TR Alta April 6-17, 2025

[marzNC]

Have started my annual stay at Alta Lodge, April 6-17. Per usual meeting up with old friends and hoping to make new friends. Going to be spring skiing with warm weather with highs over 40 at the base. The 39 inches from two snowstorms April 2-4 means plenty of recent coverage and not many bumps after the powder hounds left.

A couple of Divas arrive tomorrow. Bill and Chris, who some know from Taos trips, are here as well. Most of the folks who are regulars in April will be around for a week.

Devil's Castle, April 6, 2025

 

[marzNC]

Got out early enough after arriving at Alta Lodge at 1:00 on Sunday, April 6 to ride every lift and check out snow conditions in assorted places that I know to be fun from past experience. There were clearly plenty of local families out given how many were skiing Supreme and the number of cars in the Albion parking lots.

Runs included Devil’s Elbow, Cabin Hill (from gate below Razorback), Rock ’N Roll, Devil’s Playground (from Rock ‘N Roll gate), Patsy Marley (green off Sunnyside), EBT, short Ballroom run from lower gate, Mambo with a look at trees near the bird feeder, Corkscrew, Aggie’s Alley, and my usual finish out the Lower Rustler traverse. The groomers were all in good shape since it didn’t get over 40 at mid-mountain.

Finally found the Yellow Bear


Much better coverage under the Wildcat lift than during Diva West in late January 2025

 

[marzNC]

Went out first thing this morning with Bill. We had a good time on the Collins groomers before heading over to Supreme. It was clear anything off-piste was quite frozen. I heard from my classmate that off-piste was good fun in the afternoon after the snow softened, including Sunspot from the High T.

I usually spend most of the time skiing off Supreme in April. Decided to check out Catherine’s. I was fresh enough to do the short hike with skis on. Mostly herringbone with side stepping the last steep section. We dropped in the first section that is has the rope line to skiers' left that goes along the backside of the Supreme Bowl. There are a couple gates but it too early for that. That section was fun with snow that hadn’t melted yet. Getting down after that . . . wasn’t fun. Everything froze up last night and hadn’t softened at all. Still, it made a good adventure run.

Afterwards I skied with North Country School friends who flew in early enough to be on snow by 9:45am. Skied groomers off Supreme and Sugarloaf. After the intermediate went back to Alta Lodge, the adventure run was Race Course. It was completely groomed (top section is usually bumps). Even the access traverse was groomed. The top section was slick so I did that with linked side slips before seeing how fast I could be comfortable when the snow was better. I'm willing to go pretty fast because there is a long run out after the steep section of Race Course.

In the afternoon, I skied groomers on the Supreme/Sugarloaf side with Chris. We had lunch at Alta Lodge. The menu has changed so that there isn't a Special Of The Day except spaghetti on Sundays. Most of the specials are now on the regular menu. That means I can have my favorite sandwich any day.

By 2:30, the lower trails off Supreme were getting a little sticky in spots. I was glad to have Phantom on my skis. Chris has new skis (Stöcklis bought at Taos) so will probably need to have them waxed a few times this week.

We stopped in the Alta Ski Shop at Albion to look around before taking the transfer tow back to Alta Lodge. Outerwear is 40% off. Helmets too. I'm thinking about an Alta blanket that's made locally, which is new.

Before getting on the transfer tow, we rode up the new magic carpet. There are two covered magic carpets next to Ski School now. The long one is open to the public. When taking the transfer tow from the Wildcat base, can avoid the uphill section by riding up the magic carpet. End up right at the Ski School entrance. Easy to ski down to the Sunnyside lift from there. Having taken kids to ski school in the mornings over the years, that's quite an improvement.

Groomer working on Nina's as the sun rose, 7:30am
High Rustler on the left, Wildcat lift on the right


View from Alta Lodge dining room at breakfast as the access slope was groomed
Mount Superior in the background

 

[marzNC]

The base depth is 139 inches according to the Alta website as of April 8. The snowfall total for the season so far is 522 inches, starting from Oct. 1, 2024. Last season was a bit better with over 600 inches. But of course every winter is different.



There are stickers for sale at the Alta Ski Shop that say something like "I WAS THERE" for the 2022-23 season when the total was 903 inches. Everyone agreed that was too much snow. Especially when the road was closed for multiple consecutive days in April because of wet slides. It was weird to be at Alta Lodge during those days but my friends and I who made it before the road closed that Monday morning still had a good time. It wasn't Interlude so we could skill go skiing or go for walks on snow. However, nobody was allowed to be on the road at all.

