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People up before the sun New Year’s Day to hit the slope

Posted at 1:20 PM, Jan 01, 2020
and last updated 2020-01-01 15:20:10-05

People woke up to a blanket of fresh white snow to start off 2020. While many people slept in on the holiday after ringing in the new year, some were up before the sun.

“It’s just nice to beat the traffic, to get first tracks. Usually, we will bring a grill and have breakfast in the parking lot,” Nathan Hansen said as he prepared to head to Alta.

Little Cottonwood Canyon was filled with cars, as people worked their way up the mountain to enjoy a powder day.

For some, the snow was just an added bonus.  “Just all the snow, it is going to be great. Make a lot of turns, do some cliffs, some jumps, good day,” Evan Jahn said, who is visiting from Kentucky.

For some locals, like Hansen, a powder day means it’s worth it to be up hours before the chairlifts start up, for the chance at being one of the first down the mountain. Hansen said he doesn’t mind waiting in the line.

“It’s nice and flowy and fresh, just super fun,” he said.

The Alta ski area was filled with little skiers as well like 7-year-old Maggie Quick.

“It’s fun and you get to go down a lot of runs and it just feels smooth and cool,” she said.

The Quick family always spends the holidays on the slopes, and for mom Suzanne Quick, the winter weather was an added bonus.

“I like the snow for sure, the powder,” she said. Her daughter, Maggie, doesn’t feel the same, “Because I like groomed runs because I always get stuck in powder,” she said. Regardless, the duo was excited to head down the mountain.

“It’s a lot more fun to ski with them, to see them experience something new,” Suzanne said.

This is the busiest week of the year for the Cottonwood Canyons, acceding to UDOT, so officials urge everyone to be patients and prepare for traffic and congestion. For more information on safety, and laws while driving up the Cottonwood Canyons, click here https://updsl.org/page_canyonAlerts.php