Last weekend was my 6th anniversary, so I arranged for a babysitter in the morning (takes some wrangling to get anyone to watch our 4 hooligans) so my wife and I could step into the Wasatch for a morning hike. The destination was Sunset Peak at the convergence of Big Cottonwood, Little Cottonwood and American Fork Canyons and an excellent vantage point to see the Wasatch and Uintah’s unfold before your eyes.

Starting at the Sunnyside parking lot in Albion Basin at Alta, the trail meanders to Catherine’s Pass and then catches the ridgeline to Sunset Peak. The entire trail is straightforward and well-marked without anything technical to speak of. The only caveats to that is a section of sand as you approach the ridgeline saddle just before Sunset Peak (not technical, just not much fun) and a few exposed areas as you approach the summit.

At a moderate pace, you can make it to the summit in only 1.5 hours. If you are toting kids or are faint of heart, you can enjoy the views from Catherine’s Pass and opt not to continue to Sunset Peak, however, the climb to Sunset doesn’t take long and is well worth it for not too much more effort.

From Catherine’s pass, the trail does take a turn for the steep as it takes no prisoners on its nearly-vertical path. At that point, my Merrell Outbound boots were a tad stiff and I wished I had something a little more flexible for this steep of terrain. However, it wasn’t that big of a deal. Overall, this trail is suitable for light hikers or trail runners if you’re not carrying much of a load.

Here are a handful of pictures of the hike up Sunset Peak:

Climbing Sunset Peak Details – From Sunnyside Lot at Alta, Utah

Distance: 2.25 miles
Vertical: 1,658 ft
Summit Elevation: 10,529 ft
Roundtrip Time: Approx. 3 hours at moderate pace
Water: Yes, small streams in Catherine’s Basin suitable for pumping water

Gathering for Christmas Eve was myself, Kendall Card and Brig Graff–the old posse. After loading up on egg nog (love that stuff!), muffins and cinnamon rolls, we had our choice of Bluehouse Skis for the day. Brig opted for the Mavens and I was on a 2009 Maven prototype that’s a little narrower at 117mm in the waist, full tip/tail rocker and just a titch of camber.

With new sticks in hand, we made a B-line to Collins and were immediately on the traverse into West Rustler. The traverse is always a hoot with chocolate-chip rocks and barely-covered rocks, but I thought the coverage seemed pretty solid for this early in the season.  Dropping into sloppy seconds, I was stoked to be riding such a killer ski for the conditions.  Intermittent untracked was met with smooth carves and high-speed arcs from top-to-bottom.

After one more lap on West Rustler, it was time to drop into Greely. A short hike to Gunsight revealed nearly-untracked turns from top-to-bottom. One of the most fun runs on the mountain, we were rewarded with grin-inducing knee-deep turns–making us feel like rockstars.

For a little change of scenery, we opted for the Sugarloaf lift to see what we could find. With no lift line whatsoever, we zipped to the top in no time. Near the top, we quickly realized why the thin crowds–the wind was nuking with flesh-freezing fury. Once down from the ridge, winds were calm and we tucked underneath the lift for excellent turns and fun rock drops. Wide skis make for pillow-soft landings and can carve through anything.

With the sketchy avalanche conditions right now in the Wasatch, Alta has been working extra-hard to ensure the safety of skiers. Some areas weren’t open and will only open once conditions are safe and all precautions are taken. Patient skiers will soon be rewarded to bottomless turns in Catherine’s, Ballroom, Devil’s Castle, but until then, there’s plenty of powder to be had elsewhere… you’ve just got to know your way around, but it’s there.

Here are the rest of the pics from the day:

More Info: Visit Alta.com

The resort will feature limited terrain off the Collins, Sunnyside and Sugarloaf lifts starting Saturday, November 15 as a weekend-only opening. The resort will open for the season (daily operation) on Friday, November 21 with more terrain and lifts opening based on conditions.

Looks like Turkey Day skiing will be a reality for Little Cottonwood… we’ll see how the rest of the resorts fare between now and Thanksgiving.

More Info: Visit Alta.com

After getting stood up by my backcountry ski partner on what could have been one of the coolest dawn patrols this year in Parleys Canyon (blower pow, setting moon, rising sun, super cold temps) I decided the man would have to wait another day so rather than turning for the office I headed over to Little Cottonwood Canyon at 6am, thinking I’d get in a lap on Flagstaff or Cardiff before skiing the lifts with some friends.

I rolled into the canyon to flashing message on the matrix board: “CANYON CLOSED – AVALANCHE CONTROL” After punching the steering wheel a number of times for the lack of luck that was my backcountry skiing partner who ditched me and now this, I pulled up 5th or 6th car back from the road block near the gate buttress pullout.

It was there, sitting in my car drifting in and out of sleep that I watched the sun come up. Oh it looked beautiful, don’t get me wrong, but there’s something wrong about catching the sunrise touching the peaks of the Wasatch while sitting in my car at the bottom of the canyon.

About an hour and 15 minutes later and I was on my way up the canyon. I called my buddy to tell him that I would just meet him at the lift line. It was a Snowbird bypass road day, seems that Superior had let loose from the avie control yet again.

As I’m driving by I’m taking snapshots from the car; the beauty is too good to not snap photos. I happened to catch a bit of slough coming off of the Hellgate cliffs that is along side the road from Snowbird to Alta.

As I got to the turnoff for the Alta – Wildcat lot and seeing that there are 3-4 cars in the lot I figured I’d drive up the road for a little sightseeing since it was still only 7:45 or so. That’s when I got this view:

and then this view:

I looked over at Alta and back at Flagstaff. That’s all it took. I was skinning. So I started off breaking trail up Flagstaff, knowing that I needed to get it quick before the sun heated things up too much for safety or comfort.

I was about a 1/3 of the way up when a guy caught me and gladly I let him take over trail breaking. We became acquainted and after a bit of skinning and chatting we decided to ski it together. We opted for the false summit take off as a way to test the slope and to get the pow before the sun did any damage. It was well worth the trail breaking.

The “plan” was that we’d ski down and I’d peal off for the resort, knowing I’d be skiing Alta by 9. But the pow was so buttery smooooooove that I needed one more lap. So we started up, this time knowing that if we made a dash for the top we may just get it before the sun did too much damage.

From the top views of the Wasatch Mountains were phenomenal. And the descent? The powder coming down was pretty schweet, although getting a bit damp on the surface.

It was worth the trip up for sure. I got back to the car, swapped out touring boots for alpine gear and I still scored some left over freshies at Alta despite the ridiculous lift lines. The Castle looked sicko but we were headed over to Rocky Point when the line of ants descended. People said it was as good as ever, which I’m sure it was. So was Flagstaff.

Let’s get it on!

ALTA – The thirst quencher of my Soul

Ahhhhhh, the age old argument of diehard, core LCC skiers – which is better? Alta or Snowbird. I am not going to get into an argument over which area is better; I am just going to tell you why I, a skier with a soul, like Alta better.

The snow quality is always better at Alta; partly due to the fact that no snowboarders are allowed and partly due to the fact that in any given year Alta gets at least 20% more snow than Snowbird. Plus, everyone knows that Ullr lives in the Castle. With all the snow that Alta does get, it sure is nice having a patrol that gets all, and I mean all, the goods open the first day after a storm breaks. So many days a year the ‘trollers will stay late the day before or show up extra early the day of to do control work so that the whole mountain is open for us Altaholics after a two foot dump. Another nice thing the patrol does after a big dump is rope off all the lower traverses and post signs telling people to sidestep to the highest traverse cut in order to preserve the powder skiing experience that is Alta. I dare any newbie to Alta to not obey these signs; ridicule and getting run off the mountain are sure to follow if these warnings are not obeyed.

