Winter's Back

It’s finally starting to feel like winter at Alta. The cold has settled in, the air has that sharp, clean bite, and the mountain is slowly beginning to wake up. While it’s still far from being fully filled in, with plenty of terrain waiting patiently for a deeper snowpack, the improvement is noticeable and encouraging. Each storm is adding another layer of promise. Today brought some exciting progress with the opening of Tower 10 and Baldy Shoulder, and both delivered some surprisingly good turns. There’s definitely still a firm, icy layer lurking beneath the surface, a reminder that winter is just getting started. Most of the time it’s manageable, but on traverses it can make its presence known, threatening to slide you off line if you’re not paying attention. Still, none of that takes away from the experience. It was a cold, bluebird day in the mountains, the kind that makes you forget about coverage and focus instead on the feeling of being out there, carving turns, and watching Alta inch closer to its mid-winter form.