Alta, UT 3/1/12

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Day 43: Another day, another foot.

Alta picked up another 11 inches overnight, so I headed up this morning for a couple of runs before work. I would've had a couple more had I not overslept and instead encountered this:

2012-03-01+09.03.24.jpg


As a result I didn't pull into the Wildcat lot until 9:40. I booted up quickly and headed for Collins, where I encountered Skidog completing his first run. We hooked up for a few fast and deep ones on Collins and Wildcat before I split for work.
 
Now I see why there wasn't much fresh left by the time I got there at 2:30 for the late afternoon session. I still enjoyed it, and did find some powder in the trees. A couple of people I rode up the lift with said that the fresh snow was pretty well tracked out by 10 or 10:30 AM. I guess there is a lot of pent up demand for powder days this winter.

I'm considering skiing Snowbird on Friday. Is it likely to be a repeat of today, a mad dash for powder that ends in an hour or two? How early do you recommend heading up the canyon?

Any idea how long powder can be found at Solitude on days like this? I'm thinking of trading terrain for better powder access one of these days, but not sure if that is necessary tomorrow. Would it be reasonable to expect to find some powder on Saturday or even Sunday at Solitude this week?
 
You might find some pow at solitude on sat/sun but you'd have to know where to go. Better bet imho is snowbasin or powder mtn. They will both have easily accessed pow. As much as lcc? Probably not but youll have untracked all day.

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The year that I skied Solitude I was surprised at how quickly it tracked out despite low number of skiers. Now, Honeycomb in late March into April was a different story but that's because people had just stopped coming.
This has been a recurring thought for me: that people see Admin & Co. in all these powder shots (or, what the resorts put in their adverts) and think that if they come out to Utah, it'll be waiting for them. I find that to be far from the truth.
Snowbird tomorrow? fuhgedaboutit.
As for Snowbasin on a weekend... still a long shot. Way too many locals in Ogden and Mountain Green with their skis sharpened for their first day off. It'll be there but it took me a whole season to figure it out.
 
Skidog":ze8gevdw said:
You might find some pow at solitude on sat/sun but you'd have to know where to go. Better bet imho is snowbasin or powder mtn. They will both have easily accessed pow. As much as lcc? Probably not but youll have untracked all day.

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I'm staying much closer to Snowbasin and PowMow than LCC on this trip. I was just put off by the low snow totals from this series of storms for the Northern areas. Do you think there is enough new snow to make it decent? I like both of those areas, but only 6 inches or so totals may not be enough to really cover up the old base. Hopefully they'll get more tonight. Evren's post makes Friday look like a better bet for SB or PowMow.
 
Evren":2yh6r24k said:
The year that I skied Solitude I was surprised at how quickly it tracked out despite low number of skiers. Now, Honeycomb in late March into April was a different story but that's because people had just stopped coming.
This has been a recurring thought for me: that people see Admin & Co. in all these powder shots (or, what the resorts put in their adverts) and think that if they come out to Utah, it'll be waiting for them. I find that to be far from the truth.
Snowbird tomorrow? fuhgedaboutit.
As for Snowbasin on a weekend... still a long shot. Way too many locals in Ogden and Mountain Green with their skis sharpened for their first day off. It'll be there but it took me a whole season to figure it out.
Click to expand...

Do you think there will be enough accumulated fresh snow from these storms at SB (or PM) Friday to make it a good powder day? Or will the local powder hounds take Friday off and make short work of it?
 
Never been to PowderMtn but hear great stories. Then again, people exaggerate. No one says, "I skied sloppy fifths all day". And it seems to be mountain that reveals itself slowly, like Alta.
Snowbasin on a Friday, you'll have a decent shot. There is a contingent from Mountain Green that is there first thing in the morning on a powder day. But Snowbasin is wide.
The problem I had was skiing by myself. Once you get off the marked runs, you don't know where it ends up, you don't know if that great looking tree run has thick brush halfway down. So you extend yourself gingerly. And that's just too slow on a powder morning.
I'd suggest Jean Paul lift, sticking to the trees by the lift near the top, then veering skier's right and hoping for the best. Strawberry has some great lines but I doubt you'd take them (I wouldn't have).
The radar is filling in nicely across Northern Utah. And really, what you want is a non-headline day that makes the locals go about their business but is still good enough.
Edit: Or, WildCat pistes. They hardly ever turn that lift so its named runs are as good as off-piste. You veer skier's left from the top of Needles and then traverse slightly to right 1/3 of the way down.
 
Evren":1dxk05b8 said:
Never been to PowderMtn but hear great stories. Then again, people exaggerate. No one says, "I skied sloppy fifths all day". And it seems to be mountain that reveals itself slowly, like Alta.
Snowbasin on a Friday, you'll have a decent shot. There is a contingent from Mountain Green that is there first thing in the morning on a powder day. But Snowbasin is wide.
The problem I had was skiing by myself. Once you get off the marked runs, you don't know where it ends up, you don't know if that great looking tree run has thick brush halfway down. So you extend yourself gingerly. And that's just too slow on a powder morning.
I'd suggest Jean Paul lift, sticking to the trees by the lift near the top, then veering skier's right and hoping for the best. Strawberry has some great lines but I doubt you'd take them (I wouldn't have).
The radar is filling in nicely across Northern Utah. And really, what you want is a non-headline day that makes the locals go about their business but is still good enough.
Edit: Or, WildCat pistes. They hardly ever turn that lift so its named runs are as good as off-piste. You veer skier's left from the top of Needles and then traverse slightly to right 1/3 of the way down.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the useful info.
 
It's all about knowing how to play the game. For most visitors that's admittedly out of the question. If you have an "in" with a local I highly recommend it for they know how to work the aspects and how to time the rope drops. FYI I"ll be up in LCC in the morning but again for only a few runs before work, this time with Crocker. I'll be there all weekend. Try the veal.
 
admin":b6du9brm said:
If you have an "in" with a local I highly recommend it for they know how to work the aspects and how to time the rope drops.
Click to expand...
Very true, and I expect that to work well Friday. Saturday I would vote for Snowbasin or Powder Mt. if they get enough snow.
 
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