Alta 2-26-2012
- Thread starter Skidog
- Start date
Yep, I was helmet-less today for Day 41. Forgot it at home. #-o
Thanks to yesterday's wind and a little bit of new snow again overnight we got a whole new canvas upon which to draw today:
That turned out to be a good thing, for Jim B. and Kathleen were in town from the Burlington, Vt. area with their three kids Connor (~15), Patrick (11) and Daniel (8), plus their exchange student from Germany, Max. Jim and I traveled around B.C. together back in 1998 but the last time I skied with them Kathleen was ripping down Paradise when she was 6 months pregnant with Patrick. It's been over a decade since I've seen any of them at all. Kathleen's father Denis, another good friend also arrived in town last night and in his retirement I get to see him here in Utah just about every season.
Those three kids of theirs can rip. The older two are part of the Mad River Glen Freeride Ski Team, and at 8 I think that Daniel's the most impressive one of all. Their only skiing out West to date, however, was at Steamboat and both Connor and Patrick were a little over-caffeinated this morning waiting for the lifts to open. Note that both are already standing fully dressed indoors a full 20 minutes before opening this morning:
Max, on the other hand, just started skiing for the first time last month, yet he was already skiing Thirds with us today. That in and of itself was incredibly impressive.
My day, therefore, was spent pretty much playing the pied piper. I did my best to show them the goods, from a Backside rope drop this morning all the way to Keyhole at the end of the day. In between we spent nearly every run searching out untracked snow, which at times meant venturing further and further afield, including a run out to far Catherine's area, a Condo Run and one to my secret spot, but only after warning Connor that if he ever posted its location online I'd hunt him down like a dog. O
The one exception was High Boy just before lunch. You've can't come to Alta and not ski High Boy, and today it was smooth chalk topped with an inch or so of loose tracked up snow.
At the end of the day Jim and I were having a beer inside GMD when Max came in. He was excited to have just demoed some Ramp skis from the tent outside and raved about how much easier they were to ski in the powder. He was amazed at the difference some appropriate gear made in his skiing. I told him that the solution was simple: call his folks in Germany and have them wire him a grand. I don't think that his parents will be too anxious to ever meet me someday. :lol:
One thing to note were the crowds today, which were by far the most people I've seen at Alta any day this year. All parking lots filled up early and they were parked on the road today. I haven't seen that this season. Careful planning, however, meant that we never had a lift line greater than five minutes long, fulfilling a promise that I made to Jim earlier this week. It still took me a full hour to get out of the canyon at 4pm.
AmyZ took some action shots today, too, so I'd check back here a little later as one or two are likely to be tacked onto this thread.
Thanks to yesterday's wind and a little bit of new snow again overnight we got a whole new canvas upon which to draw today:
That turned out to be a good thing, for Jim B. and Kathleen were in town from the Burlington, Vt. area with their three kids Connor (~15), Patrick (11) and Daniel (8), plus their exchange student from Germany, Max. Jim and I traveled around B.C. together back in 1998 but the last time I skied with them Kathleen was ripping down Paradise when she was 6 months pregnant with Patrick. It's been over a decade since I've seen any of them at all. Kathleen's father Denis, another good friend also arrived in town last night and in his retirement I get to see him here in Utah just about every season.
Those three kids of theirs can rip. The older two are part of the Mad River Glen Freeride Ski Team, and at 8 I think that Daniel's the most impressive one of all. Their only skiing out West to date, however, was at Steamboat and both Connor and Patrick were a little over-caffeinated this morning waiting for the lifts to open. Note that both are already standing fully dressed indoors a full 20 minutes before opening this morning:
Max, on the other hand, just started skiing for the first time last month, yet he was already skiing Thirds with us today. That in and of itself was incredibly impressive.
My day, therefore, was spent pretty much playing the pied piper. I did my best to show them the goods, from a Backside rope drop this morning all the way to Keyhole at the end of the day. In between we spent nearly every run searching out untracked snow, which at times meant venturing further and further afield, including a run out to far Catherine's area, a Condo Run and one to my secret spot, but only after warning Connor that if he ever posted its location online I'd hunt him down like a dog. O
The one exception was High Boy just before lunch. You've can't come to Alta and not ski High Boy, and today it was smooth chalk topped with an inch or so of loose tracked up snow.At the end of the day Jim and I were having a beer inside GMD when Max came in. He was excited to have just demoed some Ramp skis from the tent outside and raved about how much easier they were to ski in the powder. He was amazed at the difference some appropriate gear made in his skiing. I told him that the solution was simple: call his folks in Germany and have them wire him a grand. I don't think that his parents will be too anxious to ever meet me someday. :lol:
One thing to note were the crowds today, which were by far the most people I've seen at Alta any day this year. All parking lots filled up early and they were parked on the road today. I haven't seen that this season. Careful planning, however, meant that we never had a lift line greater than five minutes long, fulfilling a promise that I made to Jim earlier this week. It still took me a full hour to get out of the canyon at 4pm.
AmyZ took some action shots today, too, so I'd check back here a little later as one or two are likely to be tacked onto this thread.
skibum4ever
New member
It looks wonderful; thanks for sharing. :mrgreen: