After days and days of cold, snowy weather, New Year's Day turned out to be bluebird and much warmer. Along with most resorts in the state, Alta Ski Area began digging out and re-opening some of the best terrain on the mountain. At Alta, the best terrain is never just under the liftline--it's always after pushing your way on a long traverse that sometimes ends up being more like a Chinese Downhill.
With most resorts digging out from storm after storm, Alta began opening up some of the best terrain on the mountain. We showed up just in time to enjoy the great terrain and snow off the backside traverse into the East Greely area.
Having just missed the opening of the backside traverse, we were left to ski sloppy seconds and search for the untracked in the trees and more difficult areas to access. Lap after lap off the traverse and into Gunsight and Glory Hole gave up some of the finest turns of the day.
The next time you're at Alta, don't forget to test your skills on the myriad of traverses... you'll be glad you did. Conditions are stellar and we're looking at a few days of sunshine before we enter another storm cycle.
