Powder Day at Alta
A Powder Day at Alta
21/03/11 14:39
A powder day at Alta gives me glimpse into the future.
Some of life’s major passages you can see coming. Others spring upon you unexpectedly, exquisite in their serendipity. One such moment once burst upon me at Alta Ski Area, Utah during the second of three spring storms drop
ping three feet of powder on its legendary slopes. Conditions were intense -- 25 to 35 mph winds with stronger gusts enveloping us in complete white. In between the wind gusts were the booms of the ski patrol and highway department avalanche control units shooting ordnance down the valley. And in the middle of it, my 13-year-old daughter and I, both on K2 Phat Luv powder skis. She was filled with the pure excitement of youth at nature’s drama. But my own excitement was tinged with some wariness of the mountain’s might.
Because of the avalanche risk and the wind, the ski resort held off on opening the lifts while the ski patrol worked the heights, determining which parts of the mountain were safe to open. At the base, winds howled as we skiers waited at the lifts, looking like astronauts in the helmets, goggles and facemasks that protected us from the elements. Read More...
Some of life’s major passages you can see coming. Others spring upon you unexpectedly, exquisite in their serendipity. One such moment once burst upon me at Alta Ski Area, Utah during the second of three spring storms drop
Because of the avalanche risk and the wind, the ski resort held off on opening the lifts while the ski patrol worked the heights, determining which parts of the mountain were safe to open. At the base, winds howled as we skiers waited at the lifts, looking like astronauts in the helmets, goggles and facemasks that protected us from the elements. Read More...