Solitude, UT: 12/9/11

In early December, I usually try to kill off my remaining vacation days with a trip out west, where there's a generally higher chance of better conditions than back east. The majority of them have been fantastic, including last year's pow fest at Grand Targhee; however, the law of averages caught up to me. On my current five-day trip to Salt Lake City, I've walked right into the jaws of a stubborn high-pressure system that shows no signs of letting up.

After starting out the season with a few huge dumps of snow, the faucet turned off and spoiled SLCers are now getting accustomed to the standard operating procedure of northeastern skiers: make do with whatever you've got or don't go skiing (there are plenty of people here in both camps). That's why you'll find variations of this slogan displayed all over town:

The Porcupine: Near Big Cottonwood Canyon

But in the glass-half-full department, thanks to the earlier storms, conditions are certainly better than back home, so who was I to complain. I started off yesterday at Solitude with Bryan, who posted an article about his home away from home a few months ago. Although only a small percentage of Solitude is open (due as much to a lack of customers as to a lack of snow), it was enough for me to get my ski legs back under me. After the sun warmed things up by 10:30, conditions became, as he called them, "eastern excellent."

Overlooking The Eagle Terrain Pod

At The Top Of The Apex Lift

We had a great time tracking through soft leftovers in lower Diamond Lane, on Alta Bird, and alongside all of the groomed trails. With only three lifts open, we even did a couple laps along the Moonbeam lift -- green trails that you'd normally only use to access the lodge at the base.
 

Bryan on Little Dolly

Reverse Shot: Cruising Into The Moonbeam Lodge For Lunch

While it was far from the superlative December trips that I've nailed in previous years, it's a good way to kick off the season. Moreover, I was happy to learn that my hip operation in April was a success. After two years of suffering from knife-twisting agony on every turn, it was great to be 100% pain-free again.

Peeking Into Honeycomb Canyon

Today, I joined First Tracks Online's Marc Guido and his SLC posse at Alta. As in past visits, it was fascinating to watch them review information before every run to pinpoint the best possible snow, especially when it's hiding in places that most people wouldn't bother to search. Here's his trip report from the day, which includes my first (and in all likelihood last) bootpack up Jitterbug to reach Greeley Bowl, which is inaccessible via the usual route (the High T) due to insufficient snow.

Nice! Glad to hear that you are skiing pain free! Maybe not great for mid-December for SLC standards but sure looks pretty darn good none the less!

Definitely better than any skiing in the east.

MMM good food at the Porcupine. And some good lookin waitresses, too

Great report James. I am also glad to hear that you skiing without knives stuck in your hip. This and the report on FTO show that you don't need a ton of snow to have fun and adventure: good company, a willingness to step out of your comfort zone, a sense of humour (preferably the self-deprecating variety) all make for a great day. This is why the EC skier is better equipped to enjoy themselves anywhere.

Now the real question is, when are you replacing the "10-ton Volants" with something a little more moderne?

It was great seeing and skiing with James again yesterday, even if conditions were decidedly sub-par. He really deserves a ton of credit for bootpacking up Jitterbug yesterday.

I went back up today for a couple of hours and came home before lunch -- skiing man-made and crusty old thin natural is getting really, really old...and boring.

It was a pleasure skiing with you on Saturday at Alta James! We were at Solitude on Thursday, but being from Colorado, I did not know that the name for those conditions were "eastern excellent." Still, they were better than we expected and much better than not skiing at all!

My Utah trip report will appear today or tomorrow. I was too busy skiing at Alta to type! (Or would that be lazy?)

Hope to ski with you again sometime soon! Cheers!

braveskimom wrote

It was a pleasure skiing with you on Saturday at Alta James!

Likewise! It was fun trading notes with Grand Junction's finest on the Sugarloaf lift.