Well, your correspondent’s investigative journalistic responsibilities include unpolished headlines. So, here’s this month’s: The snow is thin.

There’s no denying it. All is not lost, however. Where one opportunity evaporates, another appears. This holiday season’s snowpack means the mountains are empty. Both Alta and Snowbird are spinning most of their lifts so the terrain is there. Alta finally opened Supreme, leaving Mineral Basin as the only closed chair fed slopes in the canyon.

What that means is no waiting. Parking reservations are in effect at Alta daily (till 1pm) but Snowbird has spaces every day. Fear not, the Shuttle system is also fully operational, meaning you can get anywhere in town for free. And with the night shuttle in place Snowbird restaurants and the Snowpine are easy fare (pun intended) from your Canyon Services lodgings.

In the spirit of today’s date, Canyon Blog spent the morning hitting various spots on the mountain in pursuit of capturing the sun cresting ridges on the Winter solstice. Hard to believe he could get around that fast, but that’s no lift lines for you. Thus the token photo of the plaza and Peruvian crowds at 9:30…

In any event, may the sunrise from the shortest day of the year shine down on you and yours wherever you may be. And from the Canyon Blog family, Happy New Year!