Skiing at Alta Ski Resort

Because Wayne has been observing tests at night, on Wednesday March 19th he decided to take the day off. He spent the morning and early afternoon skiing at Alta Ski Resort , about 45 minutes from home, before heading into work at 4 PM.

He wanted me to come along, and I was ready to go a little after nine, after eating a big breakfast. Before you get too excited for me, (for getting back on the chairlifts) I need to tell you that I did not ski. In my defence, my back was still aching from my biking/Depot day and I did not want to aggravate it.

We had a lovely drive up Little Cottonwood Canyon. Wayne rented gear, bought a lift card, and was on the slopes by 10:30 AM. It was a gorgeous day! In Salt Lake City the temperature got to 65 and even up on the mountain it felt wonderfully warm, maybe 50? The sun was shining and there was little wind, so I pulled out my book and plopped down on one of the Adirondack chairs outside the lodge and facing the runs.



I had only been outside about 30 minutes when I felt like my face was burning. Wayne had taken our tube of sunscreen with him, so I grabbed my back pack and moved inside. I found a small table for 3 along a window wall of the canteen, and settled down to read and watch the skiers.



Wayne found me about noon. He didn't want to stop skiing to eat, as we needed to leave about 2:30 PM, so he just sat for a few minutes and showed me on the trail map all the runs he had tried so far.

Alta is a beautiful resort set only about a mile from Snowbird Resort and with about 5 runs that connect the two resorts. You can buy a pass for just Alta or a combination pass to ski on both. Alta has 7 lifts(the highest goes to 10,500 ft. and unfortunately all are chairlifts!) and 116 runs. Eight are green for beginners, not including the ski school slopes at the bottom, thirty are blue intermediate runs, and the rest are black diamond for the most experienced skiers.



Wayne stayed mostly on the green and blue runs and had a wonderful time; but even skipping lunch he was unable to go on all of them. Meanwhile I greased myself up with sunscreen and headed back out to the chairs. I finished one book and started on another. The day was so lovely that even though I had money to buy myself a tall chai and a treat to stay warm, I stayed in my chair and just drank cold water from my bottle, soaking up the sun, and enjoying the day.




Besides reading, I was also able to enjoy the gorgeous view of the resort, and listen in on the excitement of the families who sat down around me. The children were eager to tell of all the runs they had conquered. The Moms reminded them to ski safely and keep an eye on siblings. The Dads pointed out new runs they should try, and how even the greens can give them a challenge if they keep up speed and try to jump the hills just in front of us! Tourists new to the area shared with each other their opinions of nearby ski resorts, and places to see on "rest days" if they want to take a day off from skiing. I learned about a canyon a few hours North of us that sounded like a "must see" place. Everyone was friendly, happy, and enjoying the beautiful day. An older gentleman next to me made a phone call and said that the day was awful, windy, sleety and that his daughter was bitchy. His friend was lucky he hadn't made the trip. After hanging up, with all of us looking at him in surprise, he explained. His friend had recently injured himself and had to cancel his trip. He didn't want his friend to feel bad. He introduced us to his daughter when she skied up and told us how wonderful she was and winked!



So you see, even though I didn't get to swoosh down the slopes, or take in the views from the tops of the mountains, I did have a wonderful time at Alta!

Wayne got back just after 2:30 and was bushed. He decided next time he would be sure to eat lunch, even if it did take a little time, so he could get more nourishment and give his legs a break. I drove back down Little Cottonwood Canyon and we had the road almost to ourselves. The Prius got at least 100 mpg(the highest it shows) for the first 30 minutes of the ride home, making a nice ending to a perfect day in the mountains.