Little Cottonwood Canyon and its resorts attract people from many places and for many reasons. The latter tend to be big and full of purpose. Your blogger, no stranger to the fun and satisfaction of a great speed wing line or powder run on a country club day, would agree. Much of the time. But wandering the slopes of Alta and Snowbird in the summer contains a certain kind of magic that can only be found in the tiny and in the moment by pausing. This Independence Day was one of those wanderings. Around mineral basin Canyon Blog repeatedly stopped to smell the flowers (and fungi). Not the flowers appearing in this column from time to time like columbine or bluebell or porcini mushrooms. Rather, those small and often overlooked blooms and petals that are so important to the many varieties of pollinators that also wander the slopes. So, included here, in no particular order, and without scientific taxonomy, are a few of your correspondent’s favorite overlooked flora and fauna. Alright, dandelions deserve mention. Not only are they plentiful and imbued with a brilliant color, but who hasn’t blown a wish on dandelion seeds? They’re also edible. But for Canyon Blog, their special place originates from Ray Bradbury’s wonderful and surreal wanderings of 12-year-old Douglas Spaulding’s summer of 1928 in Dandelion Wine . Enough of that. Rounding out our sampling is a lone ladybug, busy keeping the flowers free of hazards. Followed by a mountain butterfly sunning her wings. Okay, and maybe one shot of Canyon Blog’s 4 th of July ski line in Baldy’s Bowl… Wherever you find yourself this holiday may you enjoy good friends and family. And don’t forget to stop and smell the overlooked flowers in your yard, especially those dandelions.

One of the great experiences of being in Little Cottonwood Canyon is the opportunity to stop. Not for a bite or beer between runs. And not après ski, per say. What your correspondent is referring to is the opportunity to merely be in the canyon and feel its presence. That only really happens once you aren’t focusing on some task at hand like loading a chair or gearing up. In the evenings and mornings there’s a silence in the canyon. Sure, there may be four thousand skiers split between Alta and Snowbird between 10 and 2, but outside that window the canyon either empties out or the humans are all indoors. One of Canyon Blog’s favorite things is to walk about and take things in. That includes things you can experience by omission, such as noise. Put another way, its absence. It’s peacefully quiet here during those times. To have this experience requires that you not be focused on the madness of the crowds or traffic. And to turn off your computer and put down that ever demanding device that runs your life: the modern smart phone. So come for the skiing or riding certainly. But leave with something else, the experience of stopping time for just a bit and, to quote Paul Simon, enjoy “the sound of silence.”

November 22 nd has landed and departed and it’s great to see the season is underway with Alta’s Collins and Wildcat lifts running before Thanksgiving. Even Alf’s is open for that much needed early season ski leg break for a beer or burger, though you’ll need to rope tow back to the lifts. A first this year was the pre-season upslope availability at Snowbird. Peruvian Gulch was open for skinning and touring followed by that always well-deserved run down. Due to slope prep Gad Valley stayed off limits. Were there shark fins lurking here and there at both resorts? Of course. But that’s what early season is all about… not using your new skis. No worries there though as the coverage is only going to improve with the storm cycle that’s swooping in as your correspondent types this. How much is due in the next 48 hours? Doesn’t matter because more are lined up would claim your blogger. So, where’s all this early opening drivel headed you might ask? Snowbird is opening on Thanksgiving Day, arguably the best holiday proximal to the ski season, and Alta is already underway. Period. That means if you’re not here in one of our properties, on the slopes and enjoying the cold, you might as well add extra scoops of turkey gravy with tryptophan to your holiday meal, pass out on the couch, and slouch into oblivion in front of a football game. So don't comply with the sign below. But you don’t really want to do that anyway, do you?

Fall is here. The thing about this time of year in Little Cottonwood is the magical sensations it delivers to one’s soul. These can take shape in almost overwhelming moments such as when you’re standing among a grove of 100-foot aspens, their leaves a uniform shade of explosive yellow, all of them shimmering in an eye captivating fashion no matter how slight the breeze. To your blogger that single sound, aspens, is the harbinger of the season’s arrival. Still, other encounters take on a sense of diminishment. The mountain creeks have all run their course for the summer, reduced to trickles. Or to nothing at all, leaving only bleached stones to mark their recent passage. But where they do remain, to stand next to them and contemplate their annual lifecycle is to reflect on the distillation of our own limited time here and the value of doing nothing more than just that, contemplation. Try it for yourself. The final patch of snow at either resort remains just below Twin Peak in upper Gad Valley, though technically it’s a glacier, seeing as it will survive the creeks who’ve gone to ground. Some of what happens in that wondrously rocky bowl is taking place beneath your feet when the glacier that resides there only exists underground and where it extends, well, no one really knows how deep it goes. The point of your correspondent’s musing’s this month is that the power and inspiration that can be delivered by this wonderful canyon can be nothing more than momentary peace and the quiet that come in the form of a tree or a dry stream or even a lack of snow. It’s simply the natural world that we too often take for granted. For those who yearn for human companion and a full stein, fear not, Oktoberfest has two glorious weeks remaining. However, breaking with tradition, Canyon Blog is choosing to exclude any photos of festivities because sometimes, fall simply is. Till the snow flies your correspondent wishes you a wonderful season wherever you may be. But it’s better here…

Your correspondent pens this piece in the aftermath of a top ten ski day here in Little Cottonwood. After a foot of fresh on top of seven more feet of fresh on top of a mountain with no people, January 17 th proved to be one of those days where despite how hungry you are you don’t dare stop to eat. Late morning when our valiant ski patrol dropped the rope for Catherine’s it was time to start making laps. Ten laps as it turns out. This is where Canyon Blog would normally insert a few great photos to induce jealousy on the part of the loyal readers of this space. Sadly, they were not to be. Why you ask? Because this writer wasn’t stopping to snap shots because it was just too damn good. And besides, as you’re well aware, photos don’t do justice to epic conditions. The best your correspondent can muster is a few shots on the final run to the house off Powder Ridge via Wildcat lift. Those and one shot of a significant ice beard buildup. Well, here’s one additional shot from Snowbird yesterday when they’d just opened Peruvian lift at around 2pm. Several days of closures had the Peruvian snow primed for tracking even if the wind scour faces were a little crusty. What’s the point of these bragging lines you may wonder. Simply this: The storm cycles are still aligned and the snow gods favoring our little canyon. So you better hop on that plane, get up canyon, and drop your bags in one of our deluxe properties because staying down canyon isn’t going to do you any good when the canyon closes for the next storm. Note on our previous photo challenge: The image on the concrete buttress is actually the last chairlift pole as you ascend the Collins lift.

Alta Snowbird Vacation Rentals Archives

Thank You for Ten Years
Thank You for Ten Years

Thank You for Ten Years

As 2025 comes to a close I am celebrating ten years of posting thoughts, events, and observations about one of the most wonderful and wondrous places I’ve ever known, Little Cottonwood Canyon. Breaking my tradition of always writing in the second person, I thought it appropriate on this occasion to speak in my own first-person voice. On one hand it is hard to believe so much time has passed. At least 1,000 days on skis for me. When considered from another perspective, it’s an eye blink. Where has the time gone? I never seem to know the answer to that [...]

CanyonBlog2025-12-27T02:24:05+00:00Uncategorized|

The Joys of Fall Hiking
The Joys of Fall Hiking

The Joys of Fall Hiking

That Canyon Blog spends most of his time in Little Cottonwood Canyon is no secret. On any given day you will find him somewhere on the slopes, except for the long stints at his computer, which has a mind of its own and can be a merciless driver of rambling passages. This is also no secret to readers of this space. Back to the day’s task however are some reflections on hiking in the canyon, especially in Alta and Snowbird. Clearly December through May are not hiking months, everyone trading out hiking boots for more restrictive footwear with attachments like [...]

CanyonBlog2025-10-08T23:41:43+00:00Fall, Outdoors|

Small Things
Small Things

Small Things

Little Cottonwood Canyon and its resorts attract people from many places and for many reasons. The latter tend to be big and full of purpose. Your blogger, no stranger to the fun and satisfaction of a great speed wing line or powder run on a country club day, would agree. Much of the time. But wandering the slopes of Alta and Snowbird in the summer contains a certain kind of magic that can only be found in the tiny and in the moment by pausing. This Independence Day was one of those wanderings. Around mineral basin Canyon Blog repeatedly stopped [...]

