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TR Alta April 6-17, 2025
- Thread starter marzNC
- Start date
IKam
Angel Diva
How many wheels does your double ski bag have? Mine has 2 and it's still very difficult to drag it around.
marzNC
Angel Diva
The strength training I did starting last summer made a big difference in my ability to handle a long, 40-48 lb soft double ski bag with two wheels. Didn't need more strength for skiing but has made dealing with skis and luggage easier.
The double Sportube hardcase has wheels and is easier to handle. It ends up shorter with my relatively short skis because of the design. There are shorter soft rolling double ski bags than what I have, but for me the point of using the longer soft bag is to have more space for other stuff that won't fit in the double Sportube. I did a trip this season without a 4-wheel suitcase as an experiment. Worked out reasonably well to fit all my ski gear into a rolling 2-wheel boot suitcase and the rolling double soft ski bag.
marzNC
Angel Diva
Per usual, will be some period during the last couple weeks of the Alta season. Closing Day won't be set by Alta Ski Lifts for a while. Alta Lodge always closes on the day the lifts shut down.
marzNC
Angel Diva
In the midst of another trip, but wanted to finish up this Alta trip report while I still remember the pictures I took.
Alta has three on-mountain places to get a quick lunch: Alf's, Albion Grill, and Watson's. Can also grab a bite at GMD. Alf's is near the base of the Sugarloaf and Supreme lifts, and can also be accessed coming down from Sunnyside. So it's a good place for a multi-ability group to meet mid-morning, at lunch time, or mid-afternoon. Watson's is near the mid-station of the Collins lift. Albion Grill is at the Albion base near the ski school and the base of the Sunnyside lift.
The menus are a bit different. For instance, for pizza need to go to Albion Grill or Watson's. Bill prefers the beer selection at Albion Grill.
Alf's was renovated and expanded several years ago. The food service area was re-decorated for 2024-25. Apparently Albion Grill will be renovated this summer. Watson's is relatively small and was redone a while ago.
Notes at Alf's
The last week of the season, starting to run out of some ingredients
There are displays about the history of Alta in the back seating area of Alf's
Alta has three on-mountain places to get a quick lunch: Alf's, Albion Grill, and Watson's. Can also grab a bite at GMD. Alf's is near the base of the Sugarloaf and Supreme lifts, and can also be accessed coming down from Sunnyside. So it's a good place for a multi-ability group to meet mid-morning, at lunch time, or mid-afternoon. Watson's is near the mid-station of the Collins lift. Albion Grill is at the Albion base near the ski school and the base of the Sunnyside lift.
The menus are a bit different. For instance, for pizza need to go to Albion Grill or Watson's. Bill prefers the beer selection at Albion Grill.
Alf's was renovated and expanded several years ago. The food service area was re-decorated for 2024-25. Apparently Albion Grill will be renovated this summer. Watson's is relatively small and was redone a while ago.
Notes at Alf's
The last week of the season, starting to run out of some ingredients
There are displays about the history of Alta in the back seating area of Alf's
marzNC
Angel Diva
After a couple of cold nights, it was back to a warm spring day on April 15 after relatively warm night. It made sense to get out early and plan to stop by 3:30. Collins and Sunnyside stay open until 4:30.
Snowman outside Alta Lodge melting fast, 9:15am, Tuesday, April 15
With the fast snow melt, the lift gates at Sugarloaf needed to be lowered
Headed back to check the bird feeder, Bill stopped on the way there while I took a picture above the Rock N Roll gate for Devil's Playground
Views heading back to the Collins side around 3:30pm
Snowman outside Alta Lodge melting fast, 9:15am, Tuesday, April 15
With the fast snow melt, the lift gates at Sugarloaf needed to be lowered
Headed back to check the bird feeder, Bill stopped on the way there while I took a picture above the Rock N Roll gate for Devil's Playground
Views heading back to the Collins side around 3:30pm
marzNC
Angel Diva
Wed, April 16 was my last ski day. I opted to start at Snowbird (using Wasatch benefit free day on my Alta Senior Pass) mostly to check out the new Wilbere lift. Got a ride in the Alta Lodge van over to the Creekside lodge. Used the elevator to avoid one set of exterior stairs.
