opening day

 Utah's ski areas are off to a slow start - the worst in twenty-five years, according to a local news story.  Alta pushed back their opening day, then pushed it back again, then again, finally opening on Sunday December 7.  Traditionally they open Thanksgiving weekend, but not only wasn't there any natural snow, it hadn't even been cold enough to make snow.

Before the light got completely flat

We did finally get a storm that enabled them to open 12/7.  I didn't get a pass again this year so H will be skiing solo this 2025/2026 season.  The late start date meant that the ski bus was running so he hopped on the early bus, which was packed with people.  Up at the Goldminer's Daughter lodge, he ran into a number of locals in the locker room, and then commenced the standing in line.

Alta only had two lifts running - Sunnyside and Collins - and about one run open off each lift.  They warned that conditions on the bunny slope (Sunnyside lift) were for intermediate skiers and anyone skiing off Collins should be expert level.  Because it was opening day, it was crowded; because there were so few lifts, the lines were long; and because there were so few available runs, they were choked with skiers.  H, when he returned on the 2:09 bus, reported that I wouldn't have liked it, due to the flat light, crowds of people and hard, icy conditions.  Not the most promising start to the ski season, but at least it has started.

Down in the valley, A and Milton baked chocolate chip blondies (successful), pistachio-cranberry cookies (successful but not pretty) and ginger cookies (complete failure); made applesauce from some of our CSA apples; and made a batch of Anasazi beans.

love local

As we inch ever closer towards Christmas, little (and not so little) local holiday markets and fairs are popping up across the Salt Lake valley.  I don't usually go to such things but this year, when I saw the Love Local market being held at the Wasatch Community Gardens, I felt compelled to put some money back into the local economy (aside from supporting our favorite bartenders at Woody's).

The winter garden beds at Wasatch Community Gardens

It was a $5 entry fee (going to WCG) and then there were lots of vendors selling hand made soaps, balms, oils, notecards, textiles, wreaths, pottery, herbal mixtures and tinctures, preserves, pickles, paintings, carvings, jewelry, mushroom-growing kits, decor and ornaments, hot sauces and relishes, candles, dog and cat treats, tote bags ... There were a couple of food vendors too, selling Thai street food and empanadas and arepas, plus a little beer/wine garden.

My haul

It seemed pretty well attended, and I had gotten there towards the early side - and had to circle several times before finding a parking spot.  Everyone was friendly and it was great to see folks out supporting small local businesses.  We need more of that.

enjoying the long weekend

 The rest of the Thanksgiving long weekend passed in a blur.  The weather continued to hold all the way until Sunday, so that was a treat.  On Friday, we three went up to Sand Flats for a hike (3.4 miles) out on the Slickrock/practice loop trail.  It was quite busy up there, with a fair number of MTBers but even more dirt bikers.  The campgrounds - at least the first two - were way fuller than they had been two weeks ago.

Checking out the dirt bikes behind us

We had tasty leftovers for dinner. 

Wide open spaces

On Saturday, we did a bunch of house stuff - yard clean up, hanging pictures, house-cleaning - and A and M did a 3.2 mile town walk.  Late afternoon, our friends C and F let us know that they'd gotten a babysitter so we walked to their house and hung out there for a while for beers and boardgames.  And we got to watch as C's gigantic Christmas decorations inflated themselves.  Impressive, if slightly unhinged.

Look how big that snowman is

We had leftovers for dinner.  Still tasty.

These guys had been up in the La Sals

Sunday morning, all there was to do was get up and go.  We did run into some weather on Route 6, from Soldier Summit down to Spanish Fork: it was wet and snowing but luckily not sticking to the road yet.  (Later that evening, the road would be shut down for several hours due to crashes/slide offs).  Back in the Salt Lake valley, the rain continued.  Gloomy, yes, but bringing much needed moisture and even a little bit of snow to the mountains.  Could winter actually be coming?

giving thanks

Due to work schedules, we weren't able to drive down to Moab until Wednesday morning, Thanksgiving Eve.  This actually worked out well: we were packed up and on the road by 7 a.m., rolling into town well before 11 and with no traffic to deal with.  We unloaded and unpacked, and then H and Milton went for a trail run on Pipe Dream (4 miles) while A did a town walk (3.2 miles) to see what was happening in town.  It was busier than we expected, no doubt due to the very nice weather we were having as well as complete lack of snow in northern Utah.

