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Show Interconnect opens new vistas to alpine skiers by Christopher Smart I arrived at the Park City Ski Area Plaza early Friday morning. It was cold. The radio said four degrees on Main Street. I knew it was going to be a long, cold day because I was going all the way to Snowbird on alpine skis. I was going on what Ski Utah calls the "Interconnect "Inter-connect Adventure." Utah's "Interconnect" is the talk of American skiing this year. Not only has it been in all the major ski-type magazines but it even made the New York Times. In a few words, it offers skiers the opportunity to visit as many as five resorts in one day, using standard alpine equipment and no transportation transpor-tation other than existing chairlifts. I had known of the Interconnect Inter-connect for some time and, in fact, had ski toured many times the route this trip would take. But never in a single day had I skied all the terrain from Park City down into Big Cottonwood Canyon and then up the other side of that canyon into Little Cottonwood Cot-tonwood Canyon to Alta and Snowbird. Anyone who has skied the back country in this area knows its beauty. The Wasatch Mountains between here and Snowbird are breathtaking, to say the least. These mountains can be so beautiful that they don't seem real. And although I knew this before the tour got underway, my counterparts didn't. They were in for a special look at the Wasatch from vantage noints. whirh ur until nnw. of Park City, Brighton, ' Solitude, Alta and Snowbird are situated geographically near each other, each canyon and resort has its own unique attributes. For years now, Brighton and Solitude have been small resorts geared toward residents of the Salt Lake Valley and the surrounding area. Located up sleepy Big Cottonwood Canyon, they offer of-fer something pleasant and relaxing to the skier. The ski touring outside those resorts has always seemed great, if peaceful compared to the precipitous and challenging slopes of its neighbor to the south, Little Cottonwood Canyon. As we dropped lower in Big Cottonwood into the aspen groves I could see the pleasure on the faces of the others. Over the years, this particular little spot had grown to be one of my favorites. Certainly I did not begrudge this small group from passing through. They seemed to appreciate it enough. It seemed to me that commercial tours wouldn't irrevocably alter the serenity here. Beyond being a very experienced ex-perienced guide, Bailey doubled, as master of ceremonies cere-monies for the skiers on the Interconnect tour. As well as pointing out landmarks land-marks and points of in- 1 terest, he gave us the low down on planned develop- ment in Big Cottonwood. In ' the future, he said, Brighton will install lifts up two more mountains, Clayton Peak ; and Mount Wolverine, so i that skiing between resorts a ; ": i- . I "-' ". . - ' . !.... 3-s"''; sf' '-i-; ' I S , (f f , ' ,",'- ' ' - : - ' I , i K .. .. v.. : : : :g : : . t A M ' ::M;m a I . ' Xd I J i i: S ':vi;:'. ' : :,. '4 4 ' Li . o .", -;5:;:. . Wm , i 1) a Utah's Interconnect tour is the biggest thing happening on the national ski scene this year. Here, Interconnect travelers traverse into Grizzly Gulch in Little Cottonwood Canyon from Twin Lakes Pass after crossing the "highway to heaven" in Big Cottonwood. The tour leaves Park City for Snowbird three times each week. have been reserved for cross country skiers who don't mind hiking up the side of a mountain. As our guides, Bob Bailey and David Cotter, assembled us for the trip, looks of anticipation an-ticipation filled the faces of the eight other hearty souls who had come from all across the country and Canada Can-ada to take this tour. They had paid $60 each and seemed itching for action, no matter what the temperature tem-perature was. is even easier. Additionally, he said, the first condominium con-dominium project has been slated for construction in the canyon. I wondered if these planned developments were the outcome of Interconnect marketing pressures. There is no need to build a ski lift on every mountain, I thought to myself. Why not leave something for people who enjoy nature enough to walk through it. The coming of a condo project to Big Cottonwood Cot-tonwood looms as the begin- costs $30. Bailey said that locals would really appreciate ap-preciate this tour. At the top of the Solitude ski area, the only thing separating us from Little Cottonwood and Alta and Snowbird was what Bailey and Cotter refer to as "the folks from Chicago, Scran-ton Scran-ton and even the Canadians seemed to agree. Down Grizzly, towards Alta, we found some nice powder turns much like we had encountered when we first fell into Big Cottonwood from the top of Jupiter Bowl tacular scenery would