Alta Ski Area really is "A Place for Skiers" in every sense. Known for their standoff-ish (according to snowboarders) ski-only image, legendary expert terrain and bottomless face shots, Alta is in touch with the hand that feeds them. That hand comes in the form of skiers of all abilities and walks of life. And, in this case, my 2-year-old daughter, Alta, was introduced to skiing at Alta completely for free.
Now, many resorts offer free tickets to kids under 5 with a paying adult ticket, but Alta takes it one step further than that. Their learning area rope tows are free all day long and Sunnyside Lift--a great beginner lift--becomes free for all skiers after 3:00 pm every day of the season. So, a 9-5 working stiff like myself can slip out a bit early with my daughter and hit the slopes after 3:00 pm completely free. So we did.
I'm getting ahead of myself there a bit since this was Alta's first time on a real ski hill. We've tooled around in the backyard and she's mastered that, but this was the day for her to get more vert on those little Volkl's in one run than we can in 20 runs in the backyard.
Suiting up at the Albion Base Area, it was hard to wipe the grin off her face. "I'm going skiing with Daddy," she beamed as we posed for pictures. My little red puffball was skiing with her daddy for the first time of many hundreds in the future.
The weather didn't cooperate so well for a little skier like her. With 14+ inches of new and an untracked learning area, it was a challenge, but it certainly didn't dim her spirits. At this point, I was just thrilled to have her sliding on snow--even if she didn't get the whole "make a pizza with your skis" process just yet. I'm guessing mostly because pizza for her is a whole bunch of tiny squares, not a pie-shaped piece. We'll have to come back and work on that.
As we slogged our way up and down the Grizzly Tow in whiteout conditions, there was no way to wipe the smile off either of our faces. Two laps were all either of us could take, but Alta is now officially a skier. And what better place to ski for her first time than the resort that carries her name... Alta, A Place for Skiers.
