another spring storm

Just when all hope seems to be lost, another big ol' snowstorm rolls into the Wasatch mountains: last Thursday and Friday dumped 24 inches on the mountains.  Saturday, therefore, we didn't dawdle but ate our egg sandwiches, gave B a biscuit and got up to Alta by about 9:30 a.m.  Despite all the new snow the parking lot was barely a third full at that point and they hadn't bothered to plow; by the time we left, the parking lot was still only two-thirds full (and all the snow had melted and/or evaporated).  I don't know where the people were because even with the Supreme chair closed, there were never any lift lines at the remaining chairs (Sugarloaf, Collins and Wildcat (don't know about Sunnyside) and it was so very quiet.

We rode up Collins and then skied down to the Sugarloaf lift, noticing that the snow was a little grabby, which is what you get with spring "powder," I guess.  We did three or four runs in a row in East Greeley because it was really good and we wanted to enjoy it before the in-and-out sunshine baked it too heavy.  It was really good and, since I was smart enough to wear my powder skis, I was skiing pretty well.  The shame of it was that so much terrain is unavailable, between the Supreme lift being closed, and Devil's Castle and Cecret Saddle being roped off.  Patrol wasn't even shooting up the Castle so we wondered if it would open again before the end of the season.  It was too bad, because there was so much untracked new snow just sitting there, taunting us, out of reach.

East Greeley sunshine and snow

We had lunch at the Watson Shelter (under the Collins lift) - chili cheese fries! - then did some runs on the front side: the Ballroom (which was holding up really well), Sunspot, Spring Valley, a run off Wildcat chair.  By then I had lost whatever mojo I had had in the morning, plus the clouds had moved in and the light got very flat, making it tough to see.  We did a couple more runs - with me concentrating very hard on keeping my weight balanced on both skis on the groomers, since those Rossignols tend to shudder and skid in the turns if I work them like my trusty Volkls - then called it good.

It was off-and-on raining down in the valley, which ruled out a road ride for H, so we made a quick trip to REI to buy a tent (for car camping - too heavy for backpacking) and then had homemade pizzas for dinner.  The weather for Sunday was looking iffy so even though the ski days are now numbered, we decided to see what it looked like in the morning before committing to strapping on the boards.