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Alta April 1-3

NewEnglandSkier

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
I'm here at Alta and had a great day 1. Started out the morning skiing with @marzNC and @Tryin2Ski and her daughter. Someone that MarzNC knew from Epic joined for a few runs as well.
Here are the Divas at the top of Collins lift.
IMGP0239%20copy_zpsusm6rbkx.jpg


We then met up at Alta Lodge for lunch. @dloveski and her husband joined us as well as MarzNC's friend Bill.

After lunch we skied a few runs together before splitting up. I decided to go over to Snowbird and ski in Mineral Basin. Below is a view looking from inside Mineral Basin.
IMGP0247%20copy_zpsepgf6zmk.jpg

I really liked it in there. It's so wide open and there were not too many people. It was nice because there was a groomed swath but you could go off to the side to try the ungroomed but it was easy to get back on the groomed part. I haven't explored the rest of Snowbird yet, but definitely wanted to try Mineral Basin since last year I didn't get to.
After Mineral Basin I went back to Alta and took a run off the Supreme lift before it closed. I think the picture below was taken from the top of Supreme.
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Around 4pm I went back to my room at the Goldminer's Daughter and enjoyed the view from my room.
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Tomorrow I have a lesson in the morning, so we'll see how that goes.
 
Gorgeous
 

NewEnglandSkier

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
Day 2 Saturday
Another fun day. The weather was the same as yesterday but a bit warmer. I had a 2 hour private lesson in the morning which was good. It was a good lesson but I didn't gel with his way of explaining things as well I have with some of the other instructors I've had, but I did get a few take homes form the lesson and things to focus on.
I spent the afternoon at Snowbird. I ate at their restaurant near the top of the tram, then did a run in Mineral Basin. Then I got brave and decided to explore the rest of Snowbird.
Here is a view looking toward the main area of Snowbird (not Mineral Basin)
IMGP0260%20copy_zps7gv0v3fx.jpg


I had been a little nervous to ski at Snowbird since you always read that it's super steep and that its green runs ski like eastern blacks etc, etc. I didn't have a Snowbird trail map so I was really "brave" and basically just skied around looking for groomed terrain. That was pretty unusual for me since I always look at the trail map a million times when I go somewhere new! I'm pleased to say I didn't find any of the blues I did/saw extraordinarily steep. I even did some easier blacks. I guess it's steeper than most of the mountains I normally ski, but it's so wide open that maybe it didn't seem as steep as I expected it to? I had built it up in my mind as somewhere I shouldn't go, but I went and had a good time! I skied down from the Little Cloud Lift to the main base then checked out the easier terrain off of Baby Thunder Lift. Then skied off the Mid Gad Lift and finally up the Peruvian lift and back into Mineral Basin in time to make it back up Baldy before it closed, so I could return to Alta. It was really fun and I can't wait to go back and spend a whole day there. It was pretty wet/sticky toward the bottom and my skis I rented were in desperate need of wax.
Below is the Peruvian Tunnel you can take back into Mineral Basin
IMGP0262%20copy_zpsvygxa2wr.jpg


I made it back to Alta about 3:15, so I decided to go quickly to the Supreme lift before it closed and get one run off of that. I took it up and skied down Challenger. Below is a photo taken from Challenger.
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Finished up about 4pm and then enjoyed another delicious dinner at Goldminer's.
Here's the flour less chocolate cake.
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It was another good day. Got very warm in the afternoon and sticky toward the bottom. I kind of wished I was on something a little wider and more rockered than the Volkl Yumi but they did fine (I just think in wetter conditions I prefer my Black Pearls). I dropped the skis off for a wax since they badly needed it. Hopefully that will help.
 

bounceswoosh

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
I had been a little nervous to ski at Snowbird since you always read that it's super steep and that its green runs ski like eastern blacks etc, etc. I didn't have a Snowbird trail map so I was really "brave" and basically just skied around looking for groomed terrain. That was pretty unusual for me since I always look at the trail map a million times when I go somewhere new! I'm pleased to say I didn't find any of the blues I did/saw extraordinarily steep. I even did some easier blacks. I guess it's steeper than most of the mountains I normally ski, but it's so wide open that maybe it didn't seem as steep as I expected it to? I had built it up in my mind as somewhere I shouldn't go, but I went and had a good time!

This is really great! It's nice when we surprise ourselves with how awesome we are ;-)
 

marzNC

Angel Diva
Glad you had a chance to get over to Snowbird. I was in Mineral Basin with Bill for a little while in the afternoon. Wanted to see the views from the new Summit building since visibility wasn't great when we were there in late Jan. Really quite nice.
 

marzNC

Angel Diva
A few pics from The Summit at the top of Snowbird. There are decks on the top floor so you can see in all directions. Very nice when it's clear and warm. Plenty of windows so on a cold day mid-winter could still see the view without standing in the wind.

Mineral Basin to the left
Snowbird Summit 02Apr2016  - 1.jpg

Red tram in the center, people are on the top of Chip's Run
Snowbird Summit 02Apr2016  - 2.jpg

Mt Baldy is the close peak on the left, Snowbird to the left and Alta to the right
Snowbird Summit 02Apr2016  - 3.jpg
 

NewEnglandSkier

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
Day 3 Sunday
Posting this from the airport and their wifi is really slow so I couldn't upload any pictures.
Today was my last day so I only got to ski a half day before heading to the airport. It was another warm, sunny day.
I started off the Sunnyside lift to work on some things I learned in my lesson yesterday. Then I headed over to the Sugarloaf lift, then over to Supreme. Then I did another run off the Sugarloaf lift before heading to Snowbird to do a couple runs in Mineral Basin. So I made the most of my half day!

As was to be expected given the weather, everything started out pretty firm but it softened quite quickly. It was getting a little sticky when I went in for lunch at noon. I met @marzNC and @alison wong for lunch at the Rustler Lodge. Some of MarzNC's friends joined us as well.

After lunch I had time to ski one more run off the Collins lift. OMG it was REALLY sticky after lunch! Or maybe it was the skis I was on (not mine); I had them waxed the night before but they were sticking badly--so that I was sort of jerking along. I hope it wasn't so sticky higher up.

It's supposed to get a little cooler after today so it won't be as sticky for those lucky enough to be staying on. I wished I didn't have to fly home today, as this was likely my last day of the season, as I'm just not sure what I'll be coming home to in New England. Already looking forward to next years trips!
 

marzNC

Angel Diva
@NewEnglandSkier : you certainly made good use of your time today. The stickiness was the snow, not your skis. I gave up by about 2:00 when temps were in the mid-50s. Took my friend who arrived today down to Snowbird Center to look around. She's only a beginner so hadn't ever seen a tram before.

Looking forward to skiing Alta again with you next time! :smile:
 

Christy

Angel Diva
One of these years I'm going to obsessively track weather and do a last-minute trip to Alta when conditions are fantastic so I can finally see what the fuss is all about. :smile:
 

marzNC

Angel Diva
One of these years I'm going to obsessively track weather and do a last-minute trip to Alta when conditions are fantastic so I can finally see what the fuss is all about. :smile:
How much do you like to ski in 8+ inches of powder? Sometimes the best snow underfoot is when it's still snowing, but that's a hard time to get to know Alta. While a few blue trails are groomed daily, right after a storm some blues will have 4-6 inches of powder on top of a groomed surface. The day after when there is blue sky can be better for groomers and more mellow powder for someone who has an idea where to look. For example, RockNRoll may be closed for a day or two after a storm because they are close to known avalanche paths. RockNRoll is not groomed the day it opens. Can be challenging for people who aren't experienced in fresh powder over a couple inches until it gets skier packed after a few hours.
 

Christy

Angel Diva
How much do you like to ski in 8+ inches of powder? Sometimes the best snow underfoot is when it's still snowing, but that's a hard time to get to know Alta. While a few blue trails are groomed daily, right after a storm some blues will have 4-6 inches of powder on top of a groomed surface. The day after when there is blue sky can be better for groomers and more mellow powder for someone who has an idea where to look. For example, RockNRoll may be closed for a day or two after a storm because they are close to known avalanche paths. RockNRoll is not groomed the day it opens. Can be challenging for people who aren't experienced in fresh powder over a couple inches until it gets skier packed after a few hours.

Well, being from the PNW, that's really par for the course. I rarely get to ski anything that someone from, say, Colorado would recognize as groomers. It snows a lot, it's heavier snow than Utah, and it gets skied out into piles quickly. Before I got my current skis which are too long for me I was kind of turning up my nose at groomers anyway. I'm also not limited to blue terrain, though I do have to be feeling good to ski blacks at someplace like Crystal. I will say 8+ inches of snow here would be very tiring for me, and I don't want a big powder day because I don't have to deal with crowds. I think what I would look for is just consistently good conditions over a couple of weeks, with some amount of new snow (maybe just a few inches is better to keep the local powderhounds home?) in the forecast, though like you said a bluebird day after some snow would be ideal. What I really don't want is new snow over a very hard surface, so as it gets skied off there would be scoured areas exposed. Now I am sounding very fussy, and good luck to me trying to nail this. I have been to Alta but in conditions like New England skier described for her trip.
 

snow cat

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
For example, RockNRoll may be closed for a day or two after a storm because they are close to known avalanche paths. RockNRoll is not groomed the day it opens. Can be challenging for people who aren't experienced in fresh powder over a couple inches until it gets skier packed after a few hours.

I didn't know that's why they close RockNRoll. It was great when they opened it the day after the storm we had in January. It was one of the best, if not the best, run of my Alta trip skiing through all the powder that collected there. I think it was one of the lightest snow I've experienced.
 

marzNC

Angel Diva
Main Street on the Collins side also gets closed because of avalanche risk coming off Mt. Baldy and Ballroom. But it gets skied out pretty fast when Main Street and Ballroom open up since it's the collector for every line off Ballroom.

One reason I always check RockNRoll when I head to Supreme is to see the status in person. Not only is RockNRoll fun with fresh powder, the option exists to take the traverse up to the Castle Apron gate and get in a few powder turns that way. Doesn't matter if the gate is closed. Plus it's more fun to see the snow waiting for another day than just reading a trail report.
 

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