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TR Alta in April 2021

marzNC

Angel Diva
So amazing!! I am so glad you are getting some more snow this week, what a fabulous time to be skiing. Sorry I didn't end up getting to meet with Diva's my weekend took a bit of a left turn.
I'll be back at Alta next April. Hope to meet up with you then. :smile:
 

marzNC

Angel Diva
Had quite a busy day with the foot of new snow this morning. We went over to Supreme after a run down groomers with plenty of snow cover first thing. Was a bit tricky since it was snowing so hard that visibility was an issue. After wandering into the Rock 'N Roll gate for Cabin Hill, got a little too warm even though we were following tracks. A little too deep and just a bit heavy so there was some effort required on the flats. The last run of the morning going down from Sugarloaf was really tough. The snow was coming down at a rate of 2+ inches an hour. My goggles were not helping so I ended up taking them off.

I think during spring skiing is when staying slopeside is really helpful. Being able to change clothes and start out with dry boots, socks, and different base layers and/or outer ware makes a big differences when conditions and temps can very so much from 9am to noon to 3pm.

Had a semi-private lesson with Arthur in the afternoon. For one of the runs, he took me, Bill, and AY all the way out the High T over to Greeley. Actually managed to ski down the three sections pretty well. Although I had a few powder falls at other times during the 2-hour lesson. Never popped a ski though. AY did on Greeley and had to do a bit of looking to find it.

The official storm total at Alta is 18 inches as of the evening of April 14, with more snow expected overnight. Didn't really start snowing until the early morning hours. It warmed up just enough in the afternoon that a lot of snow wasn't powder any more. Very hard to say what conditions will be like tomorrow.
 
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BReeves215

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
What an amazing trip I had last week at Alta with other Divas, family and friends (first time staying at Alta Lodge, and hopefully a new spring tradition!) My legs are still recovering. Highlights included:

- meeting MarzNC in person! On top of all her pre-trip answers to my questions and other info I would have never thought to ask for, she gave us a 3+ hour introductory tour of Alta our first ski day and continued to share her impressive depth of knowledge about terrain, conditions, etc throughout the trip

- powder laps off Supreme on our 13” snow day

- meeting Olesya, Tennessee, Scribble, and the many friends of MarzNC. I didn’t anticipate making so many new friends on this trip!

- a great lesson with Arthur (recommended by MarzNC)

- our whole group dropping into Ballroom
on the morning after the storm

- my son enjoying LOTS of tree skiing and trying (but bailing out of) “the snake”

- the food at AL was amazing!!

- the service, cozy atmosphere, and hot pools at AL, not to mention ease of changing clothes/gear quickly during lunch break at the Lodge

- gaining confidence by skiing multiple laps on Extrovert (fairly steep long run) without stops

- apres drinks with our crew at the Sitzmark (possibly the coolest ski hotel bar ever)

- last but certainly not least, this view from our AL room:
 

marzNC

Angel Diva
Having too much fun to post much. Bottom line is that I, JF and her son AY, all extended our stay. Instead of yesterday being our last ski day, we'll be skiing during the closing weekend of 7-day operations at Alta. Bill has been staying for Closing Day for several years so I've heard stories of what goes on at Alta Lodge and on the slopes that day.
 

snow cat

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
Meeting up with other divas! It was fun to meet some new divas and marzNC
 

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marzNC

Angel Diva
Yesterday, April 17, was spectacular!

Since AY is all energy, the adventure runs included three jaunts out to Catherine's, with two ending in Supreme Bowl, going up the Rock 'N Roll traverse into Castle Apron, and taking the Devil's Castle traverse after lunch all the way over to Castle Apron. I have pictures but won't deal with them until I leave Alta.
 

TNtoTaos

Angel Diva
Got back from Alta and Brighton last night --- as @marzNC noted above, was having too much fun to post! The snow was awesome -- I was expecting spring skiing, but did not think we'd be lucky enough to get 2+ feet of fresh snow while we were there, so left my powder skis at home, and had to rent some demos on "the big day (12" on Wed, with 7" coming down between 11 AM and 1 PM!). It also continued to snow a few inches every day for the rest of the week, which was an added bonus.