A lot of these “traditions” were set forth long ago somewhere in Alta’s history; which is very deep and storied. For instance, Alta had the second chair lift in all of the United States. Ski jumping was brought to our great country here by the Engen brothers. Much of modern avalanche science was studied and developed here by pioneers like Monty Atwater and Ed LaChapelle. If it weren’t for Alta’s visionaries, there wouldn’t even be a Snowbird; Snowbird only exists because Alta was there first and one of it’s employees had been skiing in Peruvian Gulch and contacted Dick Bass with the idea for Snowbird.One of the more modern attributes of Alta that make it so great is the fact that their website is up to date every hour of every day; very nice to have when you want to check the snow stake from your home before heading up to see how much pow, pow has fallen or how fast it is falling. Another modern convenience is that the lifts, all the lifts, are open until 4:30 every day. Also, there is no jib scene here or “attitude” getting thrown around; it is all about skiing pow, pow here baby.

Just ask the “powder cults” that show up an hour before that chairs fire up on a pow day; “cults” like the mono-boarders, the senior citizens and the younger skiers that have figured it out due to wisdom beyond their age. Finally, Alta has always had some of the best backcountry access in the world; places like Wolverine Cirque, Mt. Tuscarora, Sunset Peak, The Gargoyles, etc, etc.

Beyond traditions and more modern conveniences, I believe what really underlies Alta is the commitment to the mountain and the “full” experience of it by everyone associated with it. Those that run Alta listen to the skiers and are not some money hungry (B)ass. Lift tickets are amongst the cheapest in the country every year and Alta is the only ski area in Utah that has made money every year. Alta has never hired employees only to turn around and lay them off two weeks later and then one week later, after the snow comes, expect those laid off employees to return. The patrol doesn’t care how fast or how big you go; as long as you are not endangering anybody but yourself – go for it – there is an unspoken trust there. Also, those that laid the mountain out, laid it out so you have to work a little for the best stuff; kind of nice to not have to worry about some tourist being in your way when you are going to rip the Backside in 4 turns. Which leads me to my last point; Alta has the most continuous fall-line skiing in all the Wasatch – no ski, traverse, ski, traverse thing going on here – just rip it to the bottom baby.

The above words come straight from a skier with a soul that is in love with Alta and everything about it; and like any love it requires constant attention – that, I am ever willing to give back to Alta – a place that has given so much to me. Alta – the thirst quencher of my soul!!

More Info: Alta.com

Let’s get it on!

Counterpoint: Alta is for Skiers

We live in the age of logic, when reason seems to drive our lives at faster and faster rates. Sometimes there’s a quiet satisfaction in experiencing the essence of things outside the rational realm.

There’s no doubt that a new fuel injected 300 hp Lexus can out perform a bug-eye sprite. Or that current ski technology simply blows away the days of leather boots and longthongs. But there is something special that is hard to measure in the old Healys and hickories.

Similarly, there is certainly something special to Alta.  Yes, the ‘bird is bigger, has more uphill capacity, has nearly ski through sushi. But amid the noise and hysteria, there’s a quality missing. Lest we go down the rat hole of motorcycle maintenance, let’s forgo trying to measure or define that phenom.

Alta has willingly chosen to manage itself the way it does. Slower, lower capacity lifts, minimal grooming, no advertising. And in so doing has sought to preserve something that possibly cannot stand up to the age of reason. It remains to be seen if the age of reason can stand up to itself.

So, if it’s possible to step back from the demiurge of didactics, from the raja of reason to that nebulous nabob of nurturing nature, I’ll take Alta.

Call it spiritual, call it religious, call it crazy, but there’s an experience at Alta that no amount of analytic exercise can quantify.  Hats off to the people who maintain the vision and the guts to preserve one of those things so quickly disappearing from la vie moderne, a quiet experience of quality skiing.

Alta is for skiers.

Counterpoint: Snowbird Has the Tram