Not the winning cards

We did stroll over to Woody's for a beer and were inadvertently sucked into Bingo night, which was very well attended by the locals.  During the shorter and shorter off season, Woody's makes an effort to become more of a community resource, with Bingo, trivia, karaoke, Science Moab talks and other events to bring in local engagement.  It may be a scruffy dive bar but it's got heart.

Not a cloud in sight

It was absolutely gorgeous Thanskgiving morning: clear and bright and warming into the 40s with only a light breeze.  After we let it warm up a bit, we did a family hike at the Navajo Rocks MTB trail system.  We parked at the lower lot and walked up towards the upper lot, putting together a six mile out-and-back.  The parking lot was nearly full when we got back to the car and we watched MTBers and trail runners coming and going as we had post-hike beers.

At the midpoint

We had invited our neighbor to come over for Tgiving dinner but she already had plans.  So it was just us with our vegan pot pies (with stuffing instead of top crust - delicious), mashed potatoes and gravy.  Carbs for everyone!

Marie Callender frozen pie crusts 

are accidentally vegan - woohoo!

 

updated snowfall update

It's snowing in northern Utah!  People are skiing!  People are driving badly and getting into accidents!  There's already avalanches! All hail the 2025-2026 ski season.  

Ski area opening dates (revised):

Alta - December 5, 2025

Beaver Mountain - TBD

Brian Head - Open!

Brighton - December 2

Cherry Peak - TBD

Deer Valley - TBD

Eagle Point - December 19

Nordic Valley - December 12

Park City - TBD

Powder Mountain - December 12

Snowbasin - TBD

Snowbird - TBD

Solitude - Open (with one lift and like one trail)

Sundance - TBD

Woodward Park City - TBD

Like I said, it's snowing a bit.  Not much, but it's a start.

the puny utahn baking show

 The Great British Baking Show (a/k/a The Great British Bake-Off, in its home country) is my emotional comfort show.  I cannot tell you how many times I've watched it - or at least the seasons available on Netflix - because I keep cycling through, again and again.  It is delightful, calming and supportive, and the baking is amazing.

I am a terrible baker, exacerbated by the vegan thing and also living at altitude.  But I love to bake.  I'm decent at cookies and cupcakes, which makes H happy; bat about 50% on cakes; and struggle with bread.  Even the worst homemade bread can be dunked in soup, though, so very little gets wasted.

Since there's NO SNOW, there's not much to post about.  So lucky you, here are some terrible photos of the very mediocre bakes I've done lately.  Happy Thanksgiving, y'all, to those who celebrate.

Focaccia with olives: decent but needed to be

baked longer due to olives' moisture content

Chocolate-peppermint crinkle cookies: trying

new Christmas cookie recipes and these were

WAY too sweet for me (but not for H)

Pumpkin bread: haven't tried it yet,

seemed a little claggy on the bottom

Pumpkin cheesecake bars: haven't tried these

yet either but will not be making again as

the recipe took WAY too long to do

snowfall update

 Northern Utah snowfall update: there really isn't any.  The Alta and Snowbird webcams show patchy/thin coverage at best.  As of this writing, Alta has had 20" of snow on the season, with a "base" depth of 8".  That's rough even for rock skis.  And because of the whole no storms situation (be it rain- or snow-), the smoggy inversion has set in, seemingly very early.  

Current projected opening dates:

OPEN - Brian Head (woohoo!)

11/27/25 - Snowbird and Solitude

11/28/25 - Brighton, Park City Mountain Resort and Snowbasin

12/1/25 - Deer Valley

12/5/25 - Alta and Sundance

12/12/25 - Powder Mountain and Nordic Valley

12/19/25 - Beaver Mountain and Eagle Point

This has to be one of the latest [projected] openings for Alta that I can remember, in our sixteen years in Utah.  Yikes.  Gonna be bony for Christmas week, looks like.

pleasant little jaunt

Milton had a vet appointment scheduled for Monday (teeth cleaning and removal of a small lipoma on his right rear leg - all went well and he is nearly all recovered, just mostly annoyed at having antibiotics shoved down his throat twice daily and having to wear a cone for two weeks), and we had to go back to SLC on Tuesday, so our best bet for a hike was Sunday.  It was another beautiful day - not cloudy, as forecast - so we three loaded up in the truck and headed out of town, down the Potash Road to Culvert Canyon/Jeep Arch.  We didn't get the earliest start, lingering over Dave's coffee and waiting for it to warm up, but there were only a couple of cars there ahead of us.

