Days 17-21: A little bit of everything, starting with holiday crowds and ending with over a foot of fresh.
This holiday period was perhaps the busiest I've ever seen at Alta. At the beginning of this period I actually saw a line for the Cecret lift. Not only have I never seen a line for that chair, but it actually curved back around to the ski racks at Alf's Restaurant. I spent the better part of last week skiing lines that visitors didn't find, working singles lines (and creating my own single's line where appropriate), and dining in off-the-beaten-track locations like Rustler Lodge.
We got shots of fresh snow through new terrain openings -- Devil's Castle on Thursday, and East Castle on Friday. Other than that, the snow was pounded into submission by the holiday crowds and everything was skiing pretty firm.
That is, until today. Another storm under-promised and over-delivered a foot of fresh snowfall (and it's still cranking up there as the cold front is working its way back north). They're expecting another 5-10" tonight, another storm tomorrow night, and a third even before the weekend.
Alta was empty today until around 11 a.m., when word apparently got out that the skiing was much better than expected and the parking lot swelled from only half-full to over-filled. Down-canyon traffic was already slow at 2:30 p.m., and by 4 p.m. reports were surfacing that it was taking 45 minutes to just get out of the Wildcat parking lot, so Telejon, Tom, Dalles and I set up camp in the Sitzmark Club at Alta Lodge. I'd rather sit having cocktails than sit in a traffic jam. By the time I left at 5:35 it took me 40 minutes to get out of the canyon.
This holiday period was perhaps the busiest I've ever seen at Alta. At the beginning of this period I actually saw a line for the Cecret lift. Not only have I never seen a line for that chair, but it actually curved back around to the ski racks at Alf's Restaurant. I spent the better part of last week skiing lines that visitors didn't find, working singles lines (and creating my own single's line where appropriate), and dining in off-the-beaten-track locations like Rustler Lodge.
We got shots of fresh snow through new terrain openings -- Devil's Castle on Thursday, and East Castle on Friday. Other than that, the snow was pounded into submission by the holiday crowds and everything was skiing pretty firm.
That is, until today. Another storm under-promised and over-delivered a foot of fresh snowfall (and it's still cranking up there as the cold front is working its way back north). They're expecting another 5-10" tonight, another storm tomorrow night, and a third even before the weekend.
Alta was empty today until around 11 a.m., when word apparently got out that the skiing was much better than expected and the parking lot swelled from only half-full to over-filled. Down-canyon traffic was already slow at 2:30 p.m., and by 4 p.m. reports were surfacing that it was taking 45 minutes to just get out of the Wildcat parking lot, so Telejon, Tom, Dalles and I set up camp in the Sitzmark Club at Alta Lodge. I'd rather sit having cocktails than sit in a traffic jam. By the time I left at 5:35 it took me 40 minutes to get out of the canyon.