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Utah 2020-2021 Utah Resorts, Weather, Conditions and Stoke

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Ogg

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Was just reminded why I don't usually visit this thread. Looks like you all are having a great week. @Jim Kenney always love seeing your pics.
I am both enjoying living vicariously through the pictures and insanely jealous. @Jim Kenney 's picture really capture the "vibe" and remind me why I'm so fond of the Bird and why I keep being drawn back.
 

Spooky

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It'll be busy both days.
It got pretty warm via greenhouse this afternoon, but gunsight and the backside was still at hero levels. When I exited backcountry at 7ish, a good chunk of the south facing was moderately crusted and dense...always fun. The high north facing was still decent, so I'd assume Devil's, though dense, is still holding up for when it opens tomorrow.
 

jmills115

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Friday at Snowbird was as good as the previous two days. With poor visibility up high, I was still surprised we were the only ones dumb enough to ski through it to find snow as good as we had been in the past few days.
My friend Brandt brought his 19 year old son Jared with him. Hearing Jared yelling he couldn’t see anything 3 turns into the first lap only became funny after the second. He may have been 3 turns past where he couldn’t see and then he could. He ripped as long as I could see him.
I’m planning on checking it tomorrow morning for a few hours.

320E8B0D-5893-4BD2-B262-A450274475C2.jpeg

0E230EF4-FDA0-4385-96EF-D4ED958A1D61.jpeg
 

Jim Kenney

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After last weeks new snow I took a couple rest days, but was back at Snowbird today, Apr 18, 2021.
The last two weeks have been a return to winter-like snow and conditions. We got something like a foot of new snow around Apr 6 and 7 and then another 16-20 or so inches on Apr 14-16. The last couple of days turned sunny, but temps are still fairly cool on the mtn, maybe 35-45 degs. for daytime highs.
Here are a few pics from Apr 18.

Today was closing day for Alta so a big crowd showed up there for unofficial partying. Believe their parking lots got totally full at one point. The crowds at Snowbird were quite light.

Right - Alta hikers heading up Baldy, the fence divides the ski areas. That's the upper terminal of Snowbird's Baldy chair to left:

apr 18 alta baldy hikers.jpg
Gorgeous blue sky day in Little Cloud Bowl, I skied the Rasta Chutes in center of photo behind tallest pine tree.
apr 18 little cloud bowl rasta chutes.jpg
Skilled snowboarder drops into one of the steeper Rasta Chutes, still quite a bit of soft snow from Wed-Fri storm.
18 apr rasta chutes.jpg
Postcard shot of the tram near the 11,000' summit of Hidden Peak.
18 apr tram postcard.jpg
I took a peek into Great Scott, but the entrances were sorta sketchy for a solo venture
apr 18 great scott.jpg
So I skied another line a little further down the Cirque Traverse. apr 18 upper cirque.jpg
This is a view looking down the Gad Valley side of Snowbird. Today was the last day they will run the Gadzoom and Gad 2 chairlifts.:( Too bad because there is still plenty of snow over there.
apr 18 gad valley.jpg
View of the Little Cloud chairlift. This lift, the Peruvian chair, the tram, and Mineral Basin lifts are all that will run now for rest of season as snow/weather permits.
apr 18 little cloud lift.jpg
 
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justaute

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I, too, went up to Snowbird and traversed over to AltA, but only stayed there for a few runs. Went with a buddy who's a former Olympic alpine skier...he taught me a few things. Not as many pics as Jim posted above. Tried out the new 2022 Elan Ripstick 96 Black Edition...it was a blast.
PXL_20210418_170233994~2.jpg PXL_20210418_172532997~2.jpg
 
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Tony S

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@Jim Kenney In that first pic of Baldy, it's astounding how trivial both the hike and (especially) the chutes look. People who have been there know that it's way more intimidating than that in person.
 

jmills115

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@Jim Kenney In that first pic of Baldy, it's astounding how trivial both the hike and (especially) the chutes look. People who have been there know that it's way more intimidating than that in person.


Hiking from the Wildcat lot after Alta closes has ended short many times for me and I’ve been happy skiing the Shoulder.
It’s a 3 hour up for me from Wildcat while someone in shape could cut an hour off that I think.
I keep thinking the 45 minute boot pack from Sugarloaf will get easier but that hasn’t happened 004BDC48-62BD-4991-804B-F3A32FE2EDB9.jpeg
 

Tony S

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Gorgeous blue sky day in Little Cloud Bowl, I skied the Rasta Chutes in center of photo behind tallest pine tree.
I am still learning the lay of the land at Snowbird. Your POV shot of the Rasta Chutes shows a few trees and rocks, which is how I remember them from only a couple trips out that traverse. Can you comment on my annotated version of your photo? Does the area I circled have a name?


Rasta.png
 

Tony S

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Hiking from the Wildcat lot after Alta closes has ended short many times for me and I’ve been happy skiing the Shoulder.
It’s a 3 hour up for me from Wildcat while someone in shape could cut an hour off that I think.
I keep thinking the 45 minute boot pack from Sugarloaf will get easier but that hasn’t happened View attachment 131725
THAT shows the pitch!
 

Jim Kenney

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I am still learning the lay of the land at Snowbird. Your POV shot of the Rasta Chutes shows a few trees and rocks, which is how I remember them from only a couple trips out that traverse. Can you comment on my annotated version of your photo? Does the area I circled have a name?


View attachment 131729
Tony I am not completely knowledgeable about Snowbird's layout either. I skied the traverse extension of Road to Provo that you see left of tall pine tree, then I rounded the rocky spine you see immediately left of the pine tree. The bowl behind the top of the tallest pine tree in center of photo is called Pipeline Bowl (hike-to only). Consulting the trail map you will see that Rasta Chutes is directly below Pipeline Bowl. If you consult some of the more detailed trail guides they also identify areas called East Bench and West Bench on either side of the Rasta Chutes. Me and the boarder may have actually been dropping into the East Bench area next to Rasta Chutes. These western trail markings get very confusing to me, so much terrain involved. The area you circled seems to be quite a bit west and below what the maps show as Rasta Chutes. Maybe someone else with more familiarity will chime in?? I'll look to see if I have a better photo of the Rasta Chutes.
 

Jim Kenney

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the skiing was almost as fun as the partying at Alta this weekend.
I still have my one Wasatch benefit day at Alta. Maybe next weekend we have a mini-gathering??
 

KingGrump

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I am still learning the lay of the land at Snowbird. Your POV shot of the Rasta Chutes shows a few trees and rocks, which is how I remember them from only a couple trips out that traverse. Can you comment on my annotated version of your photo? Does the area I circled have a name?


View attachment 131729

@Jim Kenney is correct in his assessment.

This is a good guide book to the various pieces of the Bird.

1618847109548.png
 

Tony S

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@Jim Kenney is correct in his assessment.

This is a good guide book to the various pieces of the Bird.

View attachment 131731
I have the Alta version. It is useful, but it needs better illustrations and a much better editor. (I doubt it had one.) The author spends about half the total text in the book talking about the same two or three points of etiquette. It's annoying.
 

KingGrump

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I have the Alta version. It is useful, but it needs better illustrations and a much better editor. (I doubt it had one.) The author spends about half the total text in the book talking about the same two or three points of etiquette. It's annoying.

I am simple. I just look at the pictures. :huh:
 
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