Epic October @ Alta
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By PeteO | November 3rd, 2009
This past month Little Cottonwood Canyon has gone through a micro mid winter cycle.
Alta’s winter began with 2 snowstorms in the first week of October that piled on a generous dose of wet snow. The high moisture content was perfect for sticking to rocks and covering up all the little obstacles. It was a case of “what you see is what you get”, and there wasn’t much hidden underneath.
Mid October brought a rain storm followed by a long stretch of high pressure, which ended up melting out the bottom third of the mountain. The top third became a baked, reflective sheet of hard snow from the cold October sun. Half of the cars in the parking lot were sporting Vermont license plates.
During the last week of October, Alta saw its first real winter snowstorm with deep snow, cold temps and high winds. By now everyone was getting after it and in some cases it was a race to get freshies. With confidence levels high, and deep cold pow, some of the skis and boards I saw at the end of the day looked like mountain lion and bear attack victims.
Only three more weeks until Snowbird and Alta open!!
**This photo was taken on October 1, 2009. It was good to see people getting after it this early. Everyones motivation levels are at an all time high. Not too long after this photo was taken Main Chute of Baldy got tagged.**
**Self portrait after the 1st storm and before the 2nd.**
**Dash Longe October 6, 2009. Stonecrusher at Alta.**
**On one of the rainy days Dash and I bumped into some jibs that a group of boarders put together during the snowstorm. We got a little mini shred jib session on in the rain.**
**Dash threading it through some tree stumps.**
**Snowboarding in the Forbidden Land adds a little to the experience. Local shredders are known to get as many days in as possible before the lifts start to spin at Alta. Neil Provo and Chris Coulter dropping into High Boy on October 29, 2009.**
**Chris Coulter shredding a river bed at Alta.**
**Dash Easter egg hunt on Halloween.**
**Dash no worries in October**
**Pierres Patch. Jamie is almost always the first guy to get this patch every year. This year he didnt get it first but he ripped in on a snowboard on Halloween Day.**
**Our first Apres ski of the winter at the Tram Club. Carlo, Dash, Nick and Rick.**
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