The early December skiing in Utah has been unseasonably good this winter as a few good storms have given skiers and snowboarders a bunch of powder days already. But it came at a price. A massive arctic cold-front descended over the entire state, dropping temperatures well below zero with wind-chill values as low as -32 degrees. Needless to say, the skiing at Alta has been about bundling up to shred all that pow.
It all started on Wednesday, December 4th, as a decent storm pasted snow all over the Wasatch, but that cold front came with it. The skiing at Alta was soft and creamy, especially off the Wildcat lift where people left runs like Stimulation and Punch Bowl alone. Justin Lozier and I lapped it up over and over again. Then on Friday, December 6th, the big story was the opening of Supreme. I got there real early and scored untracked lines of deep powder in the Erosion Gullies and Catherine’s Area.
With the opening of Supreme, most of Alta was in business, providing numerous terrain choices for skiers for early-season skiing. But then on Saturday December 7th and Sunday, December 8th, another big storm blew through. My friend, Brian McKenna, enjoyed fresh laps in Catherine’s over and over again as if he had the place to himself. He says snow puked on Alta on Saturday from 10 a.m. until the end of the day, nonstop and with constant, increasing intensity. He says it was in the top 10, maybe top 5 resort days of all time.
Then on Sunday, I headed up Little Cottonwood again to feast on snow. The air was colder than ever with a high of -2 in the forecast and dangerous wind chill. But by dressing warm and moving a lot all over the mountain, I stayed plenty warm. So did everyone at Alta as the cold didn’t seem to keep anyone away. A good crowd filled the lot and shredded the High Traverse, Wildcat and Supreme all day.
Yep, December has been good to Utah resorts so far, so it’s a sweet time get up there and make some powder turns for the holidays.