Today I skinned from Alta Ski Area’s lower parking lot straight up the Collins lift. That’s way steeper going up than it is going down. Hung a right after the Watson Shelter and proceeded to the top of Wildcat Lift. From there I skinned up the ridge between Alta and Snowbird to a run off of the side of Mt. Baldy called “Tree Jump.”
The Coronavirus pandemic has shut down nearly the entire planet. Sadly this includes ski resorts. In the couple of weeks prior to the closing of the ski resorts I had checked off the 115th of my quest to ski all 116 marked runs at Alta Ski Area. See the map below.
The remaining run is one of the toughest of them all, the Baldy Chutes. Since hitting 115 I watched the run status anxiously, waiting for the fine Alta Ski Patrol to open Mount Baldy up. There had been several storms during this period, and then winds. Fresh snow and wind-loaded snow means avalanche danger and thus closure.
You don’t want to be in a slide when in a chute that’s narrow, 45-50 degrees steep, and has rocks on both sides. Trust me. I know.
Will It Happen This Season?
Alta is now closed. The only way I could get this marked off would be to skin up from the lower parking lot. Totally doable. There are a couple of factors I will have to consider and/or arrange. First off, I have some knee issues at the moment and walking around the block is not easy. I have to rest my knee. Second, I need a partner to do this with me. A spotter at the least. I fell down the entire Main Chute decades ago. I survived (which I’m told was a feat for someone who fell the whole way) and only left with a dislocated shoulder. I have that in the back of my head.
Bagging the Main Chute would mean the closure of two different stories for me:
1: Taking back that big fall I had decades ago.
2: Checking off the last and final of the 116 marked runs this season.
There’s plenty of time left in the season. If anyone wants to join me on this run, hit me up.
