Day 3 - 11/18/10

[overlooking Alta]

THOUGH THE SNOW report was not promising, Brad and I set off up Emma's Ridge from the upper Alta parking lot.  As we neared the ridge, Brad mentioned that he had met a skier the past Saturday who had skied a chute called Oingo-Boingo, the weasternmost of a crow's foot sequence of three couloirs, not usually in shape for skiing until later in the season.  The snow in the first two chutes appeared to be well filled-in and as we approached the entry to Oingo-Boingo, we decided on taking a shot.
The single enter-point showed signs of a small release, but it had not run out into the main gulley, which indicated stability.  The first few turns on boiler-plate created a no-fall zone, but edging was sufficient.  We then skied over a short rib that opened into a 45 degree pitch of highly skiable, consolidated powder.  The following video tells the rest.

After the opening thrill of Oingo-Boingo, we climbed and skied several more hours of wind-wacked terrain in Silverfork.   The turns weren't pretty, but it was good early season training for skiing the array of highly variable terrain that is encountered in the back country.

After a largely heinous return to the road across rocky, wind-smacked terrain in Grizzly Gulch, we bolted downhill to the always cheap and filling 2 for 1 dinner special at Carino's.


Day's Vertical: 4,600.  Season to Date: 10,300.