opening to closing

I didn't go skiing on Sunday, sending H on up by himself.  He doesn't mind skiing alone and on this day, he definitely didn't mind as conditions were fantastic.  It snowed for most of the day and he got soaked, but it was worth it.  Alta ended up getting nearly a foot out of this latest storm, bringing the base depth to 156" and a to-date season snowfall of 516".  There's a lot of snow up there!  There were a fair number of people up there too: H only got two runs in during the first hour.  After that, the crowds started to spread out, however, and since he didn't have to wait for me, he just did lap after lap after lap.

 The shed from our last post: almost completely buried now

At lunch he texted me: "Awesome conditions."  The snow was heavy, being springtime, and things got bumped up big time.  Most of the slide-prone areas (like Rock N' Roll) were closed but there was still plenty of good skiing to be had.  H spent some time in Catherine's Area, in the steep trees bordering Supreme Bowl.  We often find good snow in there and today was no exception.

You can't tell but this is really steep.  

You can tell, however, that it's really full of snow.

He skied until final chair, texting me at 4:45 p.m.: "Done.  Toast."  He caught a quick (33 minutes!) bus down.  I managed to get a recap of his day and then to stuff some dinner in him before he stumbled off to bed.  He skied hard, from opening to closing, with hardly any breaks - not something that he does often.  Sometimes the snow is just that good that it's worth it.  Sunday was that kind of day.

variety

Each morning before skiing I ask H for the Alta forecast and plan my layers accordingly.  Over the years I've gotten enough data to pretty well know what to where for what conditions.  The system isn't perfect.  Sometimes there are disconnects - like this past Saturday.  H told me low to mid-30s, cloudy, with a trace to two inches of new snow.  I took that to mean flurries and so when we got up to Alta and it was snowing like crazy - and wet snow, because the temperatures were pretty warm - I resigned myself to a wet and miserable day.  Luckily the snow let up right when we headed to the first lift line and although it would remain cloudy with occasional snow throughout the day, it wasn't that wet and it certainly wasn't miserable.

The mountain had gotten some new snow overnight too, just enough to get the groomers (which had been groomed before the snowfall) bumped up.  The new snow was fairly creamy to ski on when not bumped up, although some high traffic areas did get skied off and it was a bit crusty underneath.  H and I skied together on Collins for about five runs, including a great little turn through the Ballroom.  Only a few people had been in there ahead of us and it was one of the better Ballroom runs I've ever had.  Around 11 a.m., I shifted over to the Sugarloaf chair; H stayed on the front side, finding nice lines through various stands of trees, until we met back up at Alf's for lunch.

This was the most blue sky we saw all day

The snow started back up again after lunch, but never with any real intensity - although the precipitation did run the gamut from big fluffy flakes to sleet to graupel from one run to the next.  We hung out on Supreme and even managed to ride the chair with Martha from Skier Services (who only has one month to go before she retires - congratulations!).  I quit on the early side with my out-of-shape legs, catching the 2:30 p.m. bus down, while H stayed out a little longer and raced for the 4:15 bus.  The visibility wasn't that great - certainly nothing like last weekend's sunshine - but the snow was good, the temperatures pleasant and the whole day turned out much better than I had anticipated.

that's two sunny days in a row - what?

In a shocking turn of events*, Sunday was as sunny and gorgeous as Saturday had been.  We went up to Alta to take advantage and it was more of the same: frozen up in the morning and getting softer as the day wore on.  There seemed to be fewer people too, so that was just delightful.

They opened Sugar Shoulder (the tracked-out portion above 

the Devil's Castle traverse) for the first time in years - 

we've never seen it open since we've been here

We skied Collins and Sugarloaf in the morning and then Supreme after lunch.  In a smart move, the groomers had flattened Challenger out overnight.  It actually skied quite well in the afternoon as it got softer.  I liked it so much that I even skied it twice voluntarily; I was skiing better on Sunday too for some reason.

That is the roof of a shed

We headed down canyon on the 3:15 p.m. bus.  When we got home, we saw some neighbors out enjoying the sunshine so we grabbed the dog and some beers and joined them for a bit.  Milton got to meet both neighbor people and neighbor dogs, which he really enjoyed, and we got to say hi to folks whom we hadn't seen all winter.  Hooray for spring!

