Advice for Perfect Father Son Alta Experience?
 

OK, it's a done deal. I'm taking my 12 year old son to Alta in January or
February 2004.
We've never experienced powder deeper than our ankles and only a couple of
times at that.
Nonetheless, my son loves going through the trees and through anything
resembling powder (until he gets tired).
So, this year I'm going to smarten up and get him a helmet.
And I'm going to take him to Alta for a surprise ski trip.

Anyone care to share the who what when where why's and how's of creating the
potential for a perfect Alta ski vacation (just a couple of days).
Does it involve CAT rides, guides, lessons, special ski clothes and gear,
what, what does it take for a first timer, intermediate skier, at best, to
have a great powder experience at Alta?

Looking forward to comments, suggestions, etc.

On Sun, 30 Nov 2003 at 15:27 GMT, John Smith penned:
OK, it's a done deal. I'm taking my 12 year old son to Alta in
January or February 2004. We've never experienced powder deeper than
our ankles and only a couple of times at that. Nonetheless, my son
loves going through the trees and through anything resembling powder
(until he gets tired). So, this year I'm going to smarten up and get
him a helmet. And I'm going to take him to Alta for a surprise ski
trip.

Anyone care to share the who what when where why's and how's of
creating the potential for a perfect Alta ski vacation (just a couple
of days). Does it involve CAT rides, guides, lessons, special ski
clothes and gear, what, what does it take for a first timer,
intermediate skier, at best, to have a great powder experience at
Alta?

Looking forward to comments, suggestions, etc.



I'm not so hot in powder, but I do recommend taking lessons for it.
It's just a different experience.

Once in my life I've had "that feeling" that I believe you're supposed
to have when you're skiing powder properly ... it was amazing. Many
times in my life, I've had that feeling that you have when you're skiing
powder poorly ... and it sucked. Definitely take lessons so that you
can accelerate yourself towards the good feeling!

Just my opinions, and like I said, I haven't gotten good at it yet, so
maybe I'm wrong ...

--
monique

On Sun, 30 Nov 2003 09:27:59 CST, "John Smith"
wrote:

//snip//

what does it take for a first timer, intermediate skier, at best, to
have a great powder experience at Alta?

The same thing it takes for anyone else to have a "great powder
experience" at Alta. Timing.

The truth of the matter is this. With Alta lift-served skiing,
conditions are wholly dependent upon timing.

If a good *cold* storm happens to roll through just before your
arrival, or during your stay, then it will probably be good.
Otherwise, you will probably have to contend with the tracked-out
leftovers.

-Astro

---
maximum exposure f/2.8
http://www.xmission.com/~hound/astro/03-04/index.htm
---

On Sun, 30 Nov 2003 13:15:45 CST, AstroPax
wrote:

On Sun, 30 Nov 2003 09:27:59 CST, "John Smith"
wrote:

//snip//

what does it take for a first timer, intermediate skier, at best, to
have a great powder experience at Alta?

The same thing it takes for anyone else to have a "great powder
experience" at Alta. Timing.

The truth of the matter is this. With Alta lift-served skiing,
conditions are wholly dependent upon timing.

If a good *cold* storm happens to roll through just before your
arrival, or during your stay, then it will probably be good.
Otherwise, you will probably have to contend with the tracked-out
leftovers.

From what (painfully) little I've seen, it takes a few days for things
to get really tracked out. I'm guessing that if they book a lesson,
the instructor could double as a guide, getting them to whatever goods
remain and then teaching them to ski it. Am I wrong?

bw

On Sun, 30 Nov 2003 18:35:14 CST, bdubya
wrote:

//snip//

From what (painfully) little I've seen, it takes a few days for things
to get really tracked out. I'm guessing that if they book a lesson,
the instructor could double as a guide, getting them to whatever goods
remain and then teaching them to ski it. Am I wrong?

No, actually, I think you are very right. One can almost *always*
find some sort of untracked, even if it is short shots off of the
beaten track. An instructor would definitely help.

Anyway, depending upon the time of year, it usually takes about two
days after a storm for things to get *totally* tracked-out, sometimes
a little longer...like in March or April.

Also, sometimes (but not always), it takes at least a full day to get
all the skiable terrain controlled and opened.

Powder 101. This goes without saying (especially in this newsgroup),
but generally speaking, a good powder day is dependent upon two
primary factors:

1. A cold storm (18"- 24" of new is a nice start)
2. Terrain accessability

It could dump 36"+ overnight, but then one might very well be "terrain
denied" because either the canyon road is closed, the lifts ain't
running and everyone in town is interlodged, or not enough of the
required steeps are open...and you ain't gonna go anywhere on the
flats (non-steep) in 3' of freshies.

