Alta’s conditions over the past two days have kept with this weeks theme, deep and dank. Yesterday provided some of the best conditions I’ve seen all season with Mother Nature dumping copious amounts of graupel all afternoon. No one was up there and with the High T finally open you couldn’t ask for more. Say goodbye to the JitterBug bootpack! Today was equally as fun with bluebird skies above and nine fresh inches of fluff . The crowds were a bit thick at times but with most of Alta’s terrain now open you had a plethora of options to choose from. Baldy Shoulder slid big time and ruined most of it but, as long as you stuck to the Bad News area there was plenty of good snow to be found. Backside never opened likely because there was nothing but slide debris back there but besides that you had the whole mountain to slash around in. Keep it coming!
The skiing at Alta over the past couple of days has been nothing short of phenomenal. Alta Ski Patrol have been hard at work preparing Alta’s slopes for new openings every day. Rumor has it the High T might even be ready to go by sometime today. Baldy Shoulder and the Jitterbug boot pack opened yesterday and with 20+ inches of untouched pow skiers were treated to some of the deepest turns of the year. Get ready for more face shots as it looks like Thursday night could bring another 6-12 inches to Little Cottonwood Canyon.
The Salomon Snowtrip Jacket is a fall, winter and spring jacket. Three seasons in one. It also is the perfect jacket when you are out in mother nature’s playground and you only have one jacket. The Snowtrip is adaptable to when its sunny outside and the weather changes in a split second to a blustery windy cold day.
Designed to have a sleek fit and a flattering look of any soft-shell on the market, this jacket will protect you from the elements but still breath to keep your core temp ideal. The Salomon Snowtrip has a stretchy internal layer that is warm and cozy. The outer shell is a 10-K rated water proof ClimaPro and 15-K breath-ability with waterproof zippers and fully taped seams.
Additional bonus features include ClimaWind inner softshell, a removable hood and a powder skirt. All of these features will protect you from snowy days on the slopes and in the backcountry.
MSRP: $294.95
Check Availability @Backcountry.com. You can also compare prices from other top stores by clicking the “Buy Now” button below.
This morning Alta reported 22 inches in 24 hours. The combination of deep pow and sunny skies made for an extremely difficult time getting up canyon. Little Cottonwood ended up not opening until 11:30am with access to Alta not opening until 12:15pm. Even if you were one of the first ones in line you still had to continue to wait as Alta’s lifts didn’t start spinning until 1:30. With a very limited amount of terrain open and a large weekend crowd Alta’s slopes were tracked within the first hour. The snow today was no typical Utah pow but it was still soft and creamy and provided for far better conditions then we’ve had all year. It looks like we could see some more snow tomorrow night before more warm and dry air moves back in mid week.
Today was the day to test out these mother ship of a ski. The day kept getting better and better as it progressed towards closing time. The Black Diamond Gigawatt Ski is truly a powder ski and will not steer you wrong. And yes winter has finally arrived in the Wasatch, and we all hope it’s not going anywhere anytime soon.
The Black Diamond Gigawatt Ski was designed after it’s predecessor, the Megawatt Ski (still one of my all time favorite ski -check them @Backcountry.com). The Gigawatt is basically the Megawatt ski on drugs. It features larger dimensions to make you look like a rock star on days like today.
The Gigawatt comes with a rocker tip and tail with no camber, providing excellent performance in deep powder. They are made with a torsion box construction that blends edge and durability of birch sidewalls. The birch sidewall allows more pop while skiing and allows better edge hold while carving based on the internal wall core technology.
Float to the top on those deep powder days! This ski can handle high speeds yet is remarkably quick and easier to turn. If you are looking for a big mountain freeride true powder ski then you have found the perfect match.
- Lengths: 185 & 195
- Dimensions: 163/135/141
MSRP: $979.00
Check Availability @Backcountry.com. You can also compare prices from other top stores by clicking the “Buy Now” button below.
