Five feet of snow this week at Utah
- Thread starter Admin
- Start date
No surprise I'm with Patrick 100% on this one.
Unlike the Sunday storm BCC totals are equal to LCC this time. And the 21 at Snowbasin is probably more than adequate on the terrain BobbyD has shown us.
Powder half-day with thundering hordes of crazed locals: OK
Powder full day with fresh tracks and less competition: Priceless
In defense of admin he did not give us an ETA for opening of the LCC road. But if it's a significant delay I'll bet BobbyD wouldn't be cooling his heels at the bottom of that canyon this morning.
Unlike the Sunday storm BCC totals are equal to LCC this time. And the 21 at Snowbasin is probably more than adequate on the terrain BobbyD has shown us.
Powder half-day with thundering hordes of crazed locals: OK
Powder full day with fresh tracks and less competition: Priceless
In defense of admin he did not give us an ETA for opening of the LCC road. But if it's a significant delay I'll bet BobbyD wouldn't be cooling his heels at the bottom of that canyon this morning.
I get the whole season pass thing.
Of course, Snowbasin today must have rocked. Based upon my experience skiing there during the 3/9/09 storm (a sample of 1 is scientific, right?), on a day like today (midweek, March, 21 inches, cold, lightly snowing), I would expect no lines, no traversing for freshies, little/no competition for the best shots, long fall-line verts, easy potential for all-day untracked, and a significantly mellower vibe than the usual scene in LCC. Also its a shorter drive than I had remembered; it only took us 50 minutes to get there at rush hour from our cheap hotel in beautiful Midvale.
Of course, on a day like today, its all good as long as you can get to the hill.
Of course, Snowbasin today must have rocked. Based upon my experience skiing there during the 3/9/09 storm (a sample of 1 is scientific, right?), on a day like today (midweek, March, 21 inches, cold, lightly snowing), I would expect no lines, no traversing for freshies, little/no competition for the best shots, long fall-line verts, easy potential for all-day untracked, and a significantly mellower vibe than the usual scene in LCC. Also its a shorter drive than I had remembered; it only took us 50 minutes to get there at rush hour from our cheap hotel in beautiful Midvale.
Of course, on a day like today, its all good as long as you can get to the hill.
Tony Crocker":10arzstk said:
What hordes? Funny, Tony, but I didn't see you there. Were you in town?
Tony, sorry, but you're being just plain ignorant on this one. Yes, I said it: ignorant. Your statistics are useless (again) this time. Five feet, hardly anyone there, and <gollum> mine...all mine. </gollum> I dropped Yellow Trail at 12:30 from the High Notch ridge with not one track in it. Left to right, top to bottom...not one track. Canyon closure this morning was actually a distinct advantage, not a disadvantage. Alta was deserted. Even Collins was nearly always ski-on.
When you live here, and live here long enough to know, then you can pretend to know what you're talking about. Quarterbacking from sunny and balmy Pasadena, California is just plain useless. :roll:
Full report to follow.
salida":1kzr9uib said:
And I was whooped by 2:15, so why the worry? I got to relax at home with an extra cup of coffee.
I was perhaps a bit too harsh in my post above, and for that I apologize. However, I'm beyond tired of having a SoCal resident figure that they're dialed into what happens around here...especially when they're dead wrong.
Salida has it right.
Utah has an abundance of skiing riches. I would take the sure thing in this situation rather than placing myself in the possible path of Murphy's Law.
Perhaps Admin is on his way to work to avoid spending a full vacation day. That I could understand, given my misguided bailout from Baldy Feb. 17.
Recall that was part of what never opened March 10. Terrain closures are perhaps more of an issue in steeper LCC than other places.
Utah has an abundance of skiing riches. I would take the sure thing in this situation rather than placing myself in the possible path of Murphy's Law.
No, it makes me less blase about powder days because they are far less frequent for me. Therefore I will not bat an eye at a modest increases in expense or travel time to maximize the experience.
Really? If it was that good and I hadn't skied for the past 3 days, I think I would want to be there bell-to-bell. I know Patrick wouild be with me on this one too.
Perhaps Admin is on his way to work to avoid spending a full vacation day. That I could understand, given my misguided bailout from Baldy Feb. 17.It's funny, the SLC locals usually show more patience in these situations than us Easterners.
I recall being out in the SLC valley with my buddy (an Easterner who had moved to SLC, was working at a hospital or something) on a pow morning when the LCC Road was closed for avy work. He was pumped to go to Alta, and was content to wait it out at home until the road opened. I'll admit, if I had been alone that day, I would have high-tailed it somewhere else, but his patience paid off with one of the deepest skiing days of my life.
