First Powder Day of the Year at Alta

In the past 48 hours, Little Cottonwood Canyon has been pummeled by over 36 inches of snow. Not just any snow, but the first big storm of the year, that brought the light and deep Utah powder that this state is famous for. Just over a week ago, Snowbird and Alta barely had any snow, as you can see in our blog from Snowbird below. By this morning Alta had more snow that they knew what to do with, and it was time to get some early season powder runs before the lifts open in a few weeks.

I called up my friend Ryan, and we headed down to Salt Lake and back up to Alta around 11am this morning. It was a late start, but the snow was coming down hard and we wanted the deepest snowpack possible to avoid any collisions with rocks under the snow. The road in LCC hadn’t been plowed, so the drive was slow and a little sketchy. We pulled into Alta and saw about 40 other cars that had the same idea. We suited up, checked our avalanche beacons, put on our skins, and started working our way up the mountain.

The air was absolutely freezing for early November, with temps hovering around 10 degrees at mid-mountain. We decided to skin to the top of the Wildcat chair and ski the north-west side of the mountain, known as Westward-Ho. Early season hiking is tough on the body because you haven’t used those muscles for a while and your lungs aren’t adjusted to the cold air yet, but we made it in pretty quick time.

Once we started down we realized the snow was much deeper than we originally thought. Only the steepest slopes were skiable because the snow was easily waist to sometimes chest deep. It was absolutely ridiculous for this time of year. Today was easily the deepest early season day I’ve ever had.

Ryan and I wasted no time in snapping a few photos. Enjoy.






I think this snow is here to stay, and winter has officially begun. Bring on the next storm!

Stumble It!

Ski Fever in the Mud Season

October in Park City means that each and every day is mixed with hints of Winter and Summer. A few days ago I woke up to 3 inches of snow on my door step, yet today was in the low 70's. The smell of wet summer grass is quickly fading away and will soon be replaced with the crispness of jack frost. I'm looking forward to leaving behind lazy summer mornings and 90 degree heat. Living directly between Deer Valley Resort and Park City Mountain Resort means getting jarred out of bed with every snow fall. Avalanche charges at 7am followed by frantic phone calls at 7:15am is the only way to wake up. Forget the alarm clock, forget the automatic coffee pot that tries to arouse you in the morning with it's irresistible aroma. Nothing gets your blood moving in the morning like rolling into your gear, half asleep, and trying to catch first chair.

As the fall colors slowly disappear and mother nature airbrushes the mountains white, a whole new group of young and old ski bums begin their trek to Park City. The town is on the verge of coming out of it's social hibernation, reinvigorated with new locals and familiar faces as we near December. It's getting closer. I can see the look in people eyes that are ready. People that have already put on their gear, popped into their skis, and sat on their couch watching ski movies desperately seeking a fix of the stuff that keeps them alive. It's a very delicate mixture of passion, obsession, and love. It's also a sickness. Ski fever. No amount of beer, food, biking, golfing, or hiking will cure it.

Stumble It!