Alta received 14 inches of high density snow last night which helped calm some nerves concerning Alta’s still very rocky base. The mountain didn’t open until shortly after 11:00am but, the Alta Ski Patrol kept us all entertained setting off avalanche after avalanche as we waited patiently in line. Unfortunately, with the highly unstable snow pack not much of Alta’s terrain opened up. Skiing off of Collins you were pretty much limited to Fred’s Trees as the Tower 10 traverse was closed all day. Westward Ho provided some great turns if you were willing to make the trek back to the lifts afterwards. Overall it was a great day but don’t panic if you weren’t able to make it up because there’s plenty of more snow in the forecast. Winter is FINALLY here!
In honor of fellow free skier, visionary and friend I am recommending Sarah Burke’s favorite Smith sunglasses the Smith Aura Sunglasses.
These 70s inspired sunglasses are no fail shades. I personally like the Vintage Tourtoise/Brown color which comes with polarized lenses. The polarized lenses of these beauties will give you no glare on the brightest of sunshiny days. The Techlite Poloarized Glass lenses produce optical precision and clarity that will exceed any expectations expected. Smith can create such a lens at a 20% weight reduction over other lenses on the market.
The Aura Smith Sunglasses comes with a Anti-Reflective mirror coating which deflects back light effects. They also come with a hydrophobic coating on the lens that will repel water, dirt, grease and fingerprints.
The Aura Sunglasses are a lightweight, stylish 70′s yet modern option for your everyday eyewear. The polarized lens makes this the best choice for any situation, sunny day on the lake, those very flat lighting days while driving to the ski hill or a sunny day watching your friends huck their meat in a big mountain comp. The polarized lens will never do you wrong.
We don’t want to curse the current forecast but let’s hope we won’t need to use these sunglasses until May or June maybe even July. So please mother nature, let is snow and don’t let up until May at the earliest. We are getting desperate here.
MSPR: $178.95
Check Availability @Backcountry.com. You can also compare prices from other top stores by clicking the “Buy Now” button below.
Winter is back, or at least the cold temps are. Alta only reported two inches from today’s storm but the skiing was actually somewhat decent if you kept your fingers and toes warm. Outside of the brutally cold temps and strong wind gusts we found some smooth turns on High Boy and Lone Pine where you could blast yourself with a face-shot whenever you felt like it. Looks like another frigid day tomorrow so don’t forget to layer up. Beginning this Wednesday the forecast is promising wet weather to start and last through next Sunday. It looks like snow levels could rise as high as 9,000 feet but as long as the rain stays away from Alta these storms could actually set us up with a decent base. I know I’m ready for the High T to finally open.
It’s official the Alta Snowbird connection is open. The skiing may not be much different but at least it’s some variety which we need due to lack of snow this year. From Alta you take the Suglarloaf lift. At the top take the EBT/Collins Return and you’ll see the gates to go from Alta to Snowbird. From there you can drop into Mineral Basin.
If you can catch Mineral Basin on a powder day you won’t be disappointed. Traverse out to the bookends to catch some hang time off the cliffs. Although I wouldn’t recommend Mineral Basin on a white out day. There’s not a lot of trees back there and you’ll easily get lost in the white oblivion.
When you’re ready to head back to Alta take Snowbirds Baldy Express lift at the base of Mineral Basin and you’ll come out where you started, EBT/Collins Return. You can access 4700 acres of skiable terrain and ski two great resorts in one day.
The Alta/Bird day pass is sold at any ticket window at each resort. Check out Liftopia.com for more deals on Utah Lift Tickets!
Next week’s forecast is finally starting to look decent for once. If you tend to overdo it when it snows, then check out Stacy Peterson’s yoga classes and stretch out those muscles before it’s too late. Classes are held every Tuesday morning from 6:45-7:45am and Thursday evenings from 5:30-6:45pm. Morning classes focus on power yoga techniques and the evening classes concentrate on restore yoga. Classes are held in Goldminer’s Daughter. Donations of $10 are appreciated. Get ready for a pattern change!
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