The clear morning sky didn't give any clues that it would be a powder day. Those girls who left their houses early enjoyed a beautiful drive up Little Cottonwood Canyon, with views of Tanner's slide path and Mt. Superior on the north side of the road. They were on their way to Alta. Little did they know that, later on, the same road would be closed from all the fresh snow that gushed from the sky.
The women met at 8:30am at Alta's Albion grill. They were there for the Wasatch Women's Telemark Day, an all-levels clinic where telemark skiers — both first timers and experienced skiers — gathered to spend a day improving their turns at the mountain with the largest annual snowfall in Utah. Alta would live up to it's reputation today.
"Make as many turns as possible."
A day of high winds and blowing snow were not an event organizer's dream. But none of the women who signed up were disappointed.
Though on the verge of closing due to the inclement weather, the lifts were running. All the women around me, including myself, were interested in getting on the mountain.
For some, this was their first time on telemark skis (many of these skiers were already experienced alpine skiers). Others wanted to gain confidence and learn to stick their telemark turns on harder, steeper terrain, or simply explore the mountain while sharing stories with other girl telemarkers.
Within the main groups — never ever, beginner, intermediate or advanced — you could fine-tune your skills by choosing a specialized group. For example, a couple categories were: "I can go off trail and use the telemark position but sometimes revert back to parallel," or, "I am comfortable anywhere on the hill but want pointers."
I couldn't decide which to take until one woman said to me, "Women usually underestimate themselves, and men usually over-inflate themselves." I chose a harder one, hoping not to hold anybody back, but also wanting to fully push myself on this amazing powder day.
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