Thankfully there is no possibility of coming across anything beyond a skier’s ability as black and double black diamond terrain and a few blue runs are confined directly above, accessed only by either the Supreme and Sugarloaf lifts and as mentioned, over on the Collins and Wildcat lifts which are advanced to expert only.Īlta Ski Area is located about a 45-minute drive from Salt Lake City International Airport via State Route 210 which leads into Utah’s Wasatch Mountains and the top of Little Cottonwood Canyon. Families are well-catered for with programs like Ski After 3 which gives children access to the rope tows for just $10, and the Alta Childcare Centre which can take those as young as six weeks and up to 9 years of age. Here the slopes a prettily wooded, the groomers wending their way through the forest as well as large open expanses. Intermediate and beginner skiing is concentrated above the Albion Base area. These two lifts also access a smattering of blue slopes The Wildcat base is aptly named, with the Collins and Wildcat lifts accessing a huge variety of black diamond runs, including the ones for which Alta is most famous such as High Greeley, Lone Pine, and the Rustler selection of steep drops. There are 10 lifts (including the conveyor on the valley floor) serving 2200 acres (890 hectares) of terrain, and rising from an 8,530 feet (2,600 m) base to a top elevation of just over 10,500 feet (3200m). Everyone wants to say they have skied this one. Alta has legendary steep terrain including the renowned High Rustler which drops down a central spur of the main spine between the ski fields’ two major bowls. The terrain is 25 percent beginner, 40 percent intermediate, and 35 percent advanced. Lifts rise from two separate areas, Albion and Wildcat, with a bi-directional rope tow linking the two so as to avoid the arduous task of having to pole along the flat valley floor. ![]() These days there is no town as such but a settlement of cozy lodges, chalets, and condominiums.īoth the resort and the road leading to it are avalanche prone and while every modern technology and technique is employed to manage the risks, visitors can sometimes be confined indoors for a short period of time while ski patrol work to control the conditions.Īlong with fellow Utah resort Deer Valley and Mad River Glen in Vermont, access is limited to skiers only. Alta opened its first lift in 1939 – a single ride on the chair was available for 25 cents – and the subsequent ski school took Engen’s name.Īlta is one of the oldest ski resorts in North America, the third to open a ski lift after Sun Valley and Timberline Lodge on Oregon’s Mt Hood. In 1935 the US Forest Service sent a Norwegian-American ski jumping champion Alf Engen to tramp into the area to determine its suitability for skiing. However, in the 1880s the forces of nature struck a double blow when both an extensive fire and catastrophic avalanche destroyed virtually the entire town. Along with its neighbor Snowbird with which it is linked, Alta gets pummeled, leading to descriptions of the pair as powder capitals of the world.Īlta started out as a mining town, established in 1865 and flourishing during the industry’s ascendency. ![]() The small historic hamlet surrounded by towering peaks receives a whopping 42 feet (13 m) each season thanks to a location deep within Little Cottonwood Canyon. One of the very few skier’s only destinations left in the world, Alta is renowned as a powder chaser’s dream.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |