Alta Ski Area Open For Uphill Travel

While this past Sunday marked Alta Ski Area's closing day of the 2023/2024 season, it's still possible to ski within resort boundaries... you just won't have a lift to help you get to the top.

Alta Ski Area announced today that it is open for uphill travel. This means that you can now treat the resort like the backcountry and head up Little Cottonwood Canyon to rip some turns on your favorite resort runs.

I actually really like traveling uphill within a resort boundary. It feels fun to move through a familiar environment in a different way and can make for some really fun skiing, especially with spring conditions. It is important to remember that post-season ski resorts do not offer avalanche mitigation, so you should treat these areas like a backcountry zone and make sure you're prepared with avalanche safety equipment and knowledge of current conditions. In addition to considering avalanches, Alta Ski Area also offers the following notes on their current uphill travel policy :

• Equipment may be encountered on the mountain.
• You are responsible for assessing avalanche hazard and risk.
• Please treat the ski area as backcountry terrain.
• Hazards are not marked.
• Carry and know how to use avalanche gear.
• You are responsible for your own rescue.
• There is no ski patrol.
• No access to Snowbird.

Keeping these rules in mind, I highly recommend you check out the uphill scene at Alta. There are some fun lines off of Baldy and you can choose which of your favorite resort runs you want to prioritize on the descent. Keep an eye on the Alta website to stay up to date on conditions and openings.