be hidden this day. The skiing at Alta was less than legendary Friday. But our look at the snow was , brief there it consisted mostly of traversing toward Snowbird and the final run. Getting around the corner U11U VVltbl Ul , SA Ui) and took no chances with the group's safety. We were outfitted out-fitted with radio-locaters in case of avalanche and given a brief lecture on what to do in the event of a slide. However, Bailey and Cotter say they don't venture out when the snow conditions are unstable. Even when they consider conditions stable, the guides each carry radios. One They were in for a special look at the Wasatch from vantage points which, up until now, have been reserved for cross country skiers who don't mind hiking up the side of a mountain. trom Alta to snowDira is somewhat tricky. Unless you choose the right route, you're left either hanging from the cliffs or walking down the road with your skis on your shoulder. Bailey knew just where to go. To make it official, we took a cold tram ride to the top of Snowbird and skied down through the fog and snow. A run like that at the end of a heads up the tour and one sweeps behind making sure each tourist is accounted for each step of the way. And when you're dealing with eight folks who are unfamiliar un-familiar with the terrain and some who are completely new to mountaineering, that becomes a substantial piece of work. As we rode up the Jupiter lift together, David Cotter and I discussed, in chopped sentences, how cold it was. My feet were like ice blocks and the wind was cutting through me. Cotter impressed im-pressed upon me, in no uncertain un-certain terms, how important impor-tant he thought it was considering con-sidering these conditions, to ; move toward Snowbird as fast as possible. ning of the end of what, to me, has been a tranquil slice of nature left along the bustling Wasatch Front. The tour stopped briefly at the road in the bottom of the canyon. We took our skis off and walked across the road to Solitude. Recently, Solitude has installed two lifts that are very important to Interconnect. Not only do they make a link between Solitude and Brighton, but they open the access, for alpine skiers, to Grizzly Gulch which leads to Little Cottonwood Canyon. But before streaking for Little Cottonwood we took a loop on the Solo-Bright trail, which leads from Solitude to Brighton and vice versa. The goal of this particular ven- highway to heaven" or Twin Lakes Pass, which is a long traverse under a hanging snowfield. The wind was up and the temperature down, as we crossed, one at a time, under that avalanche hazard. The going was slow for some of us who didn't have mountain lungs or ski three times a week, but finally we all stood at the top of Grizzly Gulch. With the sun fading behind the clouds we had a final view of Clayton Peak to the north across Big Cottonwood Cotton-wood Canyon, the severe-looking severe-looking Wolverine cirque east of us. And at our backs were the mountains of Little Cottonwood. This vantage point is a special one. The in Park City. But Bailey is quick to point out that this isn't like helicopter skiing. This is a ski tour, Bailey said. People shouldn't get the idea that this is a trip in quest of powder. This is an adventure covering 20 miles of Utah's mountainlands from resort to resort. As we moved toward Alta, what was left of our sunlight faded. The day was cold, the light flat and the wind stiff. But not surprisingly, the group was still enthusiastic, if a bit tired. We traversed the breadth of Alta. The clouds hung too low to show off the sheer magnitude of the mountains. For this group some of the most spec- long, com pun can De trying, but Bailey and Cotter kept things on the up-and-up as they had all day long. On the top of the mountain Bailey would point to different dif-ferent directions in the fog and say things like, "To your left over here we have Amercian Fork Twin Peaks and to right down there, that's Heber." Once at the Snowbird resort plaza we boarded a warm, beer-laden van for Park City. We were all awarded a nice-looking "Interconnect "In-terconnect Adventure" pin. And we cruised for Park City knowing that we are among the few but growing number who have Interconnected across the Wasatch. But as we dropped off Scott's Peak into Big Cot-' Cot-' tonwood Canyon, tem-: tem-: peratures amazingly warmed as we skied down through the powder. The sun had decided to show its face and the charm of Big Cot- tonwood Canyon opened up " to us. Although the ski areas ture was to ski at both resorts in both Big and Little Cottonwood Cot-tonwood Canyons as well as Park City. Another Interconnect tour features a three-resort trek from Little Cottonwood into Big Cottonwood and back. This brand of Interconnect, with guides and lift passes, I |