This quick trip to Utah was all about getting in some great skiing. The schedule flexibility of a sabbatical semester made it possible to do this trip at this time. The ability to stay with friends for 3 of 4 nights and have 2 of my 3 ski days on my Indy Pass helped make it affordable.
Sunday, February 5 - Amsterdam, New York, to Sandy, Utah
The long westbound travel day. I left Amsterdam at 10:45 to get to Albany for my 1:05 takeoff to BWI (with views of Amsterdam [2 Pictures]). After about 3 hours at BWI came the long hop out to SLC. Both flights were full, both on time. The second was my first time I am aware of on the 737 Max 8 [Picture]. Maybe it was more due to sitting up front (row 3) than the aircraft, but it was a surprisingly quiet ride. Either Pete Rose or his twin were also on the flight [Picture]. Flight and airport time gave me the chance to get some work done on my sabbatical project, processed some picture sets, and caught up on some newspapers. I arrived in SLC by 9 MST, took a while to get my bags and car [4 Pictures], then made the quick ride down to Sandy for the night.
Monday, February 6 - Sandy, Utah, to Logan, Utah, via Powder Mountain
I wasn't especially confident in my rental plug-in hybrid Chrysler Pacifica's ability to handle the snow, and found that was justified with it having trouble doing things like going, turning, and stopping, around Sue and Cory's neighborhood in Sandy. But once I got out onto the main roads, which were all just wet even through Ogden Canyon and right up to Powder Mountain [Picture], it had no problems. I arrived at the mountain around 10:30 [Picture], quickly got my pass and got ready, and was out on the slopes in Utah for the first time since 2007. The snow was a tiny bit heavy for Utah powder, but was really nice. Powder Mountain is so big that it's not hard to find places with some pretty deep powder. It took a bit to get back into skiing these kinds of conditions. After just a few runs on the Paradise lift [4 Pictures], I decided to head back up to Timberline for lunch (a good bacon cheeseburger). After lunch, the visibility really started to get poor. I took Timberline again and then cut over to Hidden Lake. At times, away from trees, it was nearly impossible to distinguish air from snow and to anticipate any terrain changes. I took it very slow and tried to get into or near trees as much as possible, but it was difficult so I (and many others) took a little break at the Hidden Lake Lodge. Another challenging run there and a ride up the Sunrise platter lift, and I decided this was more dangerous and stressful than fun, so I worked my way back to lower terrain and took another break at Timberline. I almost decided to call it a day early, but it looked like things were starting to brighten up a bit, so I went back out. I'm glad I did, as my last few runs, all off the Timberline chair, were the best of the day. I found some great lines through fresh powder in the trees [10 Pictures]. I ended the day by about 3:20, did a little shopping in the ski shop, and was on my way down the mountain before 4. My ride back was through Ogden Canyon again [6 Pictures], but now up US 89 to Logan for the night [18 Pictures]. After checking into the Comfort Inn and a FaceTime home, I got dinner from the nearby Culver's [Picture]. Back in the room, it was time to catch up on things on the computer organizing a bit for tomorrow, and calling it an early night.
Tuesday, February 7 - Logan, Utah, to Sandy, Utah, via Beaver Mountain
There was no great rush in the morning, so I got breakfast at the hotel and dealt with a few work items, and still was on my way before 9. The ride up Logan Canyon was easy and enjoyable, and I was at Beaver Mountain before 10 [9 Pictures]. Unlike the previous day at Powder Mountain, this was a bright and sunny day. I showed my ID to get my Indy Pass lift ticket, got myself ready in the lower level of the lodge [Picture], and was out on the snow not too much after 10. I already liked everything about the place and hadn't even taken a run yet [Picture]. There was a pretty good size group of local school kids on a field trip. I started with a short run down between the carpet lifts to the base of the Little Beaver chair [3 Pictures], where most of the field trip kids were skiing. From there, I cut across for my first ride up the Harry's Dream lift. I took a few great runs off there, mixing some groomers with a sampling of some of the ungroomed trails and glades [12 Pictures]. I took an early lunch in the main base lodge (some tasty beef noodle soup) [2 Pictures]. After lunch, I split my time between the two main lifts: Harry's Dream and Maggie's Triple [3 Pictures]. I explored as much as I could and every run was great. I probably took a run or two more than I should have, but it was so good I didn't want to quit [15 Pictures]. It ended up being one of my best ski days yet [5 Pictures]. I picked up a t-shirt, a sweatshirt, and some stickers in the ski shop, then got on my way. The ride back was good, mainly down US 89 and I-15, but with a number of little detours to check out some new roads [23 Pictures]. Back in Sandy, I stopped for a Double-Double combo at In-N-Out Burger [Picture] before going back to the house to organize my purchases so far [3 Pictures], and call it a night [Dog Picture].
