Thus endeth the 2024/2025 ski season at Alta, on April 20th. H skied 32 days this season, his most in a few years. While an awful lot of the season was overcast, the sun came out for most of closing weekend. And with 534 inches on the season, including that last nine days before, the closing conditions were far better than usual for this late in April - still a 125 inch base!
The crowd from above
Closing Day at Alta has always been a big deal: folks partying in the Wildcat parking lot and then a huge group of locals doing their final run, after the last 4:30 chair of the season, down High Rustler. However, within the last five years, Closing Day has become a scene, wildly crowded and populated with people just there for the party, no doubt due to Instagram/TikTok. The locals are squeezed out yet again, with parking scarce and crowds galore.
Parking lot scene
H rode the 994 bus up (no longer the multi-run ski bus, just one trip up LCC at 7 a.m. and one down after 5 p.m.), catching it at the Historic Sandy station (first stop) to ensure that he got on. Traffic was heavy, with people pouring into the Wildcat lot; they were at a standstill while still in the midst of Snowbird entries. Eventually an Alta marshal drove down and escorted the bus up to Wildcat base, driving on the wrong side of the road. It was too crowded in the parking lot for the bus to go down and turn around, so the handful of riders, H included, got off at the top of the driveway and just walked down.
Protest on Saturday, party on Sunday
When H went out to get on the Collins lift at 9:15, there was no one in line. In fact, his first eight chairlift rides he didn't have to share with anyone. The snow was still really good and, because everyone was at the party, the slopes were largely skier-free. But then, when the breakfast partying was done, the hordes left the parking lot and converged on the lifts for some runs before the next round of partying.

Around 12:30, H decided that he'd had enough standing in line with the revelers and went down to clear his locker out. He wasn't alone: there were a number of locals whom he knew down there doing the same thing, and every one of them was grumbling about the fact that they couldn't stand all the people just here for the scene. I mean, I love a good parking lot tailgate as much as anyone (more than most, probably). But when the party becomes more important than the skiing, the priorities have shifted and the locals, the folks who have been there all year, in all the weather, are not a priority. It's disappointing but not surprising.
Instead of driving, bicycle to Alta
Grumbling aside, H grabbed a couple of PBRs and cruised the parking lot for a bit, talking to folks, appreciating the variety of grilled foods being made and consumed and checking out the costumes. There is quite a lot of creativity out there, although it was chilly enough that there weren't as many girls in bikinis as usual.
Locker cleaned out for another summer
At 1:20, he called to ask for a ride; I got stuck in traffic (more people trying to get to the party) but managed to scoop him up around 2, and we were back home by 2:30. Not a bad last day, all things considered, even with the crowds.