Alta, UT 4/10/11

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Day 77: Insanely good.

This is ridiculous...each day just keeps getting better. And deeper. Our storm total has now hit 43". EMSC has been whining all week about not including photos in these posts so here's one from today:

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I was a few minutes late getting in the line waiting for the road to open so I didn't pull into the Wildcat lot until 9:16 a.m., moments after the lifts opened (Alta starts at 9:15). Dale, Skidog and Telejon were thus already on Collins. I booted up and headed out and as I was trying to raise them on their cell phones Bobby Danger skied up -- he had been just behind me on the road. So we started out just the two of us.

First run was on Watson Line. Once again, face shots on every turn. Amazing. We then migrated to Wildcat and spent the rest of the morning there, bumping into mbaydala and Katie early on. A condo run was completely untracked. We blazed the trail into the Secret Spot, returning there for a second helping and finding only one track besides our own on the second lap. We filmed a lot for mbaydala's Powderhound blog for Ski Utah, and I'm really looking forward to seeing this movie appear here later tonight.

Bobby went to Snowbird for one run with rdwore while mbaydala, Katie and I headed for Supreme, bumping into Dale and Pat once arriving there. Catherine's had acres and acres of untracked, and we were #2, 3, 4 and 5 out to Power Line (#1 was about 10 feet ahead of me). With so much snow on the ground you now have to duck rather dramatically just to be able to ski beneath the live power line that's strung at a normal height. As Bobby would say, "Unbelievable!"

We lapped Supreme for a while via the Spiny Traverse. On one run we inadvertently cliffed out Dale and Pat, so Katie, mbaydala and I went back for another helping while Dale and Pat were still climbing out. We tried a line through some cliffs at the Catherine's boundary that's not skiable in a normal year but after 637 inches so far this winter and a base depth now at a season-long high, just four inches shy of the 200-inch mark, this is anything but a normal year. I can't truly say that I skied that line as much as sideslipped it but it got the blood going nonetheless.

Mbaydala and Katie had to bail so I skied down to Alf's to join Dale, Pat and Bobby Danger. I had a late 2 p.m. lunch before we loaded Sugarloaf to head to Backside, which opened earlier today for the first time in this storm cycle. Shockingly, skiers had bypassed a wide swath of Backside early on the traverse over from Yellow Trail and had left it untracked. At 2:30 p.m.! Good enough again for a second helping, Dale and I hit it around Susie's Trees all the way to the base while Bobby lapped Baldy Express in Mineral Basin once before wrapping up on Backside as well.

Honestly, it really doesn't get any better than this weekend. Amazing stuff.

Here are some screen caps from mbaydala's video footage -- the movie should follow later tonight:

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WOW! Very very nice...wish we coulda been there! Raining in Vermont now..supposed to be 75 F tomorrow...and more rain! Please work on keeping the freshies fresh for us when we arrive next week!

And...what did you do with Bobby Dwore?
 
mrgskier":1nrc444k said:
WOW! Very very nice...wish we coulda been there! Raining in Vermont now..supposed to be 75 F tomorrow...and more rain! Please work on keeping the freshies fresh for us when we arrive next week!

And...what did you do with Bobby Dwore?

Because of his late arrival this season rdwore bought a Snowbird-only spring pass. I'm not into my regular Snowbird spring mode yet -- once we hit this time of year I'd rather hit that place after Alta closes as by then they're the only game in town. As a result I haven't skied a heck of a lot with him yet this season.
 
day...65 - religious - moving beyond the 600" barrier one could only expect this quality a skiing day at alta in spring time . perfect
 
Admin":30yt1tlq said:
Tony Crocker":30yt1tlq said:
However the one at the top of the post is for some reason not viewable.

:lol: :rotfl: :lol: :rotfl:

That was POV. :wink:

You should have eye droppered the actual grey snow color from the video clips to do the 'blank' slide :lol: ... Ahhh... I just like my visuals... Especially given my limited on-snow time for a few seasons...
 
Sorry...no friends on a pow day...shouldve gotten in line a bit earlier. :lol:

Pretty much ski on Wildcat and Collins all day.

Jon and i had a great time bopping around. got firsts down jitterbug. We set the top traverse out to Keyhole second deepest i've ever skied that chute..it was soo good. Top part leading to the chute was basically untouched aside from a patroller.

2 great runs in Suzy's trees, and i will echo the condo runs...SOOO DEEEP....

One run over to the bird to see if Bobbyd was there since he didnt show up before the lifts started turning. Man that place was hammered by 11ish....one lift ride up peruvian (3 tram wait at least) through the tunnel and into mineral...totally tracked out...lower cham (was ok) got right on Baldy express and headed back to Mecca...
 
Skidog":emrdn70j said:
One run over to the bird to see if Bobbyd was there since he didnt show up before the lifts started turning. Man that place was hammered by 11ish....one lift ride up peruvian (3 tram wait at least) through the tunnel and into mineral...totally tracked out...lower cham (was ok) got right on Baldy express and headed back to Mecca...
I noticed that when we skied keyhole when I was there.
 
a masterpiece !!!! and no snow flakes were harmed in the process !!! it's hard to screw up when your in such a beautifulllllll place with great folks and such faaaaaaattt lines !!
 
That looked like one heck of a day! I love how B Danger's tweed ski suit collects snow. Looks absolutely beautiful.
 
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