When we arrived at the Alta parking lot for some preseason ski touring I knew it would be crowded but the lot looked mostly full as if the resort were already open. Up on the hill above the Collins lift a moving line of people made steady progress from the base as high as I could see almost as if there were an escalator in place. Actually it was like a human powered ski lift reaching to the top of the mountain. Everyone is a ski tourer now I guess.
I’d reminisce about how I used to have the mountain to myself before it opened but I know this is how things have come to be and there was still plenty of powder for everyone in line and plenty of danger as well. The October snow crust that had been sitting around was now covered in some kinda dense (for Alta) powder snow. With all the other skiers around it tends to make me get a little competitive for the powder or want to skin farther up the mountain to get the goods that no one else is willing to work for. Upon arriving at the top of Collins lift we started to traverse toward Gunsight notch and the open powder bowls and chutes on the other side of the ridge splitting Alta. The bony wind scoured razor rocks and stiff wind slab feeling snow made me change my mind. Something didn’t feel right or maybe I was just feeling too lazy to deal with more danger and more difficultly when we were passing by perfectly good un-tracked powder to get it. We turned back toward the masses of other skiers and found some great low-angle skiing between the other tracks.
Later that night I got a text that Jamie Pierre had been killed at nearby Snowbird and 10 human triggered avalanches had occurred very near Alta; 3 of which were in the area we intended to ski before “chickening out” The lesson learned for the day was trying to find your own line in the mountains can kill you and it may not be much more fun anyway. I go out for the adventure but I keep returning for the fun.