TR for mostly Alta, April 6-23, 2023

My annual April trip to Alta will be April 6-23. Mostly staying at Alta Lodge but starting with a few nights in SLC. Just as well given that Hwy 210 has been closed for several days and it's unclear when it will re-open. What's different this time is that my daughter is taking her first ski...

www.theskidiva.com

 

[Bookworm]

why do i do this to myself? i get major fomo.

 

[marzNC]

why do i do this to myself? i get major fomo.

If it helps, it was too warm by 2:30 to stay out on the snow. Even up high on the Collins side. That will probably be true the next few days.

 

[marzNC]

Alta was pretty empty all day on Tuesday, April 8. It was hard to tell if off-piste terrain had softened or not because so few people were around. It was 43º at the base of Supreme by 1:00, 49º at mid-mountain by 2:00, and 34º at the top of Collins. But with full sun, the snow was soft and even getting sticky in places on the upper mountain. Corkscrew near the base of Collins was heavy going around 2:15.

However, there was fun to be had all over in the morning off Sugarloaf and Supreme. Quite a few runs were made by the early arrival NCS folks on Extrovert, which is a groomed black that goes under the Sugarloaf lift. In the afternoon, Devil's Playground and Cabin Hill were soft and fun.

I finished the ski day with an adventure run with Bill. We started with Race Course, then headed out the high Saddle Traverse. He skied down Christmas Tree. I opted to keep going and skied down Lone Pine. I learned from my instructor, Arthur Haskell, years ago that Christmas Tree, Stone Crusher, and Lone Pine can hold decent snow longer because they are north facing. By 2:15, the snow at the top that was still in the shade was okay. Lower down it was pretty soft but since the bumps were medium size (or even small for people who ski Taos), skiing down was reasonably fun. Christmas Tree and Stone Crusher end in the gully. Lone Pine ends at the Lower Rustler traverse. I finished on Lower Rustler, which is my habit when going in for the day. The snow was soft and the bumps were low on Lower Rustler.

The groomer near the Wildcat ticket office building was sticky. To get to the handle tow for Alta Lodge, skiing to the right of that brown building is the best way to go.

Bill looking at bird feeder near Cabin Hill


Comfortable squirrel, the bird feeders were empty in the morning but filled by 1pm


View of Wildcat base (center) from the top of Race Course (black), which had been groomed recently


Looking down Lone Pine (black), which is reached from the high Saddle Traverse


Looking down Lone Pine towards Wildcat base and parking lot

 

[marzNC]

April 9 was another warm day. Temps got up into the 50's at the base, but only into the high 30s at the top of Collins. The groomers off Sugarloaf were good by 10:00 or so. Cabin Hill was still fun after lunch. Since it cooled down to the high 20s after 5am at Mid-Mountain, the skiing off Collins was good off-piste essentially all afternoon if you knew where to go. TNtoTaos and I did a couple of runs on Ballroom. Also made some turns on Lower Rustler in soft but not slushy snow that made for soft relatively low bumps.

We had a big group for lunch at Alta Lodge, combining Ski Divas with old friends who are alumni of North Country school. Lunch can be pretty quick. We were all back on snow by 1:30. I take full advantage of having ski in/out lodging to use the boot dryer that comes with the room to dry my boots during a lunch break.

TNtoTaos on Ballroom traverse around 3:15pm


Afternoon group: Chris, snow cat's sister E, @TNtoTaos, @snow cat , MarzNC, Bill

 

[marzNC]

Even warmer on April 10. Temp at the base reached 62º. More importantly, it didn't get that cold overnight. Even so, the groomers off Collins were pretty firm around 10:00. Fewer skiers were around in the morning. By 2:00, the place was very quiet. However, there were a couple of groups who finished with a run down High Rustler. That's the view from the Alta Lodge indoor hot pools.

Supreme Bowl has been closed for a couple days. The High T was closed today.

View from top of Sunnyside of Catherine's terrain and Supreme Bowl

View of Sugarloaf lift from top of Sunnyside, probably less than 20 people on the slopes around 11:30


View of Albion base, lower Albion parking lot
Can ski to the parking lot level or the Albion Grill level


Worth a little work to get to the bird feeder after lunch
There are three bird feeders around Alta.

 

[TNtoTaos]

Even warmer on April 10. Temp at the base reached 62º. More importantly, it didn't get that cold overnight. Even so, the groomers off Collins were pretty firm around 10:00. Fewer skiers were around in the morning. By 2:00, the place was very quiet. However, there were a couple of groups who finished with a run down High Rustler. That's the view from the Alta Lodge indoor hot pools.

Supreme Bowl has been closed for a couple days. The High T was closed today.

View from top of Sunnyside of Catherine's terrain and Supreme BowlView attachment 24916

View of Sugarloaf lift from top of Sunnyside, probably less than 20 people on the slopes around 11:30
View attachment 24915

View of Albion base, lower Albion parking lot
Can ski to the parking lot level or the Albion Grill level
View attachment 24917

Worth a little work to get to the bird feeder after lunch
There are three bird feeders around Alta.
View attachment 24914

The bird feeder visits were really fun and interesting. Over two days we saw several Black-capped Chickadees, Juncos, and a Hairy Woodpecker. We were offering them granola with nuts and pumpkin seeds in it, and once they realized there were nuts and seeds to be had they rejected the granola, spitting it out in favor of the seeds. They even spotted us taking more seeds out of the bag, and went right for them!

 

[marzNC]

It's been a couple of warm days at Alta, April 11-12. Meaning temps in the low 60s at the base by lunch time. I finished on the Collins side, mostly skiing groomers with JF. She likes to ski full days, meaning until 4:00 or even 4:30, but nothing on the other side was good after lunch time. On Friday, we could load mid-mountain. On Saturday, mid-mountain didn't have enough snow so it was closed all day. It was getting a bit hard to get up into the chair for me yesterday, so makes some sense.

New ski school magic carpet is an alternative to hanging onto the transfer tow for the last bit of uphill. Best to get off at the last tower.


Went for a walk with @TNtoTaos after done with skiing around 2pm. We started with a quick tour of the Snowpine Lodge, then headed over to the Peruvian. Snowpine is the only year round hotel. Also the only lodge with a la carte meals. It was re-opened after a complete rebuild in January 2019.

About Snowpine Lodge Ski Resort | Snowpine Lodge

While Snowpine Lodge is one of the newest buildings in Alta, its history runs deep and it’s also the oldest building in the region.

www.snowpine.com

Entrance to Wildcat parking lot, GMD on the bottom right


Peruvian outdoor pool and hot tubs


Skis on sale at Alta Ski Shop at Wildcat base
The two on the left are Wagner custom skis. The second from the left has part of the Alta trail map.

 

[marzNC]

Saturday, April started out cloudy and a bit breezy. When the sun came out, the wind died down.

Did a couple runs in the soft bumps on Chartreuse. Was reminded by Bill about the idea of using a mantra when I stopped on the second run. I was out of breath and realized it was because I was holding my breath. The bumps were medium size and the pitch is not that steep. The lesson with Arthur during Diva West was when he covered how to choose and use a mantra (word, phrase, or song snippet). The rest of the run went much better.

View from top of Big Dipper off Supreme around 1:00pm


Feeding birds again
The local family who had been there didn't have stuff as tasty to the birds.


Skiers and observers for the wiggle, also called a snake, on Ballroom around 3:30pm

 

[TNtoTaos]

Saturday, April started out cloudy and a bit breezy. When the sun came out, the wind died down.

Did a couple runs in the soft bumps on Chartreuse. Was reminded by Bill about the idea of using a mantra when I stopped on the second run. I was out of breath and realized it was because I was holding my breath. The bumps were medium size and the pitch is not that steep. The lesson with Arthur during Diva West was when he covered how to choose and use a mantra (word, phrase, or song snippet). The rest of the run went much better.

View from top of Big Dipper off Supreme around 1:00pm
View attachment 24935

Feeding birds again
The local family who had been there didn't have stuff as tasty to the birds.
View attachment 24936

Skiers and observers for the wiggle, also called a snake, on Ballroom around 3:30pm
View attachment 24937

It was interesting to note that the birds at this feeder seemed to recognize us now, and headed right for our hands. We ended up with at least 10 Chickadees all around us, landing on our hands, heads, pants, skis - it was really fun. They've also clearly figured out that the plastic bag holds the "good stuff", because when we pulled it out they went right for the bag!

 

[TNtoTaos]

During our walk to the Peruvian we could see evidence of avalanche mitigation on the slope over the main road. Even during this relatively "low snow" period you can see how close it came to the road!


Here is the great room at the Peruvian - much more of a Southwestern decor than the Alta Lodge or the Snowpine hotels.

 

[marzNC]

Today, April 13, was a really good spring skiing day at Alta. The big difference is that there was a hard freeze last night. Even though it was Sunday, not many people were skiing.

I opted to take the transfer tow over to Sunnyside instead of skiing over from the top of Collins. With the new magic carpet, heading from Wildcat to Albion is much easier. Even Sunnyside trails were pretty firm first thing this morning. By the afternoon, there was corn snow to be found if you knew where to go.

I spent most of the afternoon skiing off Supreme with JF. Going into the trees near the bird feeder meant frozen traverses. The shady parts of Three Bears never softened. Big Dipper stayed nice. The runouts never got sticky. She lapped Big Dipper while I enjoyed the corn snow on Challenger. Our last chairlift ride was 10 min before the lift closed at 3:30. Then headed to Collins. Mid-station was open so we lapped the upper mountain groomers. Loaded the last time at 4:15. That meant a full day of skiing from 9:30 to 4:30.

Alta mid-mountain temps as of 5pm, April 13.


A couple people going uphill on the Summer Road, next to a Sunnyside green trail


Impossible to see, but this was corn snow on Challenger

 

[IKam]

Thank you for the Alta pictures and narrative. I would love to return. Maybe next year?

 

[marzNC]

Been having fun skiing with friends on their last days so not taking many notes. Mon, April 14 was the last day for @TNtoTaos and Rita, Tue was the last day for JF, and today was my last day. It was another good day Monday with a hard freeze that meant skiing into the late afternoon was possible. Tuesday and Wednesday were "quit early days" because night time temps were in the 30s and daytime temps got into the 40s and even 50s at the base. Still, plenty of fun places moving around the different areas. The one lift we didn't ski that much was Sunnyside, because runs of Sugarloaf were softening early.

Never skied any of the challenging terrain off Wildcat. Didn't see anyone in there given the snow conditions in the past couple weeks once it warmed up. Rode up Wildcat a few times for the view. Always fun to head down the cat track and head over to Taint (blue), which is usually groomed during late season. I skied Blitz (black) a couple time, but more for practice than because it would be fun. Once it was too firm and the next time it was a bit too soft.

Will post a bit more tomorrow. Packing tonight.

 

[liquidfeet]

....Packing tonight.

You're not done skiing yet are you?

 

[marzNC]

You're not done skiing yet are you?

Yep, done for the 2024-25 season.

Planning for next season well underway. Going back to Ikon plus Mountain Collective, along with Indy Add-on connected to a Massanutten season pass.

 

[marzNC]

Today, April 17, was a travel day for me. It was a fresh snow day for Bill, who isn't leaving Alta until Closing Day, April 20. It started snowing at the base during breakfast. By the time I was in Alta Shuttle just before 10:00am heading down canyon to the airport, the snow level was at about 6500 ft. After that it was raining hard and the road was just wet.

The Alta Shuttle driver had driven up to Alta early in order to make sure he was there on time for the 10am pickup at Snowpine and Alta Lodge. He said the snow didn't start until he reached Snowbird going up canyon. I noticed that cars going into the Wildcat parking lot after 8:00 were leaving tracks in snow/slush. At 10am the Wildcat parking lot was only half full.

Happily my flights on Southwest were more or less uneventful. I did regular check-in using my phone while at Alf's for lunch and got B31 and A43. The connecting airport was BNA-Nashville this time. The SLC-BNA flight left about 20 minutes late because the plane was a little late arriving in SLC. Had an empty middle seat. Flight to RDU was full. The layover for the BNA-RDU flight was over an hour, so it wasn't a problem for me.

The Southwest tracking system for checked bags is working pretty well. Tags are hand scanned when loaded and unloaded. I saw my ski bag get loaded and scanned in SLC. The tracking was updated within a minute.

The staff member stacking the chairs on the Alta Lodge deck was having fun making tracks in the wet snow. My snow boots were already packed up, or I wouldn't gone out to make a mini snowman. The kids had made one earlier in the week that melted out pretty fast.

Alta Lodge deck, 8:40am on Thursday, April 17


About an hour later is was clear that anyone skiing would be getting refills during the heaviest snowfall


Across from Alta Lodge entrance on the road at 10am


Used the double Transpack soft rolling ski bag again and put the helmet in for the return trip. I opted to check the rolling boot suitcase since it's heavier and less maneuverable than the small 4-wheeler. I could have squeezed everything into the ski bag but there wasn't much reason since two checked bags are still free on Southwest. Plus I was taking an airport shuttle so no need to reduce the amount of luggage.



It took about 30 minutes from the time Alta Shuttle dropped me off and I was done with Southwest baggage check in. TSA was quick since I have TSA Pre-check. The reason airfares are lower on a Thursday is that fewer people travel that day. The last few years I've flown home on a Saturday.

For those who haven't been through the SLC airport, here's what baggage claim looks like for Southwest. Ski bags and golf bags come out against the bag wall with a special moving carrier that keeps them vertical. Delta and American have the same set up on the other side, carousels #5-9.



There are two banks of elevators. The one near Southwest baggage claim is not the one to use if taking one of the shuttle services to LCC, BCC, or Park City. Better to walk inside to the other bank of elevators, going towards the area on the ground level for international flights. I think it was Door 7 or 8 where the shuttle services pick up.

I like the Southwest checked bag tracking. Although I still have a couple of AirTags that I use when traveling. Got to see my ski bag loaded and scanned after I boarded the plane in SLC. Took about a minute for the info to be updated.