Snowbird May 18-19 2019 with a little Alta

[JTG]

So, got in line for Collins at 8am (9:15 open). Shared the lift with a local West Point grad all morning.

Honestly, so far this morning I have met no less than 10 people from NYC, Troy, Albany, many Saratoga. Go figure! Some transplanted out here, others not. Rather than waiting for gates to open Scott took me to all his go to powder spots that skied incredible while bombs were going off. We skied Sugarloaf and Supreme, took a trip out to Catherine’s. So good. Chasing a local didn’t allow for many pics the first couple of hours.

Scott needed to hook up with his 71 year old dad, so around 11 I figured I’d hit Sugarloaf and see what was happening at the Devil’s Castle gate. Sure enough people were lining up, so I jumped in line about 20 people back. Another local I shared the morning lift first thing pulled up behind, and I figured I was in the right place. Waited about a half an hour, but met one of the Albany peeps who now hails from DC. First run out dropped in relatively quick. Hard to pass up the powder!

Second Devil’s run I took the traverse as far as you can. Work, but well worth it. Incredible scenery, and long, wide open, steep high speed powder.

Time to go do another Catherine’s lap, then maybe save the legs for a big BC day tomorrow. Well, maybe after a PBR, because I’m not sure I’ve ever seen that on tap before!

 

[JTG]

Tunnel to Mineral Basin is pretty cool.

Seek and ye shall find......at 12:30.

Sun thought about making an appearance.

I’m glad I got back to ski Snowbird. Even though a relatively small percentage of terrain is open, what’s available skied huge.
Everywhere you turn or look, no matter where you are on the mountain, there’s another great line. Spent the afternoon skiing off the Cirque Traverse, mostly. Snowbird is without a doubt the most consistently steep mountain I’ve ever skied.

Pics never do justice, but these spots on the Gad side were STEEP. Even found an untracked line at 2:30.

Even got to ski some aspens (I think).

 

[JTG]

Another good day today, interesting. The freeze overnight left many aspects firm and chunky (read: unpleasant). Groomers were great, but that’s not what you come here for, right? North facing aspects weren’t all firm chunks, and untracked areas (yes, they still existed out the Baldy Traverse) were an ok supportable crust. Didn’t ski a lot today, but what I got in was good.

I went the lift ticket route, and last run I scooted around the corner on the Baldy Traverse into Alta, then skinned up to Main Baldy Chute. It held great snow. Still some powder at the edges, and slightly firm cut up powder down the gut. The coverage is incredible. Hard to fathom Alta being closed with the amount of snow out there.

As usual, pic don’t do justice, it doesn’t really show the cornice at the entrance.

Snowbird gets another superlative, as that is the most aesthetically pleasing chute I’ve ever skied. That’s a run to end the season on!

A little more Superior/Wasatch porn....