Alta has the best closing day of any ski resort in the U.S.A. Period. The 2017 ski season at Alta is now over, and while that’s a bummer, the last-day-at-Alta parties definitely take the sorrow away. High Boy, and the Wildcat parking lot are two venues for celebrating, but the mother of all on-slope parties is the Frank World Classic. This year was the 7th annual event, and as always, it was rambunctious, rowdy, and downright ridiculous.
Costumes, nudity, ski jumping, spectacular crashes, and lots of cheap beer are the DNA of the Frank party, which happens beneath the Wildcat chair on Punk Rock, located at the bottom of Punch Bowl. Big jumps, a tunnel, and other features are sculpted by spring snow to create a ski-jumping venue where spectators are witness to impressive modern tricks, and old-school moves like spread eagles, daffies and twists.
Still don’t know what Frank is? This article from Powder Magazine sums it up best. And if you’re still confused, just watch these videos. The first, “John Denver is Frank” is a sort of prelude to the actual Frank World Classic, and epitomizes what it means to be Frankin’. The second is a killer highlight reel of the 7th Annual Frank World Classic. Enjoy.
John Denver is Frank from Noah David Wetzel on Vimeo.
Thanks again to everyone at Alta for yet another memorable season at the top of Little Cottonwood Canyon. See you next year!