bettering the snowpack

 Now that the Christmas/New Year tourists have gone home, we've gotten a couple of nice little storms in the mountains.  Not overproducers by any means, but enough to grant some soft turns and some stuffed canyons.  Case in point: it started snowing Friday night so it was standing room only for H on the Saturday 6:30 a.m. bus.  Roads were fair, and he got to Goldminer's Daughter in about an hour.  It snowed all day, cold, with poor visibility, but with 16" in twelve hours, the skiing was about the best it has been so far this season.  

Starting to stack up over the lodge entrance

He was at the bus stop for the 2:09 p.m. bus, which didn't arrive until 2:35.  Then they couldn't get back out of Alta because there was a car stuck at the top of the driveway, blocking traffic.  Then the bus got a little stuck.  Then they got diverted to the bypass road (which is protected from avalanches, unlike the main canyon road).  Because of the red snake, it took them 1.5 hours to go less than a mile on the bypass road.  They got to Snowbird Center at 5:17, which filled the remaining space on the bus (too bad for Creekside hopeful bus riders).  The lower they went in the canyon, the clearer the roads were and they got to the mouth of the canyon at 5:54 p.m.  Another day, declared H, upon his return home nearly twelve hours after he left, that I wouldn't have enjoyed skiing.

I did enjoy my day, though.  Milton and I slept in until 7:15, did about four miles through Dimple Dell, where we saw a hawk, three fat bikes, one cross-country skier and one of M's dog friends, Aya, a Norwegian elkhound who is about the cutest and sweetest dog I've ever met.  In addition to that, I made two soups (lentil, for the freezer, and avgolemono for dinner), InstantPot black beans (for the freezer), a batch of brownies, a peach crumble (using summer CSA peaches) and roasted and mashed a squash for the dog.

stayathome

After a week of gloomy, unsettled but ultimately unproductive weather, Northern Utah got a decent storm system starting late Friday night.  This was ideal for those of us (read: me) who didn't want to drive in it.  We got several inches in the valley and Alta got 21" by the time it was over - enough to make an absolute mess of the canyon roads with avalanches both natural and mitigative, leading to road closures and nightmare traffic with plenty of doofuses sliding off.  H dithered back and forth about whether battling the bus crowds and hours-long commutes would be worth it for some decent turns.  Ultimately, he decided he just couldn't face the hassle and opted for a stay-at-home weekend.

Gray day

Saturday morning, Milton and I ventured out into the snow for a 3.2 mile walk.  We'd gotten maybe a couple of wet, heavy inches at the point, enough for neighborhood kids to grab their sleds and their helmets (kids wear helmets sledding now - good idea!) for the small, neighborhood park hills.  Other than that, not too many people were out and about.  Milt got pretty wet but it wasn't too cold, and we kept moving, so he didn't get chilled; he always enjoys a brisk towel-off when we get home. That afternoon I made chocolate chip cookies and a wholegrain soda bread with raisins, plus a tomato-chickpea stew for dinner.  It was definitely a baking and soup kind of day.  H did have to shovel our sidewalks, confirming the wet, heavy inches we'd gotten.

No coyotes here!

By Sunday morning, the storm had moved on, leaving the sun to valiantly try to break through the remaining clouds.  Leaving H back at the house to work on his bike ride tracking spreadsheet, Milton and I set out for a Dimple Dell loop.  The streets were clear and drying but the sidewalks were a mixed bag, depending on what time folks had managed to get out to shovel (or not).  We had just started into Dimple Dell from Granite Park when I saw a large, off-leash dog trotting along the trail ahead of us.  Wait, no, that's a regular sized coyote - who disappeared into the scrub oaks at the bottom of a hill.  I decided that we should not ourselves venture into those scrub oaks and we hied it out of there, completing our loop on sidewalks instead.  We did still clock five miles.  The rest of the day was pretty lazy.  H made us homefried potatoes with peppers and onions for lunch; I made a coconut-turmeric cake and also some vegetable noodle soup for dinner.   We often feel guilty when we're not Out Doing Things on the weekends but sometimes it's okay to rest.  Sometimes you need it.

the week in skiing (3)

 Monday H was back on the full early bus, scoring a seat this time.  It was cold, windy, snowing a bit off and on with subpar visibility.  Again, there were delayed lift openings as ski patrol worked to clear potential avalanches (the avalanche danger is very high along the Wasatch Front right now, with the wind-driven new snow unstable on top of the old base layer).  Again, it was really busy with all the holiday tourists.  H took the 2:09 bus down but the drive was snow-covered and quite slow: it took them almost an hour to get to the mouth of the canyon.