CanyonBlog2025-07-04T23:53:15+00:00Outdoors, Summer|

Spring with Snowbird’s Snow Safety Director
Spring with Snowbird’s Snow Safety Director

Spring with Snowbird’s Snow Safety Director

Your correspondent spent a brilliant powder day this week with Snowbird’s snow safety director Kami to get the latest on spring safety on another 500+ inch year. As spring takes over the slopes of Little Cottonwood, just where do the avalanche dangers lie? Well, outside the bomb throwing and route running they do in the mornings in addition to the RACs (remote avalanche control towers) there are a number of factors to pay attention to. “Mostly we’re looking at pinwheel rollers that you find on sun facing slopes,” said Kami with years of avalanche study and mitigation behind him. “Cliff [...]

CanyonBlog2025-04-06T20:38:02+00:00Outdoors, Uncategorized, Winter|

All dogs may get into heaven, but only a select few get into Snowbird
All dogs may get into heaven, but only a select few get into Snowbird

All dogs may get into heaven, but only a select few get into Snowbird

Canyon Blog spent a cold afternoon with Snowbird’s most recent addition to the ranks of certified avalanche dogs, Tony. Okay, and his handler, Paul S. Tony turns two in April and has already attained his Level B certification, the first step for any avi dog, and soon to be Level A, fully qualified to respond anywhere in the state of Utah. A black lab, he’s the heir apparent to Frankie, Snowbird’s long-standing champion black lab and soon to retire to the good life. Paul has served on ski patrol for eight years, having survived the world of finance and ditching [...]

CanyonBlog2025-02-10T00:33:13+00:00Outdoors, Winter|

Silence and Snow
Silence and Snow

Silence and Snow

One of the great experiences of being in Little Cottonwood Canyon is the opportunity to stop. Not for a bite or beer between runs. And not après ski, per say. What your correspondent is referring to is the opportunity to merely be in the canyon and feel its presence. That only really happens once you aren’t focusing on some task at hand like loading a chair or gearing up. In the evenings and mornings there’s a silence in the canyon. Sure, there may be four thousand skiers split between Alta and Snowbird between 10 and 2, but outside that window [...]

CanyonBlog2025-01-18T02:08:34+00:00Outdoors, Winter|

Aaaahh
Aaaahh

Aaaahh

November 22nd has landed and departed and it’s great to see the season is underway with Alta’s Collins and Wildcat lifts running before Thanksgiving. Even Alf’s is open for that much needed early season ski leg break for a beer or burger, though you’ll need to rope tow back to the lifts. A first this year was the pre-season upslope availability at Snowbird. Peruvian Gulch was open for skinning and touring followed by that always well-deserved run down. Due to slope prep Gad Valley stayed off limits. Were there shark fins lurking here and there at both resorts? Of course. [...]

CanyonBlog2024-11-24T00:16:31+00:00Outdoors, Winter|

Fall
Fall

Fall

Fall is here. The thing about this time of year in Little Cottonwood is the magical sensations it delivers to one’s soul. These can take shape in almost overwhelming moments such as when you’re standing among a grove of 100-foot aspens, their leaves a uniform shade of explosive yellow, all of them shimmering in an eye captivating fashion no matter how slight the breeze. To your blogger that single sound, aspens, is the harbinger of the season’s arrival. Still, other encounters take on a sense of diminishment. The mountain creeks have all run their course for the summer, reduced to [...]

CanyonBlog2024-10-01T18:50:32+00:00Fall, Local Flavor, Outdoors|

Surfin’ the Wave at Snowbird
Surfin’ the Wave at Snowbird

Surfin’ the Wave at Snowbird

One of the great things about spring skiing in Little Cottonwood is the light, smells, and space that pervades the senses. Because the temps are up, even though the snow is still flying, people find creative ways to enjoy the mountain. The typical example are the snakes that appear at Alta and Snowbird, usually in Ballroom and Shireen (just off the Road to Provo cat track). However, your correspondent’s favorite playground terrain is the ridge that separates Shireen from Mark Malu Fork where the exhibitionists of spring tend to gather to demonstrate their aerial skills and basically have a great [...]

CanyonBlog2024-04-05T01:24:24+00:00Local Flavor, Outdoors|

OMSG
OMSG

OMSG

Your correspondent pens this piece in the aftermath of a top ten ski day here in Little Cottonwood. After a foot of fresh on top of seven more feet of fresh on top of a mountain with no people, January 17th proved to be one of those days where despite how hungry you are you don’t dare stop to eat. Late morning when our valiant ski patrol dropped the rope for Catherine’s it was time to start making laps. Ten laps as it turns out. This is where Canyon Blog would normally insert a few great photos to induce jealousy [...]

CanyonBlog2024-01-19T20:30:30+00:00Outdoors, Winter|