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

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