Or, all of the terrain in the world is open, but it hasn't snowed for
a month, and everything is hard crud and ice.

Regardless, IMO, there is absolutely nothing wrong with the typical
3rd day+ after a storm scenario: tracked-out, chopped-up powder. Not
a problem for me, as long as it's somewhat soft. Better than an icy
groomer any day of the week.

People shouldn't get their "powder hopes" up too high though, even at
Alta, or Utah in general. I've been skiing here almost every year
since age 10. That's 30+ years. I average 60 ski days per year at
Alta, and do several days per year of heli-skiing in the Wasatch. But
I still consider any *good* powder day to be a luxury...always have,
always will.

Perfect Alta Experience?...expect the worse, hope for the best.

-Astro

---
maximum exposure f/2.8
http://www.xmission.com/~hound/astro/03-04/index.htm
---

Bob Lee wrote:

John Smith wrote:


OK, it's a done deal. I'm taking my 12 year old son to Alta in January or
February 2004.
We've never experienced powder deeper than our ankles and only a couple of
times at that.
Nonetheless, my son loves going through the trees and through anything
resembling powder (until he gets tired).
So, this year I'm going to smarten up and get him a helmet.
And I'm going to take him to Alta for a surprise ski trip.

Anyone care to share the who what when where why's and how's of creating the
potential for a perfect Alta ski vacation (just a couple of days).
Does it involve CAT rides, guides, lessons, special ski clothes and gear,
what, what does it take for a first timer, intermediate skier, at best, to
have a great powder experience at Alta?

Looking forward to comments, suggestions, etc.


Is the Alta part firm? The reason I ask is that Grand Targhee in
Wyoming/Idaho gets tons of powder and doesn't get near the traffic.
This means more powder for you and yours. And the terrain is perfectly
suited for intermediates learning powder technique. Throw in a day at
the nearby cat operation if you want exotica. And Jackson Hole is
nearby.

If you're flexible, check it out.

Only problem with this idea is the Jackson Hole airport doesn't get the
flights SLC does, so it might be hard to access. Driggs (Targhee)
doesn't have and airport, so he'd need to drive an hour around from JH;
not a problem if the weather cooporates. But otherwise I agree - Targhee
for powder skiing hands down...

lal_truckee wrote:
Only problem with this idea is the Jackson Hole airport doesn't get the
flights SLC does, so it might be hard to access. Driggs (Targhee)
doesn't have and airport, so he'd need to drive an hour around from JH;
not a problem if the weather cooporates. But otherwise I agree - Targhee
for powder skiing hands down...


Hell, I can walk to Alta and I avoid it as much as possible. I love
sitting on Davenport *HILL* looking down both sides. One side is Alta,
the other side is virgin snow. Tough choice. And I've always had a
thing for virgins rather than completely tracked out slop. And then
when it is fresh at Alta for an hour or two, it's kinda like bar
closing time in L.A. *Don't* make eye contact. You might get killed.

Alta, Utah's other cult.

-klaus

On Tue, 02 Dec 2003 at 19:02 GMT, klaus penned:
Tough choice. And I've always had a
thing for virgins rather than completely tracked out slop.

Cuz, you know, blood and fear are *so* much better ...

I never have understood this one. I sure as hell wouldn't want to be
with a virgin.

ObSki: at what point is base damage too severe to be repaired?

--
monique

Monique Y. Herman wrote:


ObSki: at what point is base damage too severe to be repaired?

If parts of the core are falling out or gouged horribly, then you may be
at the limit. Otherwise, just go to Reliable or Tognar's website and
get a ptex gun.


--
Chester Bullock,
Ethical, custom website hosting, design and programming
Tenxible Solutions, http://www.tenxible.com
Web Based Autoresponder and DRIP system, http://www.toolsre.com
AIM: tenxible YahooIM: ccb247

Monique Y. Herman wrote:
On Tue, 02 Dec 2003 at 19:02 GMT, klaus penned:
Tough choice. And I've always had a
thing for virgins rather than completely tracked out slop.

Cuz, you know, blood and fear are *so* much better ...

Blood and fear is more common on steeps. All I see when folks are
skiing the virgins is grins and hoots and hollers.

I never have understood this one. I sure as hell wouldn't want to be
with a virgin.

Well, good thing, living in Colorado. Especially the front
range. Which reminds me... isn't it the back range? I mean, the storms
come from the other side, right?.

ObSki: at what point is base damage too severe to be repaired?

When the two six packs you brought to the techs are refused. At that
point, you may want to try a bottle of single malt, but then again,
you may want to cut your losses. Single malt gets expensive if the
techs get used to it.

HTH.

-klaus