Alta, UT 12/25/07

Day 16: Ho ho ho!! \:D/

The Kid and I met up with Skidog for five runs (two Collins, three Wildcat) over two hours this morning. The 5 am report was 12" new, but there was more, way more...I'm guessing 16-18". Perhaps the best part: the place was relatively empty.

Our first run was meant to be out in Eagle's Nest, but we found out the hard way that no one set the middle traverse on the High T beyond Spruce Forest. What to do? Ski Spruce Forest, of course!

Exceptional untracked. We caught the Saddle Traverse, but no one had yet connected that to West Rustler yet, either. What to do? Ski the Saddle, of course! More untracked, and we were able to absolutely sail on the lower angle.

We still had Eagle's Nest on our mind, so for our second run we took the upper entrance to the High T and skied out through Piss Pass. There were a half dozen tracks or perhaps a few more already in the Nest, but no biggie -- it still skied very well, though not as well as the deep and untracked Rustler 4 that we used to get back to Wildcat.

In Wildcat we skied all three runs down our favorite line to skier's right of Westward Ho. After two runs The Kid was cold, so he headed for the truck while Skidog and I took one last run. The temptation drawing us below the gravity traverse back to GMD was too strong to ignore, and we figured that we might be able to get across Little Cottonwood Creek to the Peruvian end of the Wildcat parking lot. Wrong, too deep a ravine still and the water remains open. What to do? Ski out to the Bypass Road and either hitch or catch the Bypass Shuttle. Had we known we were going to ski all the way out to the road, Low Ho would've been a better option, as we saw a handful of skiers enjoy while we waited for a lift.

It was then that the light clicked on in my head -- call The Kid for a pickup, and of course he arrived at the same time as the shuttle anyway, but no matter...it was a great Christmas morning. We're now back home with the family for the holiday.

Here's a brief 44-second video of The Kid. The first scene is in Eagle's Nest, the second in Wildcat. Commentary is courtesy of Skidog. Heavy breathing is courtesy of yours truly:

http://link.brightcove.com/services/...ctid1351358553

And a couple of rather disappointing photos, too:

A skier on West Rustler, viewed from the Collins chair:
http://www.firsttracksonline.com/boa...ler_071225.jpg

Lower Sunspot:
http://www.firsttracksonline.com/boa...pot_071225.jpg