On Monday we drove from Driggs (Targhee) to SLC and stayed with Liz’ friends Andy and Lisa. Also staying there were Tom and Utah, who briefed us on conditions during Monday’s peak of the warm spell. Spring conditions were as widespread as during some of my Iron Blosam weeks in March.
With overcast skies and a possible 3-6 inches predicted in the afternoon and evening, we took our time getting on the hill, arriving at the Wildcat lot about 10:45AM with a few flakes already coming down. We warmed up on Main Street, where the upper west-facing section was firm, but the middle and the redesigned Corkscrew were better. On the next run to Sugarloaf I tested a short section of east-facing bumps and found them crunchy.
We decided to exercise our Mountain Collective option and move to Snowbird for most of the day. Ungroomed north-facing is more accessible over there and the Mineral Basin connection might close if the weather got worse. We also expected to spend most of the next day at Alta for better low-angle powder if the storm came through. Getting into Snowbird was no fun, with strong wind in our face at the checkpoint and a bulletproof run down Lupine Loop.
Leaving Mineral Basin we took Road to Provo. Mark Malu had good snow but not great visibility so we continued on to Gad 2. We first skied upper Gadzooks, looking to cut in below the rock bands under the lift. But those obstacles were widespread so we had to continue down Gadzooks and Bananas. The next run we skied STH, which had excellent soft snow but a couple of tight spots to navigate. This time we skied past Gad 2 to Lower Bassackwards. The lower part of Snowbird felt like it had barely frozen overnight and at 2PM it was all soft but not sticky spring snow in the warm ~40F temps with overcast.
We then moved over to the tram, which was walk-on and less than half full. It’s no surprise the locals are staying home under current conditions.
Riding the tram we could see that the Upper Cirque was not ready for prime time in terms of coverage unless you’re capable of airtime and straightlining. Andy said Great Scott via Rat’s Nest is the only run open up there. Upper Silver Fox is similarly roped off. We skied Upper Primrose, which was mostly smooth chalk with some moguls near the exit into Chip’s. We skied Chip’s to the plaza, packed powder in the middle and soft spring snow lower down. It was now 2:30 and we agreed the best use of Liz’ time would be to see Steve in Christy Sports with her new boots. He shaved some hard plastic off the tongues to relieve pressue and improve circulation, and Liz could feel better comfort right away though she was done skiing for the day.
I took the tram again and returned to Alta. Snow on Powder Paradise was decent, though visibility on its upper third and the traverse to it was practically nil. Despite the fog it was not snowing and the wind had abated when I was riding the Baldy chair. So it seemed likely the storm was not happening. I decided to go for quality on my last run and thus took the EBT and High Traverse. My first time on the T this season was a royal PITA. Visibility on Sunspot was mediocre, so I had to stop a couple of times to go around rocks. Even though it was 3:15 the entire High Traverse was frozen granular. Beyond Piss Pass I barely got turned around in time to get on the traverse across upper Greely. With the observed low tide conditions I knew to take a low entry into High Rustler, but still had a short step down over tree roots and some dirt.
After all that work it was perhaps no surprise that Highboy delivered the best snow of the day. The upper steeps were smooth with a layer of soft snow on top. Only below the old cat road were there a few moguls.
This was still a good day, totaling 17,500 vertical. With less than ideal conditions it’s best to be at areas you know well to maximize quality. Nonetheless after nearly 3 weeks on the road we’re driving home today since the storm total was only a trace at Alta/Snowbird. This January has been one of the worst months on record for western snowfall. In that context we were fortunate to have nearly all good surface conditions and the occasional refresher of new snow on our trip.
With overcast skies and a possible 3-6 inches predicted in the afternoon and evening, we took our time getting on the hill, arriving at the Wildcat lot about 10:45AM with a few flakes already coming down. We warmed up on Main Street, where the upper west-facing section was firm, but the middle and the redesigned Corkscrew were better. On the next run to Sugarloaf I tested a short section of east-facing bumps and found them crunchy.
We decided to exercise our Mountain Collective option and move to Snowbird for most of the day. Ungroomed north-facing is more accessible over there and the Mineral Basin connection might close if the weather got worse. We also expected to spend most of the next day at Alta for better low-angle powder if the storm came through. Getting into Snowbird was no fun, with strong wind in our face at the checkpoint and a bulletproof run down Lupine Loop.
Leaving Mineral Basin we took Road to Provo. Mark Malu had good snow but not great visibility so we continued on to Gad 2. We first skied upper Gadzooks, looking to cut in below the rock bands under the lift. But those obstacles were widespread so we had to continue down Gadzooks and Bananas. The next run we skied STH, which had excellent soft snow but a couple of tight spots to navigate. This time we skied past Gad 2 to Lower Bassackwards. The lower part of Snowbird felt like it had barely frozen overnight and at 2PM it was all soft but not sticky spring snow in the warm ~40F temps with overcast.
We then moved over to the tram, which was walk-on and less than half full. It’s no surprise the locals are staying home under current conditions.
Riding the tram we could see that the Upper Cirque was not ready for prime time in terms of coverage unless you’re capable of airtime and straightlining. Andy said Great Scott via Rat’s Nest is the only run open up there. Upper Silver Fox is similarly roped off. We skied Upper Primrose, which was mostly smooth chalk with some moguls near the exit into Chip’s. We skied Chip’s to the plaza, packed powder in the middle and soft spring snow lower down. It was now 2:30 and we agreed the best use of Liz’ time would be to see Steve in Christy Sports with her new boots. He shaved some hard plastic off the tongues to relieve pressue and improve circulation, and Liz could feel better comfort right away though she was done skiing for the day.
I took the tram again and returned to Alta. Snow on Powder Paradise was decent, though visibility on its upper third and the traverse to it was practically nil. Despite the fog it was not snowing and the wind had abated when I was riding the Baldy chair. So it seemed likely the storm was not happening. I decided to go for quality on my last run and thus took the EBT and High Traverse. My first time on the T this season was a royal PITA. Visibility on Sunspot was mediocre, so I had to stop a couple of times to go around rocks. Even though it was 3:15 the entire High Traverse was frozen granular. Beyond Piss Pass I barely got turned around in time to get on the traverse across upper Greely. With the observed low tide conditions I knew to take a low entry into High Rustler, but still had a short step down over tree roots and some dirt.
After all that work it was perhaps no surprise that Highboy delivered the best snow of the day. The upper steeps were smooth with a layer of soft snow on top. Only below the old cat road were there a few moguls.
This was still a good day, totaling 17,500 vertical. With less than ideal conditions it’s best to be at areas you know well to maximize quality. Nonetheless after nearly 3 weeks on the road we’re driving home today since the storm total was only a trace at Alta/Snowbird. This January has been one of the worst months on record for western snowfall. In that context we were fortunate to have nearly all good surface conditions and the occasional refresher of new snow on our trip.