But Admin should bear in mind that when we EC'ers are out there on vacation, our limited time off puts us in "hurry-up" mode. If the road doesn't open, we end up kicking ourselves for wasting a day. So it's not easy for us to adopt the local mindset.
I recall being out in the SLC valley with my buddy (an Easterner who had moved to SLC, was working at a hospital or something) on a pow morning when the LCC Road was closed for avy work. He was pumped to go to Alta, and was content to wait it out at home until the road opened. I'll admit, if I had been alone that day, I would have high-tailed it somewhere else, but his patience paid off with one of the deepest skiing days of my life.
But Admin should bear in mind that when we EC'ers are out there on vacation, our limited time off puts us in "hurry-up" mode. If the road doesn't open, we end up kicking ourselves for wasting a day. So it's not easy for us to adopt the local mindset.
Tony Crocker":u3qq8q8x said:
Then why did you write:
Tony Crocker":u3qq8q8x said:
??
That's what I took exception to. You said it as if from a position of authority on the subject, yet you did so from 600 miles away. Face it, you have no clue how crowded it was. For all you know I could be lying like a rug when I say it was deserted.
Tony Crocker":u3qq8q8x said:
As I've told you in person countless times, I opt for quality over quantity. You prefer quantity. That's your choice, and I have mine.
Tony Crocker":u3qq8q8x said:Really? If it was that good and I hadn't skied for the past 3 days, I think I would want to be there bell-to-bell. I know Patrick is with me on this one too.
And you wouldn't have been doing multiple laps on the High Notch hike, either, especially when you have to keep pace with the others on the hike as there's nowhere to pull out. That damned near killed me but it was a choice I made to maximize the quality. As I've told you in person countless times, I opt for quality over quantity. You prefer quantity. My quads were knotting by the time I quit, but I don't give a rat's hind end about how much vertical I racked up today.
Not sure there's a total contradiction here. My comment was mainly directed to the obvious slow traffic up the hill that would ensue after a delayed road opening.
As I've said in some of the East-West threads, I view powder as an equalizer that overrides my usual preferences based purely on terrain. So yes I'd take a full day at Solitude in 30 inches of powder over half a day in the same snow at Alta. Monday, when Alta had twice as much new snow as BCC, I'd be with you at Alta.
No question the skiing with Admin at Alta over the past few seasons has given me a greater appreciation of its virtues. I would still be inclined to apply them when Alta has its greatest relative advantage over nearby areas, like early season or the not infrequent occasions when it gets meaningfully more snow out of a particular storm.
Tony Crocker":qh8aoqz6 said:
No contradiction. The gate had just opened, so of course most of the folks getting off Collins headed straight for the hike...just as I did. You'd have to be completely insane not to. The gravity gate into Yellow Trail remained closed, preserving the goods for those willing to work for it. There were 19 people ahead of me. There were more behind me. It moves at a healthy pace, and it's a brutal sidestep followed by a herringbone -- not long, but steep. My lungs are still sore. My personal addictions aside (which of course don't help), I'm now well past my 30s.
That doesn't mean it was busy. After my untracked run down Yellow Trail I went back up Sugarloaf and skied Glory Hole (EBT was closed), then skied all the way to the bottom of Sunnyside, took the Transfer Tow back to Collins (and with the soft snow you couldn't get any glide to shorten the tow ride), rode back up Collins, hiked up High Notch again and there were still completely untracked lines both on Backside and Yellow Trail.
Mira, Skidog and Tele Jon will get more of the goods tomorrow as Supreme never opened today AFAIK (a patroller I rode with doubted it would be today, even though they were running routes on Supreme), nor did Ballroom/Baldy Shoulder. I wouldn't be shocked to see Devil's Castle stay closed until I can get back up there Saturday.
No question Backside was 
inspiring on March 10 based upon our experience with Greely Hill. Congratulations on getting it this time. :mrgreen:
There is a lot of real estate back there to make your own tracks. But clearly the hike itself was competitive and at a less comfortable pace than you would have chosen had it been less busy.
inspiring on March 10 based upon our experience with Greely Hill. Congratulations on getting it this time. :mrgreen:There is a lot of real estate back there to make your own tracks. But clearly the hike itself was competitive and at a less comfortable pace than you would have chosen had it been less busy.
Tony Crocker":3qn7gzuk said:No question Backside was
There is a lot of real estate back there to make your own tracks. But clearly the hike itself was competitive and at a less comfortable pace than you would have chosen had it been less busy.
To quote Jamesdeluxe from viewtopic.php?f=10&t=7680&p=44030#p44030:
jamesdeluxe":3qn7gzuk said: