targeted snowfall

This is one of the specific things we moved to Utah for: it's been snowing all day (and still going), and while the valley has only accumulated a scant 1+ inch, Alta and Snowbird are reporting 13 inches - with another 5-8" possible overnight.  Keep it coming!

more snow please

It's been snowing for most of the day but only a scant inch or so has accumulated down here in the valley.  It's supposed to keep going through tomorrow at least though, and hopefully the mountains are getting (or will be getting) pounded.  H just got his skis back from the shop and is raring to go!

dog; sledding

What's better than going to the gym on the day after Christmas to work off all those beer and eggnog calories?  Going winter hiking under blazing sun and bluebird skies. 

Another inversion has settled into the Salt Lake Valley so we headed up Big Cottonwood Canyon late morning on Saturday to find ourselves some clearer air.  A hike to Dog Lake (ironically named as there are no dogs allowed) was the plan, the trailhead 9.1 miles up the canyon road.  It's a popular trail, only 4.6 miles round trip, with a steady but not too steep (until the last .6 miles) climb on a level path with no switchbacks, and although we'd brought our snowshoes, we didn't end up using them as the trail was well-packed from all the traffic.

Although we hiked by ourselves, we passed a lot of other people - people in hiking boots, people in hiking boots with Yaktrax, people on snowshoes with ski poles, people on snowshoes without poles, backcountry skiers skinning up and backcountry skiers shussing down - so nice to see so many people out and enjoying the great weather.  The folks who seemed to be enjoying it the most, however, were taking advantage of the most genius ideas H and I have seen yet: they had snowshoed up to the lake but descended on plastic sleds that they'd taken with them.  They came flying past us, laughing, while we just stood there, wishing we'd thought of that.  I can promise you that plastic sleds are now on our list of gear we need to buy.

It took us an hour and fifteen minutes to go up, through stands of conifers and naked aspen trees, a little creek far below us on the canyon floor.  We started shedding layers immediately and by the time we reached the little lake, we were hatless, gloveless and sweaty.  It was warm enough in the bright sun to eat our quick lunch on the shore of the lake, observing the tracks from backcountry skiers on Reynolds Peak above us and generally grinning like goofs because it was so darn pretty.

The way down was fast (although not as fast as it would have been if we'd had sleds) since the snowpacked trail was smooth, even and not at all slippery footing, and gentle on the knees to boot.  It was cold, though: we ended up putting all our layers back on but our hands still got very, very cold since we weren't working nearly as hard on the descent.  At one point, H exclaimed that he'd "never hiked so fast in [his] life;" I had to trot to keep up with him - which helped keep me warm, so I didn't mind.

The parking area was packed when we got back to the car as there's a well-known sledding area across the canyon road, and it was swarming with families - again, so nice to see people enjoying the outdoors.  It just goes to prove that even when the valley is socked in with murk, fresh air and great days are just up the road a-piece in the mountains.

"i can't believe the stuff you're skiing"

Just as we wanted, we were up and at'em Christmas morning and headed up Big Cottonwood Canyon, not quite in time for front row parking although we did manage second row and about twenty-three steps from the lift.  Again we put our boots on in the lodge lobby - running into Pat, whom we recognized from being an early morning Barker Lodge/Sunday River, Bethel, Maine, skier (as we used to be) whose son went to the U and whose favorite Utah ski mountain is Solitude - and ran our boot bags back out to the car, thus saving having to rent a locker for our gear.

Solitude is quite a bit bigger than Brighton with much more varied terrain, e.g. steeper and higher.  We skied all over the mountain, starting off skier's left on the blue groomers off the Eagle Express lift and working our way into the beautiful, cliff-lined canyon off the Summit lift.  Although we didn't attempt any traversing into Honeycomb Canyon (we need more snow, desperately), we did do a lot of black diamond bump runs, which prompted H to utter the quote that titles this post.  I can't believe the stuff I skied either (see above re: steeper and higher): some of these trails were far steeper than anything I've ever skied before and completely ungroomed, full of bumps (steeper and bumpier than Agony, for those of you who know Sunday River).  But, unlike Agony, there is NO ICE here.  Although the bumps weren't fluffy, they weren't bullet-proof and it was actually more comfortable skiing the bump runs than the groomers because the light was so flat.  In fact, once as we rode up the lift, I pointed to a black bump run and said to H, "We haven't done that one yet."  It's a new me, folks.

It was a cold day, both starting out and ending up in the teens especially since the sun never came out (see above re: flat light), but we didn't let that stop us from skiing from 9 a.m. 'til 2 p.m.  Whether it was because of the temperatures, the Christmas holiday, Utahns not getting an early start, or just that the resort is aptly named, the slopes were largely bare and we never waited in a lift line.  We really liked Solitude - and not just because the skiers outnumbered the snowboarders this time - and can't wait to go back after we get some decent snow*.

Notes for the day:  We ate lunch in the "Brownbag Lounge" because you're not allowed to bring your own food into the cafeteria area; even tho' it was in the basement, there were plenty of tables, a big screen T.V. and even a microwave so folks could have hot lunches.  We saw one dog (in Big Cottonwood Canyon where dog fines cost you around $300) and as it was a cocker spaniel it was clearly not an avalanche dog.  After we called it quits, we found the Thirsty Squirrel pub in Solitude Village for a post-piste pitcher (at twice the $$ as a Porcupine pitcher, we won't do that again) - they had the best Christmas tree skirt ever.

* We're so turning into Utahn snow snobs: if we'd had conditions like this back East, we would have been thrilled.

alta, christmas eve 2009

Today, while I went into work to get a couple of projects done for my bosses, H took the day off and went skiing at Alta.  He'd been waiting a long, long time for this - and apparently it was worth it.  He left our apartment at 8:45 a.m. this morning and, having cleverly bought his ticket in advance, was on the fourth chair when the lifts opened at 9:15 a.m.  (Have I mentioned that we live SO close to the ski resorts?)  It was cold today, enough so that he wore his face mask in the morning -- +4 at the summit and 0 at the base, and warming up to 13 at the summit and 14 at the base by afternoon -- but clear blue skies and sunshine, which was welcome after the last couple of stormy days we've had. 

Almost everything is open, although more snow is definitely needed (H took a HUGE gouge out of the bottom of one of his skis - right down to the core - on a bump run off the Supreme lift and also managed to find some ice - horrors!) and he skied across most of the resort.  The terrain is much more dramatic than that at Brighton, some of it crazy-steep, but H promises that I'll have no trouble skiing there. 

Notes for the day: at Alta, none of the chairlifts have safety bars (!!!); unlike Brighton, snowboarders are absolutely, positively not allowed; there were a lot more folks wearing helmets; and three dogs were spotted up there in Little Cottonwood Canyon, where dogs are not even allowed in cars: two Labs scrounging for scraps in the lodge and one German Shepherd pooping by the chairlift.  Becky is quite offended.

Merry Christmas Eve, y'all!  We'll report back after skiing Solitude tomorrow!

one step closer

to being a Real Utahn: H did me a huge favor today and registered my car at the DMV for me, so now I have Utah plates!  I got the colorful Arches "Life Elevated" plates; H of course has the "Greatest Snow on Earth" ones.  He was a little disapproving of my desert-y preference seeing how we live up here in the canyons and love to ski-ski-ski, but I explained that I felt this way we were embracing the state as a whole if we got one of each, rather than just being northeastern-centric.  Plus I really like the colors.

holiday high spirits

At my new firm's Christmas party last week, we had: a long line at the open bar, which helped me identify Gentile* co-workers for possible future post-work imbibing; cowboy poetry recitations; a fairly saucy roasting** of two senior attorneys who are leaving the firm in 2010 for work for the LDS Church; "O Holy Night" sung by an honest-to-goodness member of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir; and an Elvis impersonator*** singing "Blue Christmas" to a portable karaoke machine.

Who amongst you can top that?

* Out here, if you're not a Saint, you're a Gentile - even if you're Jewish.

** It was really quite funny but back on the more PC East coast, there's no way Human Resources would have let some of that stuff get through. Of course, when it's one of the name partners doing the jokes, I guess there's not that much HR can say about it.

*** One of the attorneys, if you can picture it.

ouch

Um, yeah, we didn't go skiing on Sunday.  Mostly because we were both sore from Saturday's five hour excursion to Brighton - my shins had bruises from their first day back in ski boots; and H's calves were in knots - but also because there wasn't any new snow.  If we'd gotten snow overnight we totally would have battled through the pain (that's what Advil was made for!).  Good news, though: there's a storm a-comin' which should mean brand new white stuff for Christmas!

first day on the hill

Or, rather, in the canyon: Big Cottonwood Canyon, to be precise; and skiing at Brighton today to be even more precise.  We picked Brighton out of the plethora of available ski mountains because (1) I've been slightly intimidated to ski out here and Brighton seemed the least intimidating of the bunch and (2) Brighton got the most snow in our last storm.  [Note: why is frickin' Virginia/Maryland/surrounds getting so much snow?  We want it here!] 

So up we got and off we went to ski, leaving our apartment at a little before 8:00 - the lifts open at 9:00 a.m. out here - and pulling into the front row of the parking lot at about 8:25 a.m.  Front row.  We bought our $58 day tickets and put our boots on in the locker room; then, to save $1 for the locker, H ran our boot bags back out to the car.  Because we'd gotten a spot in the front row, you see.  Practically ski-in/ski-out.

Right at 9:00 a.m. we hopped on the lift, pretty much getting the first chair.  It hasn't snowed since last weekend so everything blue (intermediate) and green (beginner) was groomed; the black trails (expert) were not and although most of the fluffy powder was skied out, since THERE IS NO ICE OUT HERE, the bumps, while solid, were not bullet-proof.  We tried to cover most of the mountain, riding all the lifts (except the baby beginner one) and sampling as many trails as we could. 

It's too bad there wasn't more snow because H was anxious to get off the groomers and into the trees.  One of the cool things about skiing out here is that you're not locked into the ski trails: pretty much anything within resort bounds is allowed and you can even go out of bounds as long as you read the "no ski patrol and no avalanche patrol" signs and realize you're skiing at your own risk.  H managed to ski in the bumps and off the trails enough that we were both a little sore by 2:00 p.m. when we called it a day.  I even did some bumps - on my first day out, thank you very much - not having to worry about any ice really does wonders for one's confidence.

Other interesting tidbits:  a Brighton employee read a guest the riot act for being rude to the parking attendants when they asked him to move his car; a lifty made a kid go to the back of the line when he tried to enter the lift via the ski school lane ... even though there was nobody in line; there are awesome views of the Heber valley (where Park City, etc., is) from the top of the lifts; we heard several avalanche guns going off; and I saw two dogs, one in the main lodge and an avalanche dog on top of the mountain, despite this being Big Cottonwood Canyon where dogs are not even allowed in cars (poor Becky).

We stopped in at the Porcupine (naturally) on our way out of the canyon and the bartender, rightly guessing we'd been skiing from our reddened faces and silly apres-ski hats, recommended that we give Solitude a try, saying that there are "no lift lines ever at Solitude."  Since we didn't think there were any lines to speak of at Brighton (or at least not compared to weekends back east), we thought this sounded good.  We're not sure we'll go tomorrow - we'd like to because skiing is better than not skiing, but there isn't any snow in tonight's forecast and it's tough to face paying for a lift ticket if the snow isn't going to be any better than it was today.  Please let me reiterate, however, that the snow was quite good, with NO ICE WHATSOEVER, and not even getting skied off by the afternoon.  But we're fully committed to being Utahns and that includes being snow-snobs.  So we'll see.  Of course, if we can't stand not skiing tomorrow, you'll read all about it here.

before sundance

The Sundance Film Festival in Park City is sort of dominating the arts and entertainment news out here right now, but some folks would like the world to remember that there was a time - and movies - Before Sundance.  Like, for instance, this fantastic, long-lost classic film, "The Giant Brine Shrimp" by Mike Cassidy (1976) in which a giant brine shrimp attacks Salt Lake City.  It's awesome.  At about 18 minutes long (posted in three parts), it combines stop-motion animation, stock footage and live action, and is a must-see for anyone who is a fan of old monster flicks and/or poking fun at Utah (especially part 3 which is just hilarious).  I also found it extremely interesting to see footage of Salt Lake City before the Olympics came: the landmarks are there in 1976, but the infrastructure hasn't been built yet.

Thanks to the Movie Cricket blog at the Trib for the link.