Day 5 - Alta Revisited

For our last day, Mark and I chose Alta. Thanks to Dan, we had a voucher for a free ticket here so we skied for an unheard of $26 each today!

We took two runs in Devil's Castle area since we had not been there yet on this trip. On our first hike in we traversed farther than I remember ever going before. The snow was OK but the runout was tough on my beaten feet/ankles. We also took a run in Glory Hole. I ended up in a chute that was steeper than I had anticipated and had to muster all my energy and focus to make it down without a yard sale. Later on, Mark and I did multiple laps on Upper Collins lift and skied some creamy snow in Ballroom to a ripper groomer below, seeing how fast we could go back to the midstation.

All in all it was a very fun day, ending with a beer outside the base lodge as we looked up at Alf's High Rustler.

Every time I ski here, I remember why I keep coming back. The skiing here is real. Nothing fancy. It's almost anything you want it to be and the rewards here just seem to be deeper, whether it's the quick hike to The Keyhole or the painful High Traverse to Eagle's Nest, Stonecrusher, Gunsight, Eddie's High Nowhere, Regal Chute, North Rustler, etc... This mountain begs to be explored and, as such, you can create a very personal experience on any given day. And the snow? Well, we all know about that but our first two days here I finally experienced the best snow yet.

And now, we have found the perfect lodging for our future stays near Little Cottonwood Canyon. I have a feeling we'll be back very soon, but not soon enough...