Well the Skimaven has taken a field trip to Utah. Yup, a long way from Vermont. Now I'm skiing at 9 to 11,000 feet instead of 2 to 3,000. I can feel it when I bend over to buckle my boots!
The Skimeister and I started our Utah ski trip with Snowbird today. We took the tram right off the bat to get to the top of the mountain. We did laps in Mineral Basin all morning, enjoying powdery conditions in most places. This part of the resort is on the back side and it features wide, open slopes and a high-speed quad.
There are areas where you traverse over under some cliffs to access some untracked powder. We tried Bookends a few times because the powder was still light there.
The best snow was on the north-facing slopes. It took a while to get used to skiing in up to a foot or more of powder in places, but it was really fun. Mineral Basin also has some decent pitch in most areas, so there was never a dull moment. Chopped-up powder and windblown snow kept us on our toes.
We enjoyed some sunshine, but also some snow during the day. It's always challenging to be in a snowy bowl when the light gets flat! The wind was also whipping from the north, so we tried to avoid it during the day.
We ducked over to the front side of the resort for the afternoon so that we could be more protected from the wind. We enjoyed the Gad Two lift, a slow double that accessed some fun trails and glades. We found pockets of two feet of snow on Tiger Tail.
We had a great day for my first Utah ski day. And the people we met were very friendly. I think I'm going to like Utah skiing.
Now I just need to rest up for what tomorrow brings :)