Meanwhile: A went back to work.

Last run of the day

On New Year's Eve day, the storm system had moved on, leaving bright blue skies and bitter cold in its wake, or as H texted me, "Mostly sunny and cold AF."  More specifically, the thermometer at the bottom of the Supreme chair was at 0F for most of the day - brutal.  On the plus side, the visibility was quite good and it didn't seem quite as crowded, seeing how most people spent a lot of time in the lodges, trying to warm up.  H took the 2:09 bus down (much faster trip with clear roads) and at 4 p.m., he reported his toes still being numb.

Meanwhile: A went to work.

That just looks cold

And on the first day of the new year, and the last day before H had to go back to work, it was back to being cloudy and windy with really flat light.  Not quite as cold as Tuesday, but with no help from the sun.  He noticed that it did seem less crowded: all this past week, the lodge's cafeteria area had been filling up by 7:30 a.m., but not so much so on 1/1/25.  When he got home, he declared that of the now thirteen days he's skied, A would have enjoyed none of them.

Moody Superior across the parking lot

Meanwhile: A didn't have to go to work, so she and Milton did a 3.25 mile walk, vacuumed, took down Christmas and made black eyed peas, collard greens and cornbread for dinner.

the week in skiing (2)

 And then the Christmas vacationers arrived in-force.  At 6:30 a.m. on Saturday morning, H scored one of the last seats on the then-SRO bus up to Alta.  They got to Goldminer's Daughter/Wildcat Base area at 7:25, where it was snowing hard; by 9:45, the lifts still weren't open (usually 9:15).  The winds had loaded up the snow requiring widespread avalanche control, which meant delays in opening.  Plus all the vacationers meant massive lines.  By 11:10, only Collins and Wildcat lifts were open and H had only managed to take ONE run.  In the clouds and the wind and on the hard snow, and on only one trail (Mambo).  So he cut his losses, jumping on the 11:39 a.m. bus.  He wasn't the only one calling it quits: he said the locker room was full of locals/regulars packing up and heading out.

Meanwhile, A walked twice with Milton, did some take-home work, food-prepped for Sunday and made vegetable broth, green-chile stew and chocolate cupcakes with peanut butter frosting.

Look at the lines.  Jeez.

There was some new snow overnight and H's early bus was completely full, SRO, when he got on.  "Dang tourists," was his text to me.  People were out in line early over an hour before the lifts opened.  Still, the lines got super long at Collins - it was almost before they got Sugarloaf open and 1 p.m. for Supreme - and by 10:30, he'd only managed two runs.  He fought through it, battling the lines and the hard, wind-packed snow, until the 2:39 p.m. bus.  He was rather hungry by the time he got home.  The afternoon's quote: "Of the ten days I've skied so far this season, you would have liked none of them."

Date-walnut

Meanwhile, A did a long walk with Milton, finished her take-home work, made a date-walnut loaf cake  (a little overbaked but yummy when you get a date) and finished the vegan lentil-veg Wellington for dinner (time-consuming but not difficult, and pretty tasty).  

Vegan Wellington

the week in skiing (1)

As he usually does, H takes the week between Christmas and New Year's off to go skiing.  On Boxing Day (12/26), he hopped on the early bus (6:30 a.m., which is not actually the earliest bus, if you can imagine) and went on up to Alta.  The bus was not full.  It was snowing hard when he arrived at Wildcat Base/Goldminer's Daughter Lodge but it tapered off by the time the lifts started turning and was just windy.  And flat light.  The snow was not great, as the first decent storm system had not yet arrived in the Wasatch Front, and there was a definite uptick in "doofuses" a/k/a Christmas week tourists.  Alta finally has the Supreme lift open and he did a couple of runs there but the conditions are thin at best.

