why, yes, another alta ski day

We were hoping that we would get more skiing in this Saturday than we did last Saturday, but just to be on the safe side, H took Friday off and spent the whole day at Alta on his tele skis.  When we got up to Wildcat base just after 9 a.m., therefore, his legs were already operating at a slight deficit: they weren't sore yet but he knew the fatigue would build quickly.  He's doing really well on the groomers but it is such harder work than regular alpine skiing that, even with his strong legs, he gets tired.

Free-the-heel Friday

The crowds weren't terrible: the lift lines weren't nearly as long as they have been the last few weeks, but it did seem as though there were a fair number of people out on the trails.  Lots of tourists too - I rode with folks from Atlanta, Philadelphia, Chicago, New Hampshire, Vermont and California.  Everyone seemed pretty happy with the conditions, despite being between storm systems; it was partly sunny but the snow warmed up pretty well, going from firm and a little crusty in the morning to corn-snow moguls and mashed potatoes by the time we were heading out.

Tuscarora, all in white

H and I skied together for a while first thing, then I moved over to Supreme, hoping I wouldn't have to do so much dodge-em over there.  I stuck to the groomers for the morning - you could hear the crusty scraping when skiers came out of Catherine's Area - but did a couple of runs into Catherine's after lunch.  I went all the way in to Last Chance and was surprised to find that the snow was really holding up well there; so few people had gone in there that I found a stash of fluffy, soft turns, plus had them all to myself.

Lots of selfies when you ski by yourself

The clouds, which had been flirting with moving for most of the day, finally settled in after 1:30 p.m., sending out light flurries and making the light very flat.  H's legs cried uncle at that point but I stuck it out, battling the bad visibility but enjoying the softening snow for another hour.  I could feel the thigh-burn on the last run, however, as I skied out, slightly regretting coming down through Corkscrew with its heavy, clumpy bumps.  The weather wasn't calling for much accumulation overnight so hopefully the groomers will smooth everything into shape for the next day.