opening days (anticipated)

On Saturday (11/11/23), H and I went up to Alta to pick up our 2023/2024 ski passes: full-on season pass for H, ten-pack for me.  It was a pretty day for the end-of-early November: partly cloudy, pretty clear air, temperatures ranging from high 30s to low 50s across northern Utah.  We drove up the canyon a little after 11:30 a.m.; the various climbing and hiking trailheads were busy with folks taking advantage of the mild winter.  As we went past Snowbird, we shook our heads - the snow is thin at best.  But when we turned into Wildcat base at Alta, we were surprised to see 100+ cars in the lot and all sorts of folks milling around, layering up and putting skins on their skis.  We went into Skier Services to pick up our passes, noting the ropes across the Collins lift area and the CLOSED signs.  Ten minutes later, as we walked out, the ropes and the sign were gone and backcountry skiers were skinning up Corkscrew.  

Twenty minutes later, as we were sitting at the bar at the Hog Wallow, toasting the impending start of the ski season, three 20-somethings wearing ski pants came in.  They'd been up at Solitude, which was open (!!), standing in line for 30 minutes to do one bunny-slope run.  "We ripped up that seven inches!" one girl laughed.  And so it begins.

Here are the purported opening dates per Ski Utah (subject to change, of course):