*  No, it was actually forecasted to be clear, warm and sunny.  It's just that we've so rarely seen the sun this winter that two days in a row was like a miracle or something.

walking on sunshine

Finally - FINALLY - we got a bluebird day up at Alta.  We're pretty sure it's been since December that we've truly seen the sun whilst skiing; the storms have been wonderful for the snowpack but I really do ski better when I can see what I'm on.  Well, usually I can: this Saturday was certainly bright and clear enough but I was skiing like my legs were on backwards.  Oh well.  It didn't matter.  The sun was out, the skies were deep blue and cloudless and there was a touch of spring skiing in the air.  Whee!!!

Coming down Chartreuse/Nose area

The bus going up was medium busy, and the lift lines were full right at the start, but as the day wore on, the lines got shorter and shorter.  The snow was pretty firm to start - in March, things still freeze right up overnight - and we did five or so runs on the front side where the groomers were fine but off-piste was stiff.  We then moved over to Sugarloaf to look for soft bumps.  It was still too early in the day for that - the bumps on Chartreuse were huge but not at all soft.  We also tried going in the gates below Razorback but it was stiff in there too.  This is what happens during spring skiing: the hunt for the perfect run when the snow has softened but isn't sticky and slushy yet.

Looking up at East Castle

After lunch (where it was easy to find a table since so many people opted to sit outside), we stuck to Supreme.  Challenger was terrible, with big, hard bumps and scraped-off hardpack in between.  But other trails were starting to soften, depending on if they were south- or west-facing.  My out-of-shape legs cried uncle at 2:15.  H did another couple of runs on his own and we took the 3:15 bus down together.  Warm temperatures, bright sun and not so much with the hordes?  Fun day!

spring-adjacent in moab

Part of the reason our ski days have been so low this year is because we've been trying to get to Moab on a regular basis.  We've always wanted to see what it was like in the winter - during the "off-season" of November through February.  To be honest, though, this year Moab's winter has been an awful lot like northern Utah's winter: cold and wet.  We haven't even managed to time it well enough to see the glorious red rock and white snow in the sunshine scenery in person; it has pretty much been overcast and/or actively precipitating each time.

Sign at Slickrock Trailhead gives 

quickest route to the hospital lol

The wet weather has of course curtailed our outdoor exploration a bit.  Arches NP and Canyonlands NP have had to close a lot due to heavy snow and treacherous roads; even when they've been open, many of their trails have been closed because of icy conditions.

H and M out on the Slickrock Practice Loop

This last trip down, we felt like we were getting closer to springtime in the desert.  We left SLC just before 3 p.m. on Friday, skipping out ahead of some weather and getting over Soldier Summit without incident.  (Both H and I had been obsessively refreshing UDOT's traffic cams on the Spanish Fork - Soldier Summit - Price corridor all day.)

Looking down Grandstaff Canyon from the Practice Loop

We made it down fine and even made good enough time to have a couple of beers at the Moab Brewery before dinner.  After our recent winter forays, we were a little surprised at the bar tab until the bartender told us that the winter prices ($2.75/pint) had just ended the night before.  No doubt timed to coincide with Moab Thaw, tourist season prices ($5/pint) were now in effect.

Sneaking a photo of M enjoying the view

On Saturday, we took advantage of a break in the clouds to head up to the Sand Flats Recreation Area.  We bought a season pass (a bargain at $25) and headed out onto the Slickrock Trail's Practice Loop.  We were out for about 1.5 hours and saw only a few people: some dirt bikers, some MTBers and a few jeeps out in the distance.  The temperatures were in the low 50s, which was actually pretty pleasant as long as the wind didn't pick up.  M seemed to enjoy the hike, especially when a little squirrel ran across the rock ahead of us.  Exciting!

Colorado River from Moab Stairmaster trail

Sunday was supposed to be cloudier than Saturday (scarcely possible) but in the middle of the day, it was actually warmer and slightly sunny.  H and I drove down the Kane Creek Road to the Moab Rim Trail parking area.  We haven't done this trail since 2015 and were just out for some exercise.  We went up the hiking-only Stairmaster trail (looker's right on the way up), which definitely earns its name.  We didn't see anyone until we got to the top, and then only two MTBers and a trail runner on their way down.