Local humor at Dave's Corner Market

H and I had both opted to wear shorts, despite the temperatures being in the 40s (high 40s), and within fifteen minutes both of us had shed our long sleeved outer layers; with the strong sunshine, 40s/50s is super pleasant in the desert.  We did our regular route, opting for the left hand veer of the loop, so we would come to the arch clockwise.

H going into the light

When Jeep Arch was in view, we did see a couple of people silhouetted beneath the arch, but they had moved on by the time we got there.  We didn't linger, continuing around the loop, and then dropping into the canyon wash when we were able.  

That one pop of yellow

It was like we were the only people on earth, making our way down the wash.  There was enough water in spots that Milton could wade, although the pools looked pretty stagnant.  (He didn't care.)  There were a number more cars at the trailhead when we exited the culvert, but our people-free experience just proves that earlier is better if you don't want crowds.  Hike stats: just under 4 miles, which is always shorter than I think.

Looking back from whence we came

On the way back, we pulled over along Wall Street so we could watch the rock climbers while we had surreptitious post-hike beers and snacks.  There were all kinds of people there: college kids, families with kids, 30-somethings, tourists taking photos of the rock art and a 70+ year old trail runner who'd won his age group in Saturday's trail marathon.

That hole was the size of a quarter

Gorgeous day, no notes.

can't be mad tho'

It has been unseasonably warm and dry this October/first half of November (How many years do we say it's "unseasonably warm" before we accept the fact that the climate has changed and warmer is the new normal?  Asking for a friend.) and it's throwing off all the ski resorts, having to push their opening days back, and then back again, and then back again.  Brian Head had very optimistically said they were going to open November 7 ... as of the date of this writing, they're hoping for November 21.  Also 11/21: Alta and Park City.  Solitude is shooting for 11/19, Snowbird 11/27 and Snowbasin 11/28.  All subject to change, of course, which it definitely will do unless the weather also changes.

In-town colors

In the meantime, the unseasonably warm and dry fall weather has been very enjoyable, especially down in Moab.  Both H and I had Veteran's Day (Tuesday) off of work and we finagled a long weekend out of it by taking Monday as well, driving down Friday mid-afternoon.  Traffic was much less through Utah County and between Spanish Fork and Price, but it sure seemed like Main Street was hopping when we got to Moab, with lots of folks in town for the Moab Folk Festival.  Fewer side-by-sides, more post-modern hippies.  (Who am I kidding?  There's never fewer side-by-sides.)  We swung by Woody's Friday night for a post-drive decompression beer, and got to catch up with our friend C, which was great as we hadn't been sure we'd get to see him this weekend.

Dry Anasazi beans (got

'em at Moonflower Co-op)

Despite being forecasted for overcast, Saturday was pretty clear.  Chilly to start, but warming up nicely as the sun rose higher.  A and Milton set out for a Pipe Dream hike first, then H followed later for a trail run.  The dog abandoned me for H as he passed us on the first leg of the out-and-back; I had to leash Milton so he'd stay with me when H came back by.  That last bit was less fun for both of us, but at least he towed me up the hills.  (H: 4.86 miles; A: 4.5 miles; M: somewhat more than that).

Over 600 miles on the one on the

right - time for new shoes

Determined to enjoy the afternoon, we three walked to the Spitfire later for beers (FYI pitchers are not any better a deal than by the glass), then had an early backyard firepit with our neighbor A and her dog.  Both H and neighbor A are early to bed people so the time change (even though we hate it) at least allows some star-gazing before bedtime.

fall things

 Somehow, the autumn shoulder season seems shorter than the spring one: in the spring, you have to wait for the snow to melt to get out and do things in the mountains, but in the fall, you have to wait for it to snow to go out and do things in the mountains (and the ski areas get cranky if you tromp around on their newly-made snow).  Solitude says they'll open in a couple of weeks and Alta is claiming three weeks to open.  But it is over 60F and brilliantly sunny on the first Sunday in November so I feel like they may be being optimistic.

Not like New England colors,

but still pretty

We didn't have much planned for the first November weekend.  Milton and I did our five mile Dimple Dell loop both Saturday and Sunday mornings; the strong sunshine made it feel warmer than the high 40s.  H got a little chilled but managed a road ride both mornings, pretty much the latest in the season he tends to ride in SLC.  We did a bunch of chores - laundry, sweeping out the garage (oh boy did it need it), making soups and chocolate chip cookies, vacuuming (oh boy did it need it).  And, with the gorgeous weather, we felt compelled to do a tailgate in the garage while we still could.  I'm sure our neighbors can't wait for it to get cold enough for us to do our drinking indoors.