No one has ever bragged about surviving an intermediate blue ski run. The YouTube videos I binge typically showcase a professional athlete being dropped from a helicopter into a bowl of fresh powder and carving all the way to a cliff edge and seamlessly jumping to a safe landing. This is not my story. If I dropped from a helicopter, either at impact or shortly thereafter, I would be dead. This story is about three dads well past their prime that got caught in a thunder snow storm and had to ski to the bottom with zero visibility to survive. It is what we would later call – the Most Extreme Intermediate Ski Run…Ever.
So how did these three Midwestern dads find themselves facing God’s wrath on top of Alta’s Sugerloaf Chair Lift? For us, the opportunity to ski West only comes once a season at best. So, when we found ourselves on the mountain, we were squeezing every ounce of energy to maximize the trip. One might think after aging a bit and having kids that this would temper our energy. But we seemed all the more galvanized to aggressively tackle the mountain, if not for the sport of skiing, for the dollars we dropped on lift tickets that weren’t spent on diapers.
On our last day, there was 100% chance of snow and we were pumped to plow through the fresh powder. But we were unaware that the weatherman was calling for a thunder snow storm. Now would be a great time to ask – what is a thunder snow storm? Well, it is what you would expect, a blizzard of ice and snow accompanied with lightening and thunder. Simple enough to say but entirely different when at the peak of mountain with zero visibility gripping on two metal poles. Additionally, the beautiful powder we were expecting turned out to be stinging ice pellets punishing any exposed skin.
The day started out fantastic with only mild wind and snow. We had spent much of the day on the Supreme Chair trying to find the perfect glade run. For three dads, I was impressed with our abilities to avoid injury on the black diamonds. We were a solid bunch and there was no terrain off limits. But to classify our group as number 3 advance skiers would be a stretch and would probably offend the Utah locals. Instead, I would classify our group as the most advanced intermediate number 2 skiers possible. Sure, we would hit a mogul run through the trees, but there was nothing graceful about our technique. Getting down the mountain was about heart and determination which was something we would shortly be needing.
The snowfall picked up and visibility dropped. The wind painfully slapped us in the face with ice and snow. Unanimously, we thought that the weather might be more favorable on the Sugarloaf chairlift since it appeared the mountain would shield us from the wind. Nothing could have been farther from the truth. Little did we know when we loaded onto the lift, our group chair was one of the last permitted before Alta closed the resort for weather. For half the lift, our thoughts were validated. We were relatively protected from the storm. But things took a turn for the worst.
About halfway up, the mountain seemed to channel the wind directly into our faces. We helplessly dangled from the chair will being badgered by mother nature, and she was not happy. It felt as if ice pellets were being shot into our faces. Any bear skin exposed was in stinging pain. Visibility was very poor. And very slowly, the chairlift carried us up deeper and deeper into the Thunder Snow. Below is a video of the experience.
When we finally unloaded from the chair lift, we had to figure out how to get down the mountain. When skiing in low visibility conditions, slope difficulty ratings should all be considered black diamonds. With a complete white out, we could have easily ventured off a cliff. Our plan was to slowly descend the blue run, Devil’s Elbow and try to stay alive. Below is a video documenting the experience.
On the way to the bottom, we found one of the best trees runs of the trip. The trees provided solace from the wind and ice pellets. After finding the trees, we all knew we would be safe. We all decided that the thunder snow on Devil’s Elbow was the most intense blue square skiing ever!
Share your most intense intermediate run in the comments below!
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