Looking at the weather for the spring equinox weekend - warm-ish and dry on Saturday; stormy on Sunday - I switched up my routine and skied Saturday instead. My ski pants and storm coat are so old as to barely be wet weather resistant (even with waterproofing spray) and I just don't like skiing soggy. We had to stand on the bus ride up (there were seats in the back but it was just easier to stand) and it got busy by 10 a.m. We managed five runs on Supreme before any line showed up, but when we moved on to Sugarloaf, we went straight to the singles line. We rode singles at Collins too although for some reason the lines at Collins have - all year, really - moved faster than Sugarloaf. Go figure.
Knowing that he'd have some solo storm skiing on Sunday, H took his telemark gear on Saturday. Even though he hasn't done it too much lately due to extreme boot discomfort, he's still good enough that he is faster than me now. We spent some time in the Ballroom, working the bumps there: they weren't too big and were pretty soft and both of us needed the practice. We skied until our feet were numb and then caught the 1:29 bus down canyon. The small storm that we'd had midweek had softened things up somewhat and allowed Alta to get all their terrain open. By noon it was getting scratchy, though, and everyone was looking forward to Sunday's storm.
Milton and I did homebody stuff (met dogs on our walk, made soup and chocolate chip cookies and pickled red onions and homemade bread, put away a ridiculous amount of clean laundry, etc.) and H got on a standing room only bus for Alta. At the upper end of the bypass road, the bus (brand new) broke down, unable to get into gear coming around the corner. H volunteered to watch for traffic as the bus backed down and onto the shoulder. Then, he and a bunch of other folks just got off the bus and walked up to Alta. H took it one step further, walking along the tow rope up to the Albion lodge: he was pretty sweaty by the time he got there but at least he didn't have to pay $15 for a day locker.
It snowed the whole time he was up there, consistently although it hadn't stacked up too deep by the time he left, and enough to soak and freeze his outer layers. The snow had a high water content and clumped up quickly; H was able to ski through the bumps and clumps but if I'd gone, I would have been pinballing off them. There were lots fewer people due to the storm but a number of those there were impressed with the ice mask he was sporting. He again hopped on the 1:29 down bus and, despite some slush and a couple of slide-offs to work around, got home quite quickly. Typical Utah spring, swinging from 60 F to a big ol' snowstorm in less than 24 hours.
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