Getting to meet and ski with new Divas and Diva-friends was great, and as this was my first trip to Alta, I can't thank @marzNC enough for her incredible tour of the mountain our first day there, and continuing guidance during the rest of the week; with all that snow, it was esp difficult to figure out where to ski, so having an expert guide was invaluable.

I only took a few photos the day before the storm, but the entire place was breathtaking. IMG_1447.jpegIMG_1445.jpeg

We stayed at an AirBnB rental (house) in Sandy, BTW, as it was too late when we decided to go to consider on-site lodging, and were very happy with the stay. It was about a 30 min drive from all the resorts, and right on the ski-bus line, in case of parking-lot closure. It was also extremely reasonably-priced, so for the budget-conscious, don't let lodging prices hold you back!

My ski-buddy and I also checked out Brighton on Tues and Fri, and had a great time there, as well. Tuesday it was pretty skied-off, but on Friday, with all the new snow, the conditions were absolutely perfect! Brighton is a very nice resort; not as large as Alta, but with very varied terrain, and lots of fun gladed areas that ranged from intermediate to expert, so it was really fun. It definitely has a lot to offer every level of skier, and there's a lot of terrain available for intermediate to strong-intermediate skiers. It's also very reasonably-priced: Senior Day tix were $62 (pkus a one-time $5 RFID charge).
In summary, I guess I'm hooked :snow: and will definitely be back next season!
 

marzNC

Angel Diva
What an amazing trip I had last week at Alta with other Divas, family and friends (first time staying at Alta Lodge, and hopefully a new spring tradition!) My legs are still recovering. Highlights included: . . .
Certainly glad you decided to give Alta Lodge a try. Look forward to meeting up you there in the future!
 

marzNC

Angel Diva
There are always special memories for every stay at Alta Lodge in April. Here's my Top Ten for 2021 in no particular order.

* Spending time at Alta Lodge with old friends
* Meeting and skiing with new Divas - @Tennessee , @BReeves215 , @Scribble
* Skiing at Snowbird with friends who are regulars (fast groomers mostly)
* Visiting friends staying at Rustler and Cliff Lodge
* Introducing JF to the harder blue groomers, including powder on the sides and the traverse to Aggie’s Alley from Main Street
* Skiing on bumps and powder with AY, including Catherine’s into Supreme Bowl twice, plus Castle Apron via Rock ’N Roll gate and Devil’s Castle traverse
* Having a couple semi-private lessons with Arthur Haskell, including a powder lesson with Bill and AY that included taking the High T to Greeley
* Exploring Solitude and Brighton on a Sunday with friends (Ikon, SolBright trail)
* Catching two powder storms, each with 10+ inches
* Experiencing Closing Day with blue sky and spring conditions

While I've skied Catherine's quite a few times in the last decade, I hadn't been up the traverse from Rock 'N Roll all the way into Castle Apron since 2010. Bill opted out. AY is 14 so he had plenty of energy for the uphill section. We got a head start by going in high after entering the Evergreen gate. Going around the cliff was a bit tricky because there was an exposed rock on the traverse. But the untracked powder turns were worth the effort. Especially right after a powder lesson with Arthur.

For 2020-21 I had an Alta Midweek Pass because I had a credit from the previous season because of the early closing in March 2020. Since I skied Alta for 5 days in Dec 2020, as well as 9 days in April, worked out okay. I used Ikon for weekends and the days I wanted to ski over to Snowbird.
 
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marzNC

Angel Diva
Since we didn't get to enjoy the trip reports by @NewEnglandSkier with pictures of food, here are a few from Alta Lodge dinners. Breakfast and dinner are included at Alta Lodge (also at other lodges at Alta). This season people could get take out to eat in the room, or have it delivered, or eat in the dining area per usual. Tables were spaced out more, with the Deck Room used for extra dining space. There were large air cleaners added in all common areas. My friends and I chose to eat in the dining room, usually starting around 6:30. Dinners with friends are leisurely affairs that are 1.5 hours or more.

A dinner at Alta Lodge is four courses: soup, salad, entree, and dessert. While there are a few standard desserts available every night, the rest of the menu is a set menu for the evening. Can choose between 4-5 entrees, and one option is vegetarian. The menu repeats weekly, so people who stay more than a week get a chance to repeat their favorites with the option of selecting a different entree.

