-
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.
Snowbird Today
- Thread starter ski diva
- Start date
MaineSkiLady
Angel Diva
Mammoth got a few inches out of that last storm, another one is heading there by Friday. What was astounding: the base depths: 6.5-10 FEET! 
Oh yeah. They'll be open awhile!
https://www.mammothmountain.com/MyMammoth/?section=weather
Oh yeah. They'll be open awhile!
https://www.mammothmountain.com/MyMammoth/?section=weather
Mammoth got a few inches out of that last storm, another one is heading there by Friday. What was astounding: the base depths: 6.5-10 FEET!
Oh yeah. They'll be open awhile!
https://www.mammothmountain.com/MyMammoth/?section=weather
Yeah - Snowbird has a 127" base at mid-mountain now (that would be what - 10.5 feet?). Pretty ridiculous, since it took forever to get to a 100' base this year.
Mammoth got a few inches out of that last storm, another one is heading there by Friday. What was astounding: the base depths: 6.5-10 FEET!
Oh yeah. They'll be open awhile!
Is it even possible that they'll still have some 09/10 base left when the 10/11 snow starts falling? It doesn't SEEM possible and yet ... here it is, almost June and they're still getting snow.
MaineSkiLady
Angel Diva
Mammoth melts off. Gets pretty hot and dry in that section of Sierra Nevada. Otherwise, hey, wouldn't it qualify as a "glacier??" i.e., Mt Hood?
10 or so days ago, there was still a bunch of snow on the back snowfields at Sugarloaf. Haven't seen that view since, but webcam shows only small piles, here and there, on frontside. Of course, this has been a blazing hot spring up here, and we were lucky that the season made it to/through its projected season finale date of 5/2 (on which date it was 82 degrees, at elevation).
10 or so days ago, there was still a bunch of snow on the back snowfields at Sugarloaf. Haven't seen that view since, but webcam shows only small piles, here and there, on frontside. Of course, this has been a blazing hot spring up here, and we were lucky that the season made it to/through its projected season finale date of 5/2 (on which date it was 82 degrees, at elevation).
Skisailor
Angel Diva
Somebody posted a short video on youtube of skiing at Alta two days ago (just after the 9"?). Looked fabulous since there is no lift access so only the non-lazy are up there.
And yes . . . I've been dreaming about skiing by checking youtube videos posted by other skiers at night before bed . . . . <sigh>
Only one month has passed since my last ski day (at Snowbird) and I've got at least 5 1/2 (probably 6) to go! Oy vey . . . . :(
Sucks being passionate about something I can only do 4 to 5 months out of the year. Think I need to so something about that . . . .
And yes . . . I've been dreaming about skiing by checking youtube videos posted by other skiers at night before bed . . . . <sigh>
Only one month has passed since my last ski day (at Snowbird) and I've got at least 5 1/2 (probably 6) to go! Oy vey . . . . :(
Sucks being passionate about something I can only do 4 to 5 months out of the year. Think I need to so something about that . . . .
Completely agree.
skibum4ever
Angel Diva
Or come to Mammoth this weekend or any time until July 4!!"
Skisailor
Angel Diva
You can still do it - just buy a ticket to SLC and ski at Snowbird this weekend...
You don't know HOW MUCH I'm longing to do just that!! Just can't get away right now due to other obligations.
Hey . . . and we missed you and the other Utah Divas during the brief Snowbird Diva get-together at the end of April!!
I would kill to get an Alta tour by someone who really knows it. I often ski alone and have not been able to do as much exploring as I'd like. Plus, I'm still pretty new to skiing off-piste so I'm looking for that in-between terrain - i.e. taking traverses to runs that will challenge me but aren't too scary. :D It's hard for me to tell which black terrain at Alta I can tackle and which is still beyond me.
I'm not ready for super steeps, tight trees or chutes yet . . . .
As a totally self-taught skier, I'd like to take some lessons to get me over that hump. But in the meantime, any tips about off-piste runs at Alta that I can probably ski as an advanced skier would be great!
What about Catherine's area? East Castle? Castle Apron?
And Mammoth . . . . ahh . . . would LOVE to go there. It's a little harder because it's farther (and I have a free place to stay when I ski Utah). Time and money are both considerations. But one of these days I'm going to get out there for some late season skiing for sure!!
Cool to even think about skiing on July 4th!
Sorry I missed you guys, but I think right around the beginning of April, I was officially too obsessed with biking to contemplate skiing any more this season. What can I say...
But to answer your question about skiing at Alta:
Catherines - definitely. It's nice and mellow but fun terrain, and not a bad hike either.
East Castle? The terrain shouldn't be too bad for you - it's steeper than Catherines, but not bad. Personally, I've only hiked up there twice, ever. It's an insanely long sidestep to the top for a handful of turns on the way back down. I guess I figure if I want to hike that much, I'll go in the backcountry where I can skin up rather than sidestep (skinning has got to be about 20x more efficient). But if you don't mind the effort to get out there (or you are only going a little ways out), I don't think the terrain is too intimidating. It's a reasonably large area so you have a lot of options too, and generally not too many people are into making that hike, you shouldn't have to deal with that many people rushing you on the way up.
Really anywhere in the Castle area shouldn't be too bad for you - there are some cliff and chute areas but I think between the signage and just looking where you're going you shouldn't have any trouble avoiding them if you want to.
Ballroom is always good for non-intimidating powder too. And there is plenty of stuff under Sugarloaf as well (basically under the lower part of the lift - the upper part is a groomer but if you continue straight where the groomer turns right there are gates to get you off-piste).
But to answer your question about skiing at Alta:
Catherines - definitely. It's nice and mellow but fun terrain, and not a bad hike either.
East Castle? The terrain shouldn't be too bad for you - it's steeper than Catherines, but not bad. Personally, I've only hiked up there twice, ever. It's an insanely long sidestep to the top for a handful of turns on the way back down. I guess I figure if I want to hike that much, I'll go in the backcountry where I can skin up rather than sidestep (skinning has got to be about 20x more efficient). But if you don't mind the effort to get out there (or you are only going a little ways out), I don't think the terrain is too intimidating. It's a reasonably large area so you have a lot of options too, and generally not too many people are into making that hike, you shouldn't have to deal with that many people rushing you on the way up.
Really anywhere in the Castle area shouldn't be too bad for you - there are some cliff and chute areas but I think between the signage and just looking where you're going you shouldn't have any trouble avoiding them if you want to.
Ballroom is always good for non-intimidating powder too. And there is plenty of stuff under Sugarloaf as well (basically under the lower part of the lift - the upper part is a groomer but if you continue straight where the groomer turns right there are gates to get you off-piste).
Skisailor
Angel Diva
Biking!!?? In April during the Utah ski season??!! What are you thinking?! :D
Thanks for those Alta tips! Catherine's is what I've been most curious about. Looks really inviting but didn't want to hike up there and then be like . . .
I've been on Ballroom past the gate and that was fun. Also a few of the blacks off the high traverse that aren't too far from the Collins lift . . . like "Sunspot". Way fun. That traverse starts to get more intimidating to me though, the farther out you go (toward "High Rustlers" I think?). Eeeek.
Interesting that you mentioned those gates (on skier's left, correct?) off the upper part of the groomer under the Sugarloaf lift! I was wondering about that area! What I can see from the gate looks great, but I wasn't sure what I'd be heading into farther down.
I can't help it. I actually convinced my husband to go with me on a bike trip in FEBRUARY this year.
It's funny because we moved here 9 years ago for the skiing, but as it turns out, the biking is even better...
Anyway, I know what you're saying about exploring on your own. I did a lot of that when I first moved out here. But I wouldn't sweat exploring in Catherines. If you just follow the majority of the tracks, it takes you down a pretty mellow route back to Supreme. If you keep on traversing (before you drop in) and go past the signs telling you you are leaving the ski area (i.e. out to Rocky Point, etc.) then you will need to hike back up to get back to the ski area, and should take backcountry safety gear and such with you. But it's not only obvious with the signs, but obvious with the terrain that you're crossing a ridgeline and dropping down the other side so that wouldn't spit you out in the same valley as the lift you came up on. It's kind of a neat area though, because it's so nice and quiet.
And if you go through the Sugarloaf gates, you can see what you'll be coming down from the Sugarloaf lift. There is usually a distinct main path (most of it is almost directly under the lift) that is the easiest terrain, and then if you want to explore off on the sides, there is some more interesting terrain in view. But it works well for exploring - you can make your first run nice and easy and see where you want to aim for in future runs.
Skisailor
Angel Diva
Oooh . . . found this. Catherines looks really great.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BTkR8hufCpo&NR=1
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BTkR8hufCpo&NR=1
marzNC
Angel Diva
Oooh . . . found this. Catherines looks really great.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BTkR8hufCpo&NR=1
Looks like fun to me! Couldn't tell from the Supreme lift what it would be like over there. What you can see under the lift is pretty steep.
I'd like to talk ski buddy JC into a mid-winter trip to SLC next winter. He's never been there. Maybe we could meet up.
Skisailor
Angel Diva
Looks like fun to me! Couldn't tell from the Supreme lift what it would be like over there. What you can see under the lift is pretty steep.
I'd like to talk ski buddy JC into a mid-winter trip to SLC next winter. He's never been there. Maybe we could meet up.
Sounds great!
It'd be fun to have someone to explore it with.