Wednesday, February 8 - Sandy, Utah, and back via Snowbasin and Ogden
I decided on Snowbasin for my last day because it's relatively close, likely to be less crowded than the Big and Little Cottonwood Canyon resorts, offers a PSIA discount, and I'd never been there before. I got a pretty early start from Sandy and grabbed a Chick-fil-A breakfast sandwich on my way. No traffic or weather troubles on the ride up [3 Pictures], and I was parked (not far at all from the base lodges) before 9:30. I got my ticket, found a place in the very nice lodge [2 Pictures] to get ready and to leave my bag. The weather was good, but threatening up high. I made my first run on the Needles Gondola. It was already more cloudy at the top and a bit more breezy [3 Pictures]. A second run was up to the same area on the Middle Bowl Express chair, at which time I decided to make my way over to check out the Strawberry Gondola. The run down that way was great, and I was able to go in and out of the groomed parts, and both found a fun little chute, and was able to let the skis ride on a groomed steep [7 Pictures]. The ride up Strawberry led up into the clouds and I got my first taste of what was to come at the higher parts. It was pretty much a whiteout, so I just followed the markers best I could to get back below the weather to the main base area. I got to try out what ended up being my favorite lift for the day, as it stayed below the storm up top: Becker [2 Pictures]. I got lunch in the base lodge, a good mac and cheese with bacon. After lunch, the top half of the mountain was no longer visible, but I did want to check out more. I first took Littlecat to Wildcat and worked my way over to the John Paul Express. That one goes over some really excellent-looking terrain that I wasn't comfortable skiing on my own. Nearing the top, it got windy with fog and blowing snow. I took a short break in the John Paul Lodge, and decided it wasn't the day to take the Allen Peak Tram to be able to ski from the top of the Grizzly Olympic downhill course [7 Pictures]. I settled for skiing parts of it the best I could in the whiteout. I ended up instead on bottom part of the Wildflower Downhill, which was was a lot of fun. At that point, I was done with the upper mountain lifts, and took my last few runs off of Becker. The visibility problems were working their way down, and what would have been a really great spot a Sunshine Bowl ended up being a challenge with no ability to see the snow conditions ahead [2 Pictures]. I was done for the day by around 2:30 [6 Pictures], hit the ski shop, got my boots off [2 Pictures], and got on the road. I took a little extra detour up through Ogden on the way back [21 Pictures], and still made it back to Sandy around 4:30. Later, it was an excellent dinner at El Chihuahua.
Thursday, February 9 - Sandy, Utah, to Amsterdam, New York
When I booked the trip, my choices were really early morning or kind of late day flights home, and I went for the later option. I took my time in the morning, caught up on some work things, and got on my way around 10 [2 Pictures]. I filled up the rental and got an early lunch at Raising Cane's. By then, I learned that my first flight would be a little delayed, but continued on to the airport anyway. Car return, check in, and security were all really fast, so I had a solid two hours in the terminal to get some things done [Picture]. In the end, the flight was delayed almost a half hour. On a clear, sunny day, there was a lot to see right after takeoff with the unfrozen Great Salt Lake and snow covered mountains, then a great view of the places I drove in the last few days and of Snowbasin. As and as we continued east, pretty much following I-80 across Wyoming, there were lots of snowy scenes [13 Pictures]. As it got dark and we approached Chicago, the weather was rainy and windy, so the landing was a little bumpy. I had a short layover time anyway, and by the time I got off the plane (even though just in row 4), my second flight was ready to board, and it was about as far away as it could be and still be in Midway Airport. I hurried over and joined the boarding line just as my A group had finished. This was not going to be a full flight, so I went toward the back hoping to win the empty middle lottery, and did. Unfortunately, after all the rushing to get to the gate and to get to my seat, it was over an hour before we moved. First, we were waiting for the crew whose inbound flight was delayed, then waiting for deicing. We ended up leaving and arrive in Albany over an hour late. Bag claim was quick, I got my car, and was home by 11:30. The sad part is that I came back to the same bad winter at home, driving through some mild downpours... I guess no powder day this Saturday.
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