Alta 2024-25 news, travel tips, terrain notes

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This discussion is for news related to Alta for the 2024-25 season, with tips about travel logistics and terrain for those who haven’t been before. Please feel free to ask questions or make suggestions. With Diva West set for Alta, that could be a good opportunity for Divas to check out Alta for the first time.

For those unfamiliar with the Wasatch Mountains around Salt Lake City:

LCC - Little Cottonwood Canyon, access to Snowbird and Alta on Hwy 210
BCC - Big Cottonwood Canyon, access to Solitude and Brighton on Hwy 190
UTA - Utah Transit Authority, runs the public bus for Hwy 190 and 210
Up Canyon means driving from the city in the valley to one of the ski resorts
Down Canyon means driving back to the city from one of the ski resorts

Alta is for skiers only. The Mineral Basin at Snowbird must be open in order to ski between Alta and Snowbird. Low visibility due to a snowstorm or high winds can close Mineral Basin. When open, MB closes at 3:00 and the two lifts run until 3:30.

The UTA bus between Alta and Snowbird is free. An Ikon pass can be used as a UTA bus pass.

While I always pay attention to news about Alta long before my annual late season stay at Alta Lodge, this season my first trip is in late January to join in for Diva West. Looking forward to skiing with Divas I and happy to guide those who have never skied Alta before. I first skied at Alta as an intermediate long before I took my daughter for a spring break trip in 2008. In recent years, I’ve explored far more of the black terrain than expected thanks to ski buddies, and lessons with assorted instructors.

 

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The relatively new Supreme lift is going to need to be replaced much sooner than expected. The engineering of the bend is not working out. The chairs are wearing out too fast.

In general, it's been nice to be able to load either Supreme or Sugarloaf from Alf's, the mid-mountain lodge on the Albion/Sugarloaf side. It means taking the long run off when skiing Supreme terrain (not Catherine's), but I find the run out good for practicing certain drills that can only be done on flat and wide trails.

June 2024

Alta Plans to Rebuild Supreme Lift

The experiment to build a detachable quad with an eight degree turn and no angle station may be coming to an end. This week Alta Ski Area General Manager Mike Maughan revealed the Supreme lift is s…

liftblog.com

" . . .
Fast forward to today and Alta sees two possible paths forward. The first is to rebuild the lift in a straight path between the top and bottom terminals. This would require every tower and terminal foundation to be replaced. “All the equipment would be re-used with maybe a few new towers added to the mix,” said Maughan. A second, less likely option is to keep both terminals in place and build a full angle station where the bend stands today. Analysis is underway to determine the best solution. “We approached the Forest Service and they are open to the realignment approach which would end up with a simpler lift with fewer moving parts and less wear and tear,” noted Maughan. Either way, the project will be a major undertaking targeted for summer 2025. “We’re waiting for numbers back from Poma to understand the cost of both options.”
. . ."

 

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Never know when the bigger snowstorms will start in Utah. Mostly totals and overall totals have varied widely in recent years. The Alta website makes finding snowfall history relatively easy to find. Here's what happened ending with April 2024.

There was a lot less snow in November 2023 than November 2022. But by late January 2024 there was plenty of snow coverage. Hopefully snow totals will pick up in the next couple months.

 

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Just discovered that Southwest has decided to partner with Kayak. I mostly fly Southwest from RDU for ski trips because there are very few non-stop flights to airports useful for ski destinations. However, it's nice to be able to compare options across the other airlines with Southwest every so often.

I happen to like the current Southwest seating approach. With that going away in 2025, I may be more likely to book flights on other airlines more often.

 

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Travelers who make plans to ski Alta for more than 4 days well in advance who are not going to use Ikon and/or the Mountain Collective Pass should consider the Gold Card or one of the 10-day passes. When bought at the lowest prices (before mid-June), can work out well. For 2024-25 the Gold Card was $99. The transferable 10-day pass, with the possibility of applying credit to the next season, was $1000 and went off sale on Nov. 6. The 10-day non-transferable pass, with no credit if not fully used, started at $729 and is now $1099.

With a Gold Card, the RFID card issued is direct-to-lift and the associated credit card is automatically charged 50% of the relevant rate. For instance, if someone skis after 12:30 or 2:30, the appropriate afternoon rate is applied.

A parking code that can be used for two parking reservations at a time are included with any of the Alta passes or the Gold Card.

 

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Alta will open on Nov. 22 with the Collins and Wildcat lifts only. They aren't worrying about having any groomed trails for opening day.

 

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I happen to like the current Southwest seating approach. With that going away in 2025, I may be more likely to book flights on other airlines more often.

I'm also annoyed that they've caved and changed their seating approach, but they say they're committed to keeping 2 checked bags free -- can't beat that, esp with ski gear!

 

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Recently came across an article about Alta Lodge (AL) in a travel blog geared to luxury travel. The writer is a 60-something skier from NYC. The trip with a good friend also included a short stay at Sundance (an hour south of SLC, near Provo). She captured the vibe of both locations very well.

