Ski Bum Poet

That’s what Ellie kept yelling at the top of her lungs on her first day skiing from the chair lift, last Tues February, 16th 2010. She rode up Sunnyside lift at Alta three times. She was between my legs for each run, and the last one we went top to bottom without stopping. On the steeper sections I just stayed hard in the wedge and she kept forward leaning into my hands. When on the flats, she stood straight up and held all her weight, just holding on to my fingers.

Was a special day for me, and a big thanks to Dobber and team at Peak Photo for getting this shot for us!

Here is the caption from the Twitpic where I posted a high resolution version…

Ellie at 2.5 years old skiing off Sunnyside Lift at Alta on February 15th 2010. She took three runs, stands up on her own on the flats and yells “Go Fasssstttttt” the whole time.

How about a gasp for the current Little Cottonwood Canyon snowpak? The first photo below is courtesy of Spencer Wheatley on Facebook… although he points out that he didn’t take the photo. Here is his caption, and the photo:

“Natural avalanche in Cardiac Bowl -Fracture wraps into Little Superior Buttress.”

From the same cycle, check this next photo from High Greeley in the Alta Ski Area boundaries…this photo taken by Carvn Chip Robinson. Jesse posted a quote on an article at The Daily POW about this, yikes…

“An Alta ski patrol worker was briefly buried during avalanche-control work at the resort Sunday morning. About 9 a.m., he was helping with routine avalanche control when he was caught in a larger-than-expected slide near Greeley Bowl, said Alta General Manager Onno Wieringa. He was buried with only a hand sticking out, but his fellow patrollers pulled him out within about two minutes.”

Man, scary stuff. Stay safe out there hippies.

I’ve paid the price two times in two days on high boy. It’s been good exploring on low snowpak. That’s important at Alta. When the powder comes you can take all you want, but always be willing to pay the price when there’s none.

People who read Ski Bum Poet generally know all about Alta and Little Cottonwood Canyon. Yep. But some don’t. And for you folks, here’s a cool little write up on the area quoted direct from the Town of Alta website. It’s pretty much my dream to live up there full time one day…not own a place to only enjoy a few times a year. <--For those in that category.. That there's a shame.

The Town of Alta is a small mountain community located at the top of Little Cottonwood Canyon in the Wasatch-Cache National Forest.

Little Cottonwood Canyon is a west-facing break in the Wasatch mountain range which rises from an elevation of 5,000 feet above sea level at the mouth of the canyon to over 11,000 feet at the top of the watershed.

State Highway 210, a designated Scenic Byway, provides access to Alta from the Salt Lake Valley. The Town itself ranges in elevation from 7,500 ft to 9,500 ft. above sea level.

The Town harbors aspen, spruce, high alpine meadows and lakes, long-lasting snowfields and rocky tundra on granite cliffs. The vast display of over 170 varieties of wildflowers offer a colorful sight between July and September. There are over 40 varieties of birds in the canyon. Deer, moose, coyotes, and a rare mountain lion are the largest of the animals that roam the high country during the year.

An annual average of 500 inches snowfall provides for enthusiastic powder pigs and spectacular downhill skiing extending from November into May. Cross country skiers enjoy an even longer season. Hikers and bikers use the extensive network of trails, snowfields, mountaintops and over passes.

When I first got to know my wife I was introduced to a world of rocks and ages that I never even considered up until that point. Danette studied Geology at USU and her passion for that science was contagious. I still always bug her with silly questions about Geologic time scales and rock formations. So anyways I was checking out the Alta Historical Society website earlier, and how freakin’ cool is this…

During the Wisconsin Glaciation the Wasatch Mountains trapped precipitation in such quantities in the winter that snow remained throughout the year and glaciers formed. These glaciers carved Alta’s distinctive terrain, broad U-shaped valleys, dramatic headwalls, hanging valleys, and steep gulleys. Today the Wasatch Mountains are the first major barrier to storms east of the Sierra Nevada Range. As Pacific storms cross the high desert of Nevada they grow colder and release their moisture as light, fluffy powder on the glacier-groomed slopes of Alta Ski Area, producing some of the finest skiing in the world. The geometry of Little Cottonwood Canyon with Alta at the mountain divide captures every possible flake of snow from passing storms and the “lake effect” of the Great Salt Lake adds to snow totals. The steep north-facing glacial headwalls of Mt. Baldy, Devils Castle and Sugarloaf Peak shade much of the area from sunshine preserving snow quality through much of the winter. All of these features combine to make the foundation of the totally unique Alta experience.

Read more from “Geology & Skiing Experience” and “A Geologist Describes 20 Favorite Runs at Alta” for cool tidbits like…

As you stand above the limestone outcrops at the top of Alf’s High Rustler, take a minute to imagine this place 16,000 years ago. The ice was 1500’ thick, almost up to your skis, two miles across, fifteen miles long and moving an average of about 10’/day.

Official word just came down via Alta.com. Lifts will be running Wednesday morning, so gear up hippies!

With the nice 10” weekend storm and the good snowmaking weather we will be ready to open this Wednesday at 9:15.

We will open with our Collins detachable quad, offering top (10,400′) to bottom (8,530′) intermediate and expert skiing, and our Sunnyside detachable triple, opening up nice beginner and intermediate skiing. Other lifts will open as conditions allow.

The mountain is closed to uphill traffic. The summer road, Grizzly Gulch, and Supreme will remain accessible.

So we installed Wordpress at AltaCam recently, but it’s not linked up from the site yet. I found the Panorama Theme by Themocracy from Underground Parent…and I think it’s damn sweet. I just customized the header graphic that came with the theme by using an array of ski photo contest winners over the last few years. Let me know what you think! Hint hint, I might just update Ski Bum Poet with this theme soon as well. Jah knows it’s over due.

Please check out The Daily POW and let me know what you think…

How about this Alta footage! You may have seen this last year on the AltaCam Ski Forum, but a few weeks ago Mark (the guy who shot the film in 1974) posted a new, high-quality version. The best part about this: Although there are more people and tracks nowadays, the blower pow hasn’t changed a bit…thanks Mark!

Powderhound (Jesse) posted to AltaCam about opening day recently, and the season is definitely closing in on us. With a good snowpak start in Little Cottonwood Canyon, Alta announced that opening day for the 2009-10 ski season will be November 20th. That’s on a Friday, so sneak out of work and come up and say hello to everyone! (if you can’t wait that long, Solitude plans to open THIS Friday, Nov 6th)

Here is the Alta.com featured pic for the first week in November…it’s looking pretty good up there.

This is an incredible photo recently posted by the fine folks at Alta Ski Shop, via Facebook. Stunning…