Salad, lamb chops, tiramisu with vanilla ice cream (optional)
Alta Lodge food Apr2021 - 1.jpgAlta Lodge food Apr2021 - 2.jpgAlta Lodge food Apr2021 - 3.jpg

Salmon, almond cake (I think, I opted for ice cream that night)
Alta Lodge food Apr2021 - 4.jpgAlta Lodge food Apr2021 - 5.jpg
 

marzNC

Angel Diva
One of the reasons my daughter loved spending time at Alta Lodge was the resident dogs. A current dog who can be found in the common areas (not allowed in the dining room) is Indy, who is a deaf Blue Heeler, or Australian Cattle Dog. She's really sweet. Loves to look out the window and play in the snow.

Alta Lodge Indie dog Apr2021 - 1.jpgAlta Lodge Indie dog Apr2021 - 2.jpgAlta Lodge Indie dog Apr2021 - 3.jpg
 

Tennessee

Angel Diva
So I'm finally home and have the time and energy to give a brief TR from my recent Alta adventure with my friend Ron -- a few days after I got back my close Aunt died and I had to fly back out west to Colorado for her Memorial. So sorry for the delayed TR but I got to meet some pretty great Ski Diva's and couldn't just let it slide completely! Hope someone is still interested...

Ron and I flew to SLC and shuttled to Alta on April 7th. We had 6 days of Spring skiing and then on the 14th we had some pretty awesome storm skiing. We stayed at the Rustler Lodge and really enjoyed the outdoor pool and hot tub, the food, and our room's balcony. But mainly why we stayed there was for the convenience. During this Covid time it just seemed safer to get somewhere, walk outside to ski, eat in-house, and never go anywhere else -- although I did catch a ride with @marzNC and her friend Bill to Brighton/Solitude for a great day trip. In fact, talking to @marzNC on this forum was originally why we booked this trip to Alta. And it did not disappoint! In addition to getting great tour guide hospitality from @marzNC, we also met and skied with lots of other Divas and friends. It was awesome! After being quite solitary for almost a year it was so nice to socialize. I met and skied with @Scribble several times (including at her home mountain of Brighton which I loved) and I really enjoyed getting acquainted with her. @TNtoTaos and her friend Rita arrived on the 12th and skied with us for a couple days, including sharing powder turns off Sugarloaf on my only storm day. She encouraged me to try the trails off Sugarloaf and we found them to be much easier than the beginner runs near the Albion base -- the snow was much lighter and better up high. They had closed Supreme about 11 am that day because it was snowing so hard it was creating little avalanches on the steep stuff -- I think that's why they closed it. The EBT was closed too. Memorable fun day! And @marzNC had a literal entourage of friends staying with her at Alta Lodge that I got to meet and share some turns with. @BReeves215 and her son, @snow cat and her sister, and Chris and Bill and Andrew and Jing. What a great group!

I have included some pics of the view from our room, the swimming pool, my friend Ron sitting in the swing and feeding the birds at the "Bird Sanctuary" (actually I think it's some kind of smoke shack kind of place -- usually they build a huge snow igloo I heard), and a pic of me that @Scribble took near the top of Honeycomb Canyon at Solitude.

Thanks to this group for helping me get my socialization fix! I would encourage all of you to meet up with other Divas when you can. Don't be shy! It's a lot of fun and I have actually made lasting friendships that way.

Best Regards, JuliaAlta4.jpgAlta1.jpgAlta3.jpgAlta2.JPG
 

BReeves215

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
Julia, I’m sorry to hear about your aunt. It was so nice to meet you and I hope we can all do it again next April! Thank you for your input on the trip and the great photos.
 

marzNC

Angel Diva
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Had a very good time with you and Ron. Never could catch up to him after you left. He was skiing almost non-stop enjoying the powder. Thanks for the opportunity to experience the Rustler pool.

I think these are the same trees from April 2015. That year there was lots of snow and a snow structure had been created. It was somewhat a memorial for people who served in the military.

Alta snow fort Apr2015 - 1.jpgAlta snow fort Apr2015 - 2.jpg
 

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