Winter has arrived in Utah, and it slammed the Wasatch Mountain full bore. Over the course of three days, a late October storm dumped around 45 inches of snow at Alta. Of course the expected result is a mad rush of backcountry skiers in Little Cottonwood Canyon to make early season turns on blissfully deep Utah pow. Myself, along with Mike DeBernardo, joined the throng of skiers who enjoyed a perfect autumn morning on white-covered Alta slopes.
Here are some photos from what has to be among the best first ski days ever:
When we arrived at Alta around 8 a.m. we saw the lower lot already filling up, and the train of boot packers making their way toward Baldy. To avoid the crowds, we kept going higher and skinned into the Sugarloaf area.
Once at Sugarloaf, we continued up into the slopes below Devil’s Castle where the dawn patrollers left the mountain untouched.
The shots we lapped didn’t have much vert, but the quality of turns untracked more than made up for a lack of distance. We had the whole place to ourselves.
First day of the 2010/2011 season is officially in the books.
2 thoughts on “October at Alta – a powder skiing photo essay”