No Place Like Alta

Woke up to a gloomy, rainy day, and elected to do productive things around the house. At some point this AM I checked the webcams up at Alta, and noticed that the RAIN here was falling as SNOW up there. I suddenly found my incentive to finish the chores :-)

I followed the same route we did yesterday, but pressed on to the top of Collins Lift this time. I was beat by the time I got to the top, and I could feel some blisters starting to develop from the new boots. I guess I haven't exactly eased into ski season...

As I got closer to the top, the snow really started to fall. For a while, I was completely whited out, and could barely see 10 ft in front of me.

Whited out and loving it in front of Ballroom (not that you can see it)

The run down was epic. I didn't do anything too extreme, since Alta's not open yet, and they're not doing avalanche control work yet... and I was skiing alone (no one to dig me out if I got burried, even though I did have my avy gear). I came down through some open trees, and was rewarded for my 'safe' choice with two feet of fresh all the way down. The snow was buttery-smooth, and I felt completely in-tune with my gear... with the mountain. I think that run made me fall in love with skiing all over again.

FYI: Alta is closed tomorrow (even to hiking in) due to avy control work...