October 4, 2024

A tale of two skiers and two mountain resorts in Utah

Once, Katherine asked me, “What was your happiest moment?” I can’t remember what I said. I think it was...

www.aluxurytravelblog.com

Partially because the Levitt family who have owned AL since the 1950s were from NYC, many of the long-time guests are New Yorkers. Over 75% of AL guests are return guests.

I started staying at AL for a spring break trip when my daughter was a tween. I became an annual guest in April about 15 years ago, even after my daughter was too busy with school for skiing (we live in North Carolina). After she graduated from college, her most recent stay with me was in April 2023. During the first few trips with her, I was only skiing groomers so she was a better skier by the time she was eleven thanks to Alta Ski School.

The original connection for me was North Country School--a boarding middle school in Lake Placid, NY--which has a small alumni gathering during the spring season at AL. A few members of the Levitt family attended NCS. NCS shares the 200-acre campus with the associated summer camp, Camp Treetops (founded 1921). I and my primary ski buddy attended NCS in the 1960s, and my daughter loved NCS (2013-16) as much as I did. NCS has a ski hill with a rope tow and the students also have opportunities to ski at Whiteface.

While a stay at AL can be a luxury experience, it's worth remembering that the included hot breakfast buffet and 4-course gourmet dinner come with any room. The less costly dorm beds and Original Lodge rooms are very popular. For a slopeside experience, the overall cost when flying to SLC is not unreasonable.

During late season, children 12 and under are free staying in the same room with an adult. That's one reason I spoiled myself and my daughter when she was a tween. As did my good friend when her two children were tweens. We both have non-skiing husbands. The free Children's Program runs 4:30-8:15 (includes a kid-friendly dinner at 5:30) so parents can relax after skiing and fully enjoy the dining room experience. JF has shared a room with Divas in recent years, after her kids became too busy with school for a spring break ski trip.

 

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In general, the five lodges in the town of Alta have different vibes and each has assorted types of rooms. They are all independently owned. Alta Lift Co. is responsible the lifts that access Alta Lodge, Rustler, and Snowpine, with the cost shared by each lodge.

Rustler and Snowpine are luxury hotels closer to the Albion side with snow side access by a slow chairlift from 8:30am-5:00pm. The Peruvian, Goldminer's Daughter (GMD), and Alta Lodge (AL) are more casual in different ways. Those three lodges are on the Wildcat side, with GMD being the closest to the base of the Collins and Wildcat lifts. The UTA ski bus and Alta Resort Shuttle bus stops near the lobby door of GMD for the Wildcat base. Alta Lodge is ski in/out, but using the handle tow is required to get up to the door from the Wildcat base. The Peruvian is a short walk or private shuttle ride across the Wildcat parking lot.

Snowpine is the only lodge that is open year round. It’s possible to stay at the Snowpine without a dining package. The other four lodges include hot breakfast and dinner. Peruvian provides lunch for people who return to the lodge at lunch time. The only places that serve dinner in Alta are the five lodges. It's possible to eat dinner at Snowbird using the Alta Resort Shuttle or getting a ride in a lodge van.

There are groups of friends, families, and newbies who are regular guests at each of the five lodges for different reasons.

Alta Wildcat Base, view from Alta Lodge of Collins lift line, GDM (center right), 9:30am in mid-April 2024
Guest Services is in the grey building. The visible lift is the Wildcat double chair (no safety bar).


Rustler (left) and Snowpine (right), from Rustler chairlift, April 2024


View of Wildcat base from end of transfer two, Peruvian across the parking lot, April 2024
Brown building on left has the Wildcat ticket windows and one location of Alta Ski Shop (owned by Alta Ski Co.). Alta Ski School has someone inside Alta Ski Shop in the mornings.

 

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The Alta Resort Shuttle is relatively new. It started when UTA stopped running buses to the Albion base.

People who are staying in a lodge in Alta do not need a car. Getting a shuttle from the airport is straightforward. Most people use Alta Shuttle. Best to make a reservation at least a couple days before. On demand rides are possible but may mean a longer wait.

If a guest drives a car to Alta, the town charges $25 per night for overnight parking in designated areas on the hill side of the road. If it snows heavily, car owners are required to dig out their car within a day so that snowplows can do their job. AWD/4WD is essentially required if parking overnight.

 

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Cross posting from one of the threads about women's clinics . . .

I learned from a recent interview with Rosie O’Grady of Alta Lodge on Storm Skiing that the Alta Women's Skills Camp, Dec. 2-6 (3 full ski days), will completely take over Alta Lodge. In the previous four seasons, lodging and three meals a day were included in the clinic but there were also other guests during the clinic period. There are eight female instructors from Alta Ski School on board this time.

Rosie has been working at Alta Lodge for almost twenty years. I first came to know her when she was working in Reservations with Mimi Levitt, a key member of the Levitt family who have owned AL for decades. During the multi-day clinics, Rosie and other senior managers and/or members of the Levitt family ski with clinic groups.

After hearing about the different approach, I confirmed that there are a few spots still open as of Nov. 26. If interested, check out the daily schedule on the Alta Lodge website and give them a call.