Snow-covered LaSals across the Moab valley

We spent some time admiring the view of the Moab valley beneath us, trying to pick out town landmarks, then went back down via the jeep trail, which I still can't believe vehicles can go up - and I've seen them do it!  We had a couple of beers in the mostly empty parking lot, then headed out to collect M.  The clouds grew thicker and we drove through just a few flurries near Soldier Summit on the way home.  Surely the next time we go to Moab the sun will come out - and when it does, I think the desert will explode into spring flowers what with all the moisture this winter.  Hope we're there to see it.

state of the snowpack

We were in Moab this past weekend and I had hoped to post about that today.  I'm having a little difficulty downloading the photos, however, so we will have to make do with this quickie post about the excellent state of Utah's current snowpack.

As Evan Thayer from Wasatch Snow Forecast/Open Snow Utah* so eloquently states: "It's amazing!"  If it doesn't snow again - and that's not likely to happen with this winter (as it's currently snowing right this very minute) - we are still above average.  We are nearly DOUBLE our snowpack from last year.  That's great for the skiing and it's great for our water supply.

*  If you ski in this area and you're not following Evan, you're making a mistake.  He is so accurate, it's uncanny.

world telemark day 2019

Despite my longing for bluebird ski days, the snow just keeps on coming in northern Utah.  (Not really complaining - not really - because the water is so desperately needed.)  A storm moved into the area in time to drop a few inches of new snow for Saturday, and then ended up sticking around through the weekend.  We have been dragging our heels on storm days lately since the traffic in Little Cottonwood Canyon is just so bad; sloppy roads plus heavy traffic volume makes for really long rides home.  But Saturday was World Telemark Day and we couldn't miss that, even with poor H fighting a cold!  Alta had tents set up with free telemark demos and from what we could see, people were definitely taking advantage of that opportunity.  H decided to go old school with his gear, leaving the NTN set-up at home in favor of his traditional 75 mm. bindings.

The bus was pretty full for the ride up to Alta and Goldminer's Daughter was crowded when we got there.  I think a lot of the people there must have been tourists, however, because it cleared out a little before 9 a.m. - and locals know that the lifts don't start loading until 9:15 a.m.  The corral filled up and we waited until the line started moving before we went out into the lightly-falling snow.  It was in the 20s, warmer than it has been, and would warm up to the low 30s at the bases by midday.

I'm not going to lie: it was crowded.  Part of the problem was that the Supreme lift had a delayed opening and so everyone was thronging around Collins, Sugarloaf and Wildcat.  Part of it was the new snow too, which was soft and creamy on top, covering some harder, scratchy sections in high traffic areas.  It took H a couple of runs to remember how to ski on the 75 mm. bindings: the pivot point is in a different spot on the boot, plus you can drop your knee much lower.  By the end of his second run, I thought he looked great, though.

What wasn't so great (for me) was the very flat light.  That top layer of new snow quickly got scraped off and clumped up and with the diminished visibility I was a little timid.  After several runs on the Collins side, I said that I was going to try Sugarloaf.  We decided to meet up at the bottom of the Sugarloaf lift at noon.  As soon as I dropped onto the Sugarloaf side, however, I regretted it.  In addition to the flat light, there were clouds hovering low, making the visibility even worse.  I swung by the Supreme chair, which had just opened, and the lines were massive, as big as I have ever seen.  Discouraged, I stuck with the Sugarloaf singles line, which was moving quickly enough at least.

Old school, baby

At noon, H and I found each other and quickly agreed that we'd had enough for the day.  The visibility seemed to  be getting worse, as was his cold.  We caught a 1 p.m. bus down the canyon and hunkered down at home for the afternoon.  And outside, it just kept snowing.  (Not complaining.  Not really.)

requiem

We are gathered here today to say farewell to H's old ski gloves.  They have left us, not before their time, but long, long, long after their time.  He has had these gloves for more than twelve years - since before we moved to Utah - and they have been worked hard.  For the last couple of years, they've been more open holes and duct tape than actual material and so soft and broken down as to have little to no insulating properties left.  They were excellent conversation starters on chairlift rides, however.

He has actually had another pair of ski gloves sitting on the shelf for two or three years; that pair is a little too small, however, plus H didn't want to give up on the old ones while they were still useful (his words).

Me: [massive eyeroll]

The reason why we are now, finally, saying goodbye to these gloves is because the last time we were down in Moab, we stopped into Walkers hardware store and he bought a pair of Kinco gloves.  A lot of good skiers out here wear Kincos; H has been looking for some but hadn't found any in his size.  Now he has and now he can put the old gloves to rest.  (Or maybe keep them around just in case he needs snow-shoveling gloves.  You never know.)