Utah Sampler: 02/17 - 02/23/2018

I’ve got a mile long list of all the people who told me I should cancel my Utah trip. “So-and-so pulled the plug on their Utah trip and is going to Jackson instead” they’d say. Or Big Sky. Or Grand Targhee. Even TGR was dishing out the anti-stoke. I hatched a hair-brained scheme (which we fortunately didn’t execute) to ditch our last couple days in Utah and drive 5 hours north to Jackson instead.

Lucky for us, Utah’s long awaited pattern change started to kick in a week before our trip. 18 to 20 inches of snow fell across the Cottonwoods the week before our arrival with predictions of significantly more.

2013-14 ski season wrap-up and highlights

The winter of 2013-14 will likely be long remembered by both skiers and non-skiers for its persistent cold weather. Monthly average temperatures for the entire November - March period registered several degrees below the long-term average, and the term “Polar Vortex” seemed to filter into everyday conversation. The emduring cold gave skiers a season spanning six calendar months, with Gore and Whiteface logging their earliest-ever openings in mid-November. Gore closed last Sunday, April 20, but Whiteface may hang in for a record late closing in May. Stay tuned.

Early season packed powder with a view of the High Peaks. Gore, January 4:

Alta, UT: 02/21/2014

I enjoyed Alta so much on Day 1 that I decided to return there for Day 2 to take care of unfinished business. Snowbird can wait.

Alta, UT: 02/20/2014

First of all, my wife’s a saint for letting me go on this year’s version of the guys’ ski trip. She took care of the kids solo for the second half of their school break while I headed to Utah for three days of skiing at Alta and Snowbird.

Instead of cramming all my photos into one trip report, I’m breaking it into three. This is day 1: Alta, UT.