2 Years Later...

agonizing over whether to return to Alta? No agonizing this time around. 2 full seasons have gone by without so much as putting ski socks on. Somewhere, deep down, i'm a little bit ashamed.

Back to the snow... packin' up for a Nov 1, 2008 return.

Should I stay or should I go NOW!

Those of you in the know realize I have been agonizing over whether or not to stay in Maryland and be the working stiff or go back to the Land of Mormon powder. Looks like i'm leaning toward going back. Hopefully I'll keep this blog in a better state of update with more insight of all things Alta.

So its march...yeah i know

well.. i'm now into the last couple weeks of the season. I'm somewhere in the high 60's when it comes to ski days. I'll probably hit 80 days by the time I leave. There are tons of pictures floating around but I don't actually have any from my own camera. I just don't carry it with me.

Skiing is great...560+ inches of snowfall and 170 inch packed base really adds up.

I watched Leo huck a 230 FOOT cliff. I should have some video when I get home. Due to publishing reasons i can't post anything on the net.

Love ya'll
-Alex

DAY 11: Full day of FAST groomer action!

Today was my 11th day of lift served skiing(13th day if you count the hiking days). I skied with Paul and Brandon and we ripped grommers ALL DAY long. Fun day that was a big reminder of home. We have been in 6 days of super cold high pressure which makes the snow really hard pack but not icy, since there is no re-freezing.

Check out my picture link. There should be some more stuff on there.

-aLeX

The AltaBird Interconnect

Today was somewhat warm and very sunny bluebird day. Paul and I checked out the Snowbird interconnect into Miserable(Mineral) Basin. The exposure in Mineral basin is sunny all day long so that means mashed potatoes when its close to 30F. We didn't venture down the front of Snowbird from the top of the Mineral lift because they were short on snow and everything was wind-scoured and rocky on most pitches from there.

Quick update

I hurt my back last Friday(Dec. 2) and missed out on super powder over the weekend. Finally got out on Tuesday Dec. 6 for an amazing blower day. The Forcast was for 1-3" over scattered showers, turned out to be 2 feet deposited in some areas. Only got in 2 runs since I didn't get out until 2pm. Great snow but Bad visibility. Wednesday was a great bluebird day with some excellent powder found off the back of the High Traverse towards eagles nest. It was my very first day on the High T(raverse).

2 Awesome Powder Days

Saturday and Sunday were both, by far, better than any day last season. By the time it stopped snowing on Sunday we had more than 3 feet of snow on the ground waiting for waist deep powder skiing. By today I was totally worn out and didn't go out this morning before work started at Noon. Gave the legs a rest. Tonight we should be getting more fresh snow and tommorow could be another amazing powder day. LETS HOPE SO!

Just Like Home... First Lift Served Turns!

Today was the official opening of Alta ski area. We still haven't had any new snow but there was some manmade snow to fill in the thin spots. I skied off the Wildcat lift this afternoon after I got off work. Smooth hardpack groomers was the style of the day, just like home.

TOMMOROW things will change! Low pressure is swinging in over the area and Alta is expecting 3 feet by Tuesday and possibly more if we get lake effect snow cloud bands in the canyon.

Still no snow..lots of sunshine though

The high pressure system still reigns but there has been snowmaking on the main groomed runs at night. Looks like we will be having a limited opening on Friday Nov. 25, but its still not official. I think there is at least some hints of low pressure towards the end of the 10 day outlook.

Besides that, work is slow but the food is still good.

It has been more than a week

Today was the third day of bright sunshine and the high pressure system that has swung over the Salt Lake Area. We had 2 feet Sunday into Monday. We are not forecast to see any snow in the next 10 days but things do change rapidly around here. I've been told that high pressure systems usually last no more than 2 weeks in the Canyon. That is usually replaced by 2 weeks of storms. Last year they had 130" of snowfall by Oct. 31. This year the Alta Lift Company has still not set a date. Today (Nov. 17) was supposed to be the opening day. They are now waiting for another decent storm before they open.

Besides the lack of snow the food is good and hiking has been good. Got some fresh powder turns on Tuesday. Hiked past Collins Mid-Mountain station.

Work and NO SNOW

The weather people are not very accurate right now... wish I could have a job that didn't fire me for being right only 20% of the time. We should have had snow fall this AM following through till tommorow with over a foot of accumulation. SO far i've only seen a bit of wet snow and lots of clouds. Mostly dry.

Earned some turns...

I hiked up the hill today to earn my first turns of the season. Snow was a bit wet and heavy but the ski legs came back.

Day 1

My first 24 hours in Alta have been surreal. I can't believe i'm actually here. The food is great and the staff is friendly. I think working at the front desk will prove to be very rewarding.

See my pictures at http://www.flickr.com/photos/alex239/