Meanwhile: A went to work.

That is some FLAT light

On Friday (12/27), H was back on the fullish early bus.  It snowed all day at Alta, but the snow was variable - sleet-y, graupel, big wet flakes).  It was windy on the Sugarloaf lift, which meant the Supreme lift got busy, despite the thin cover there.  He noticed lots more tourists - folks must have been traveling on Thursday.  H got two mustache compliments and a third guy admiringly commented on his [very] old school Columbia parka.  He left a little early, catching the 1:09 bus down canyon, and there was only one seat left; he figured folks were hoping to avoid the red snake of stopped down canyon traffic later.  The roads were well covered with snow and slush to Tanner's Flat, and then wet but clear from then on.

Meanwhile: A went to work.

Yay snow (but ugh visibility)

christmas in the desert (2)

It was absolutely gorgeous Monday morning (not least because we weren't at work).  Once it warmed up, Milton and I prevailed upon H to do a short hike with us.  We drove north out of town, then parked in the large-ish lot between the highway and the bike path before you get to Moab Brand Trails.  This is where the MTB trail Killer B can be accessed.  

Heading up Killer B

Longbranch

We went up Killer B (very steep switchbacks or an alternate hiking trail) to Longbranch (I really liked this stretch with its varied terrain) to a short stretch of Deadman's Ridge, which dropped quickly to the paved bike path.  We walked down the paved path - keeping an eye out for descending cyclists (of which there were none) - and then jumped on a short portion of Sidewinder, then finished up our loop on the paved path.  We had never done any of Longbranch, Deadman's Ridge or Sidewinder before so it was good to tick some of those off; we just need to finish the other bits of DMR and SW to have done all the trails at Moab Brand Trails, either on foot or on MTB.  (Distance: 4.11 miles)

Teeny arch at the Long Branch

and Deadman's Ridge intersection

It was a little cloudier Christmas Eve day.  H wanted to trail run and Milton, refusing to admit to any cumulative fatigue, wanted to go with him.  We all three went up to Sandflats Recreation Area where we had to share the Slickrock parking lot with all of four other vehicles - and only saw one dirtbiker while we were out on the actual trail.  H and Milt did a five mile run while A did an hour's hike, out just past the Abyss overlook and back.  (A also gashed her finger on a port-o-potty slide bolt and WOW let me tell you that it stung to rub hand sanitizer into it.)

At the Abyss overlook

We swung by Josie Wyatt's for a couple of $2 PBRs (Woody's being closed Xmas Eve and Xmas Day) and then that was about the end of it.  In the morning, we called our families to wish them merry things, did a 3.1 mile town walk, cleaned the house and then headed north to SLC.  There was weather due to come in but we avoided it and, being Christmas, the traffic was really quite light for the drive.  

Comin' in hot

It was about as un-Christmas-y as you could possibly get, with low key trail time, beers with friends and lots of crossword puzzles and reading.  But it was also relaxing and quiet and pressure-free - which is the greatest gift of all.

christmas in the desert (1)

 As everyone knows, Christmas was on a Wednesday in 2024.  Which is a silly day to have a holiday because it is very difficult to make a long weekend out of it.  We managed, however, with some creative work hours for A later in the week, and were back in Moab from December 20-25.  We drove down Friday morning, waiting for the sun to come up and the mule deer to clear out of the roadside in Spanish Fork Canyon.  Although it was a little weather-ish in northern Utah, it was clearing and pretty dang nice in Moab.

Cutie little dinosaur in town

Once we got unpacked, Milton and H got on Pipe Dream for a four mile trail run, which A did an hour-long town walk to finish up some errands plus get some exercise in.  That evening, we three went next door to our neighor's for solstice soup (and beers) with friends.  

That's a view

After it warmed up a bit Saturday morning, H did another Pipe Dream trail run (five miles).  A and Milton joined our neighbor and her dog for a hike out at Mill Canyon.  We drove out the Mill Canyon road towards Tushar Tunnel a little ways, then parked and tromped around on old 4x4 roads looking for views.  We found them, along with range cows, a big ol' jackrabbit that the dogs chased and a whole bunch of porcupine tracks - that the dogs fortuntely had no interest in.  We were both surprised that porcupines might be out there in the desert with nothing but twisted juniper trees, but later learned that those critters are indeed found throughout the state.  Who knew?!

Sunday was a little overcast, so H, A and Milton just went back to Pipe Dream: H and M did a six mile run and A did a 4+ mile walk.  We end up at Pipe Dream a lot in the winter but sometimes we just don't want to drive to a trailhead.

whither weather

Slow start to winter in northern Utah, looks like.  I hope all the Christmas vacationers have brought their rock skis.  Here's the weather forecast up to Xmas Eve:

H was saying that the conditions haven't been horrific because there haven't been many people skiing on the reduced available terrain.  It will be much worse when all the tourists come and there's double+ the number of people on that same reduced terrain.  Maybe Santa will bring some snow for the good little girls and boys.

auld lang syne

 Even though "winter" has "begun," the snow is pretty sparse around here.  And folks (skiers, people who use water) are nervous about it.  The horrific inversion/air pollution moved out finally, thank goodness, but the snowstorms are still underdelivering.  Friday brought 9-12" inches, and another 5ish over the weekend, bringing Alta's YTD total to 105" with a 38" base depth.  That's still not nearly enough.  Alta is really rocky.

So, Saturday, H took the early bus up - not crowded, mostly employees - and hung out with the locker room regulars until the lifts opened.  It was cold and windy and lightly snowing all day.  The Supreme lift is still not open and it is still considered "early season" conditions.

Meanwhile, A and M did a 5k morning walk, and then hung around the house doing chores and awaiting the arrival of A's college roommate, Jennie, her husband Josh (both in town from Boulder, CO) and their oldest son, W, who has scored a liftie job at Alta for the season.  W was an A-Basin liftie last year and Alta has been on his liist of Places to Ski and Work.  The gang showed up late morning, did some car rearranging, and then headed off again for a quick lunch and to drop W at Alta.  Later, they reported three cars off the canyon road on the way up.  The snow had stopped by the time they were done getting W settled in.

Small storm situation

Milton was once again perplexed at having overnight guests, keeping a watchful eye on us all from his crate.  But it was really, really nice to catch up with Jennie and Josh - I saw her about five years ago but I haven't seen him since their wedding - and to hear about their lives.  They are skiers and hikers and bikers too, so we picked up some inside information on some good potential future trips.

H took off early Sunday to catch the ski bus; Jennie and Josh dropped W's car at the longterm ski area employee lot and Ubered to the airport.  That left A and Milton to do a Dimple Dell walk, get caught up on laundry, bake dark chocolate oat scones and make a red curry noodle soup for dinner.  When H got home, he was chilled: although the sun had come out late morning in the valley, it stayed socked in (terrible visibility) and cold (but not as cold as Saturday) up at Alta - the problem was standing in the lift line for an additional 20+ minutes for an undisclosed late-opening reason, and he never got warm again.  Back at home, he said that of the six ski days he's had so far, I wouldn't have liked any of them.  So I guess that's some justification for not getting a ski pass, at least for now.

the same only different

 Sunday morning didn't bring any new snow but some weather vagary had scoured the air pollution out of the valley for the morning, which was really, really nice.  Milton and I did a slightly longer walk, with some off-leash zoomies in an elementary school playground.  When we got home, I was a little at a loss as to what to do with myself, what with the clean house and the up Christmas tree.  I soon made myself a list and started checking things off: more laundry; baking dog cookies; roasting a butternut squash (a CSA holdover); starting a Liqueur 44 infusion; finishing holiday cards; dehydrating unused fresh rosemary and thyme (leftover from the savory bread pudding); and making leek and potato soup for dinner.

Meanwhile, H took his first ski bus ride of the year to Alta.  It was not crowded.  The snow conditions were unchanged from Saturday, but weather-wise it was cloudier, windier and colder.  My goodness we need snow.  And there is just nothing in the foreseeable forecast.  I hope it's not going to be another one of those years.

All the other lifts are open though