October 26th, 2010. It looked more like February than early fall. That year, in the waning days of October, a three-day storm dropped 45 inches of snow in the Devil’s Castle and Sugarloaf area at Alta. Although it was weeks before the resort’s scheduled opening, a mad rush of backcountry skiers descended on Little Cottonwood Canyon to make early-season turns in blissfully deep Utah powder. That day, the day after the storms had passed, went down as one of the best first-days of the season I’ve ever had. That day was also a lesson that winter can come to Utah at any time, so you best be ready. Here’s a look back at the fall storm of 2010 at Alta.
Of course, it can be hard to think about skiing when, now, in October of 2015, temperatures are still reaching 80-degrees in the Salt Lake Valley. Mason Diedrich wrote an excellent article on his blog, SkiersSummit.com, about how to fight pre-ski season malaise. It’s about finding ways to distract yourself during shoulder season. Sure you can mountain bike the Wasatch Crest one last time for the 4th time, but when we are this close to winter without a sign of winter in sight, you need to go bigger. Mason suggests a trip to Sun Valley, though going from one mountain range to another doesn’t strike me as a good distraction. To me that would only make the anticipation even worse. But he also suggests gentlemen’s clubs as an option to take our minds off the cold white stuff. Read his excellent piece here.
One way I like to prep is to go through all my ski gear and apparel. It’s a good ritual in order to get rid of old stuff I don’t need or use, but it’s really just an excuse to fondle my skis and puffy jackets while imagining what’s about to come. (See above about needing healthy distractions.) Perhaps the best way to sell your gear and hang out with the local backcountry community is to attend the Black Diamond Gear Swap. It goes down on Saturday, October 17 from 8 a.m. to noon. Details here.
Of course autumn rituals can’t be spoken of unless I mention ski movies. Unfortunately, the Powderwhores have retired, and pre-season video stoke in Utah will never be the same. The latest TGR flick has already blown through town, so what’s left besides the ubiquitous Warren Miller edit? I suggest you check out the new documentary from Sweetgrass Productions, “Jumbo Wild.” It screens at Brewvies on October 21st at 6 and 8. Here’s a preview:
Praying to Ullr is always a good idea. Here’s how to get his attention.
Of course you can always work out your skiing legs by doing squats, lunges and hill sprints, but what’s the fun in that? I like to say that the only way to get in shape for ski season, is to go skiing. So let’s pray for that late October snow.