbird will install at least some RFID gates in the near future. With more people using the MCP to ski both Alta and Snowbird, it only makes sense to make it easier. Definitely a pain to have to fish out the RFID card to be scanned every time loading a lift at Snowbird. Especially when carrying skis to the tram. By the afternoon during late season, they weren't bothering to scan in Mineral Basin.
marzNC
Angel Diva
Now that it's finally snowing at Alta, I was looking at my old trip reports. Going to be hard to wait until March to ski Alta again. Forgot that I extended the 2014 late season trip at the beginning and the end. It was the first late season trip to Alta since 2008 that I wasn't constrained by my daughter's school schedule. She was at North Country School (junior boarding school in Lake Placid, NY) and their spring break was in mid-March. But that meant she'd been skiing all winter at Whiteface and on the school ski hill. Had been converted to a telemark skier.
Snowbird did finally install an RFID system. So for a couple seasons, having the MCP as a combo pass was really convenient. But starting in 2017-18, the MCP benefit changed in Utah. Instead of two days at Alta/Snowbird as a combo pass, there are two days at Alta, two days at Snowbird, and a day at Snowbasin for those who fly to SLC. We'll see if that means having to get a separate RFID card for Alta and Snowbird.
Snowbird did finally install an RFID system. So for a couple seasons, having the MCP as a combo pass was really convenient. But starting in 2017-18, the MCP benefit changed in Utah. Instead of two days at Alta/Snowbird as a combo pass, there are two days at Alta, two days at Snowbird, and a day at Snowbasin for those who fly to SLC. We'll see if that means having to get a separate RFID card for Alta and Snowbird.
