Digging
Out

The ritual of digging out after a massive storm cycle is an Alta tradition. As storms barrel across the Great Salt Lake, gain energy up Little Cottonwood Canyon and then slam into the catcher’s mitt of Devil’s castle, the snow reward can be rich. When the faucet turns on, there are few places in the world better positioned than Alta to welcome these massive dumps.

This past storm cycle delivered some of the deepest powder turns in recent memory, 70.5 inches of snow—the fourth-largest storm in the last 18 years—and a buried mountain town. Once the sun finally came out and the ski legs grew tired, it was time for the Alta community to grab a shovel or three.

Digging out is a privilege—albeit back-breaking work at times—it signals a right of passage for all of those who had the fortune to hunker down in one of the snowiest mountain folds on the planet while perfectly nailing the storm’s timing. We have lots to be thankful for as we head into this holiday season and the final days of 2022. Happy shoveling.

The Alta Peruvian Lodge buried in snow in 1965 (left) and 2021 (right)