definition of flat light

On Saturday,  H's fourth day of skiing at Alta, with very little (if any) new snow (despite the small storm that brought rain to the valley on Friday), there were only a handful of people on the bus.  Easy to get a seat!  The mountains were likely losing snow like crazy, however, since it was already 30F when H started skiing at 9:15 a.m.  And whether you want to call them "low clouds" or "fog," that sort of low-hanging moisture just eats snow.  When H got home, the official report was: "Visibility was not great - you would have hated it." 

Flat light and low clouds

While H was shredding what could be shredded, Milton and A did their Sego Lily loop walk (3.2 miles); made a leek, kale and potato frittata; took care of the laundry (started some new and put away clean); did some work on organizing for the upcoming holidays; baked giant ginger cookies with the new KitchenAid stand mixer A won at her company holiday party; and walked to the library for more books.  When H got home from his post-skiing trail run, the official report was: "Feels like October."  And I sure wish it would actually get cold because the plants (weeds) in our yard are still green and growing.  

Fluffy bush

day three at alta, more of the same

 Sunday, H's third day on the hill, was pretty much just like Saturday.  Fewer people to start, perhaps: he went from boarding the bus to disembarking at Goldminer's Daughter in less than thirty minutes.  No new snow, too warm for December, still got skied off quickly despite not too many people there.  He was on the 1:09 bus heading home.

The EBT is looking a little thin 

("It's all looking a little thin," says H)

Meanwhile, Milton and A were pretty busy.  We did our Dimple Dell walk, then vacuumed a little.  We made [all vegan, of course] bolognese pasta sauce for the freezer, blondies for H, and cream of broccoli soup and a just barely passable loaf of olive oil bread for dinner.  We also put together work gifts (those homemade pistachio-cranberry cookies and orange-cranberry pinwheel cookies) and decorated our little tree.  

Good for dunking in soup, anyway

fewer people, at least

On H's second day of skiing, after a week of record warm temperatures and no snowstorms, there were five people on the ski bus for the way up, and four for the way down.  Opening day excitement has waned and it's pretty much just season pass holders up there right now.  Alta has been able to make snow overnights (although they're probably losing some of it during the sunny days) and all the lifts but Supreme are now open, although terrain is still limited.  What is open is quickly skied off, even with fewer skiers; H took the 1:09 bus home.

Coverage is thinner than it looks

He did get his first mustache compliment of the season, however: "Sick 'stache, man."  And he rode the lift with a kid from Fryeburg, Maine, who is working at Goldminer's Daughter this season.  And he didn't hit any big rocks whilst skiing - he says they're easy to spot and avoid since there isn't much snow to hide them.

On the plus side, we hear from our friends back east that Sugarloaf is off to a very good start, with lots of snow and plenty of cold temperatures.  So that's good.

Our street is like Las Vegas with 

everyone else's lights

Those of us (Milton and A) who stayed down in the valley did a five mile walk through Dimple Dell, where Milt play-wrestled with a new friend, Murphy the golden retriever; stood in line for 25 minutes at the post office; baked dog biscuits, more pistachio-cranberry cookies and orange-cranberry pinwheels.

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!