That's where all three Gad Valley lifts start now that Wilbere was changed. I took Mid-Gad to the mid-station and skied down to Wilbere, to avoid the longer walk over to load Wilbere. The new Wilbere is a quad with conveyor loading. It was moving pretty slow. Then I skied over to the tram, taking the shorter walk over the bridge next to the Peruvian chairlift.
Met up with Bill at the Summit Lodge. He had skied over through the gate at the top Sugarloaf and done a few runs in Mineral Basin. We went to check out the Mid-gad lodge and trails near Gad2. After that we agreed that there wasn't much reason from a snow standpoint to stay at Snowbird and headed back to Alta via the Baldy lift for lunch at Alf's.
Note that using the MCP and going to Snowbird via the Sugarloaf gate means using a Snowbird day and an Alta day. A Full Ikon pass is a combo ticket for up to 7 days so only counts as one Alta/Snowbird day.
Creekside lodge has food and a room with tables
Creekside is the loading area for Gadzoom high speed quad, Mid-gad double (has a mid-station unload), and Wilbere quad with conveyor loading
Creekside lodge on the left, behind Gadzoom and Mid-gad lifts
Creekside has a few free parking spaces and a pay lot
View from Wilbere of the process to build a competition course
Mid-Gad lodge renovation to be completed for 2025-26 season, was closed for 2024-25
View after unloading the tram, Alta on the other side of the ridge
That's where all three Gad Valley lifts start now that Wilbere was changed. I took Mid-Gad to the mid-station and skied down to Wilbere, to avoid the longer walk over to load Wilbere. The new Wilbere is a quad with conveyor loading. It was moving pretty slow. Then I skied over to the tram, taking the shorter walk over the bridge next to the Peruvian chairlift.
Met up with Bill at the Summit Lodge. He had skied over through the gate at the top Sugarloaf and done a few runs in Mineral Basin. We went to check out the Mid-gad lodge and trails near Gad2. After that we agreed that there wasn't much reason from a snow standpoint to stay at Snowbird and headed back to Alta via the Baldy lift for lunch at Alf's.
Note that using the MCP and going to Snowbird via the Sugarloaf gate means using a Snowbird day and an Alta day. A Full Ikon pass is a combo ticket for up to 7 days so only counts as one Alta/Snowbird day.
Creekside lodge has food and a room with tables
Creekside is the loading area for Gadzoom high speed quad, Mid-gad double (has a mid-station unload), and Wilbere quad with conveyor loading
Creekside lodge on the left, behind Gadzoom and Mid-gad lifts
Creekside has a few free parking spaces and a pay lot
View from Wilbere of the process to build a competition course
Mid-Gad lodge renovation to be completed for 2025-26 season, was closed for 2024-25
View after unloading the tram, Alta on the other side of the ridge
marzNC
Angel Diva
Took it easy at Alta my last afternoon. We skied with someone Bill had skied with when her family would spend spring break weeks at Alta Lodge. She was working as a server at Alta Lodge this winter. After a few runs off Supreme, we fed the birds, then headed over to the Collins side.
Early morning final grooming, 7:30am, April 16
Feeding the chickadees
The snake on Ballroom got pretty deep after several days of warm weather
Noticed that from the top of Racecourse, it's possible to see people headed up above the High T to the other side. Hard to see in a photo but obvious when you can see someone moving.
Early morning final grooming, 7:30am, April 16
Feeding the chickadees
The snake on Ballroom got pretty deep after several days of warm weather
Noticed that from the top of Racecourse, it's possible to see people headed up above the High T to the other side. Hard to see in a photo but obvious when you can see someone moving.
marzNC
Angel Diva
Could tell that the forecasted storm was rolling in on April 16. Sorry I missed the powder turns on April 17-18 but overall I had a very good time per usual. Good company and plenty of fun skiing for late season. Learning how to feed the birds from @TNtoTaos was a highlight.
View from Snowbird, morning of April 16
View from Alta, 3:00pm, April 16
View from Snowbird, morning of April 16
View from Alta, 3:00pm, April 16
