opening day 2011

Alta opened today as planned.  H was up there by 8:30 a.m., first in the singles line, seventh chair overall.  The folks who got the first chair had gotten up to the resort at 4:30 a.m. (crazy people).  Everyone was stoked - "everyone" being retirees, 20-somethings and H - sharing beers on the lifts, frying up bacon and egg sandwiches on camp stoves in the lift line.

The view from the front of the singles line,

just before opening

We haven't had much snow (55 inches on the season; 21 inches settled snow depth - not enough to keep H from gouging his skis a bit) and the emails I got throughout the morning described the conditions as "dust on crust" and "good (by eastern standards)."  It was pretty cold due to the wind and he had to stick to the groomed trails, with only the Collins, Wildcat and Sunnyside lifts being open.  Still, he managed to put in three hours of non-stop runs, skiing right back onto the chair without standing in line.

Opening Day self-portrait

It's snowing now, with both Cottonwood Canyons and Parleys Canyon restricted to 4-wheel drive or chained tires.  They've backed off on the possible accumulation, saying 9-15" instead of 24-34", but there'll still be some fresh snow for us tomorrow.  Let the ski season begin!