Photo Memory - Second ski trip to Utah

On my third trip to ski in the West in 1989, we decided to go back to Utah again. The first time we stayed in Park City and that was great, but I had read about this place called Alta and I knew I wanted to go there. Again, we flew into Salt Lake City and rented cars. A short drive south and then a left turn into the mountains, about 30 miles. We drove up Little Cottonwood Canyon and at the end was the ski area called Alta.  We had rented a condo there and we had the same seven people as 1988: Me, my brother Tom, coworkers Ron, Gaylen, Cricket,  & Tod and our skiing buddy Jim Roskind. Tod took this picture of us standing in front of Mount Baldy, a 11,068 foot peak of the Wasatch Mountains, in what started out as a cloudy Utah.

Tom, Cricket, Jim, Gaylen, BJ, Ron in front of Mount Baldy

But clouds meant storms and storms meant new snow.  Alta averages 514 inches of snow each year...using higher mathematics, that is 42.83 feet. I would hate to live there and have to shovel my driveway. That is a lot of snow to move.

Another interesting fact about Alta back then was it did not allow snowboarders. I just read online that it still does not allow snowboards, one of only three ski areas in the USA that has the restriction.  The other two are Deer Valley in Utah and Mad River Glen in Vermont.

BJ looking down Little Cottonwood Canyon in Alta Utah

Being Vermont born, I thought that blue jeans were ski pants.  That slippery, shiny stuff people wear seemed like it just makes you slide farther when you fall. As you can see in the next photo, it looks like I used my pants (and butt) to stop quickly. Of course 27 years later, I remember the snow being so deep that it was clinging to me as I skied through it. BJ doesn't fall.

Cricket, Gaylen & BJ stopped near the base of Alta Utah

One thing about Alta, it did not have all those fancy new detachable quad chairs and ski trams and gondolas. They had mostly two seat chairlifts with no safety bars. Truly for the die-hard skier which we were becoming.

Cricket & Tod on the chairlift at Alta Utah

The first picture had Mount Baldy. One of the cool runs at Alta is to transverse over to the bowl just below the peak and ski fresh tracks when there is new snow. The following picture is of me doing my best interpretation of a skier. Remember, this is champagne powder which is very light and dry, easy to ski even when there is a foot or more.

BJ making tracks on Mount Baldy in Alta Utah

Most of our group is still up the hill. You can see that my brother Tom is at the highest point, more snow up there. Cricket is in yellow with Ron and Jim on her left....New snow is the best!

And then it cleared up and stopped snowing. Just down the Canyon road is another ski area called Snowbird.  It is much bigger than Alta and much more commercial.  From my understanding, Alta is where the locals ski and that is why they do not have the fancy equipment. Snowbird is for the tourists and has a tram that takes you to the top of the world!

Tom & BJ at the top of the tram at Snowbird Ski Area

The view is looking West.  behind Tom is the Salt Lake City plain. Just North is the Great Salt Lake. The mountain we are on is called Hidden Peak and it is 11,000 feet exactly.  Snowbird gets 500 inches of snow a year on average. The record year is 783 inches in 2011, that is over 65 feet of snow. If you want snow, may I suggest Utah.

Ron, Cricket, BJ & Jim at the ski patrol shack at the top of the Snowbird Tram

Of course, if you are at the top, you have to ski down. There are multiple choices and I choose to head down the Tram. A quick look at the map showed it was all double black diamond if I were to continue that way so we turned right this trip down.

BJ skiing below the Tram at Snowbird Utah

We found more bowls with snow. Tom in one of the many bowls....

Tom carving through the snow in Peruvian Gulch at Snowbird Utah

Cricket enjoys the snow and sun!

Cricket skiing at Snowbird Utah

I had mentioned that we were at the top of the Tram.  here is a photo of the Tram at Snowbird. I do remember that this was my first Tram ride ever. You kind of feel like cattle as you carry your skis into a box that holds 100-120 people. It can be claustrophobic and people have been known to pass out. The ride is 8 minutes through 2900 vertical feet ending at Hidden Peak (11,000 ft).

Snowbird Tram

The nice thing about Snowbird is that it is very big. It is bigger now than when we went, now it has 2500 skiable acres.  Here is some of the crew waiting for the next adventure.

Tom, Ron, BJ & Jim wait; Tram tower is on left of photo.

I also remember that great skiing would make me very happy.  Tell me if you think the skiing was great...

BJ taking a break at Snowbird Utah

Snowbird, as I mentioned, is more resorty than Alta.  The next photo is of me and Ron riding the chair (notice that they do have safety bars here).  The big building at the base is called the Cliff Lodge.  It has rooms for rent plus restaurants and bars. As I mentioned about Park City, drinking was very restrictive back in 1989. We really did not care because we were there to ski.

Ron & BJ riding chairlift with Cliff Lodge on right

The next picture is one of my favorites.  Jim, myself, Cricket and Tom are standing near an avalanche zone (see sign on right) with Little Cloud Bowl behind us. The top of the tram is at the top of Hidden Peak. Previous pictures were us skiing down the other side from the tram. This side has even more trails.

Jim, BJ, Cricket & Tom at Snowbird Utah

We skied the whole mountain but just a portion of trails. We know we probably would come back someday but this is all I have from this trip. I remember we had a great time. We ended by playing cards at Salt Lake City airport while waiting for our plane.

BJ, Tod, Tom, Ron & Cricket playing cards at Salt Lake City Airport

I hope you enjoyed my reminisce of a ski trip to Utah.  I have read that you can buy a pass that is good for both Alta and Snowbird. They have expanded so there are trails between the areas. I know they have a whole new bowl opened behind the Tram. They even built a tunnel through the mountain for access. So, if you are interested, maybe we should have one last trip to Alta/Snowbird. I have not skied in over ten years.
BTW, that pass for both ski areas is only sold to skiers, no snowboarders!