Catch up on Utah – Winter 2024
Good morning friends,
It has been a very long while since I last reported on my life. Good news: I did end up finding a job !
I arrived in Utah on December 5th and started working in Alta on December 11th. Alta is a ski town of about 225 inhabitants, but many more in the winter, about 20 minutes from Salt Lake City. It is at an elevation of 8,530ft (2,600m) at its base. It was my first time living at such an elevation and it takes some adapting. For the first two weeks, I had a hard time sleeping, was always dying of thirst, was panting every time I made any physical effort, and my nose was so dry I would keep getting buggers. At the top of Little Cottonwood Canyon, Alta is known for having some of the best snow on earth thanks to the dryness of the weather. It also developed one of the best avalanche mitigation systems in the world because of the canyon’s topography and how often the road has to close because of them.
Despite the beauty of the landscapes and the excitement of meeting new people, traveling has slowly instilled a degree of loneliness and sadness in me through the heartbreaking goodbyes and the everlasting distance between the people I love and me. Therefore, I ended up in Alta because some friends (thank you Ryan, David, and Brock) were in Utah and I felt the need to go someplace where I already knew people.
I started my season working for the Rustler Lodge, where my friend Ryan worked. I became the first woman handy in over 25 years, whoop whoop! At first, it was too sunny. I was missing snow and the feeling of winter. Somehow, I didn’t feel like I could settle at the Rustler for the winter. People already knew each other, it felt cliquey and management wasn’t able to accommodate the day off I needed to get a second job. After a month there, I moved to the Snowpine Lodge and finally felt like I could settle for the winter. Work was easy for me, though very poorly managed. I was lucky enough to share my room with the wonderful Alyssa and have other great human beings around me. I also fell in love, which, I am sure, helped me feel settled.
The fun thing about Alta is that it is only for skiers. I know… Still… And it is packed with out-of-this-world skiers, who all hang out at the Slopeside Café for Alta bombs. So, I went down to Snowbird to snowboard and it felt nice to be away from the bubble of Alta. I also volunteered for Wasatch Adaptive with who I spent some of the best times of my winter. Wasatch Adaptive Sports is an organization that enables people with disabilities to access (snow) sports and break down prejudices.
Winter 2024 could be summarized with a ton of snowboarding, which cost me another sprained ankle while trying to achieve a 360. Nights at the Pdog with Matty, nights at the Hog, coffee catch-ups with Ryan, laughter and tears with Alyssa, fun rides with KyLa, powder with Catalina, banter with Nathan, sunny pool sessions with a book, work with Shannon, Erin and Sara, philosophical chats with Curtis, time with Hollis. Noah Kahan… But not all was fun, we lost a few exceptional beings this year. My family moved out of our home. I got my heart broken.
This winter might have been one of the saddest seasons I have had. But at least, the snow was great and I got to watch it float in the air very often. As always, I was also gifted with many outstretched hands from friends and unexpected people I met on my way. Tired and extremely sad, I decided it was time to go home and help move out of my house. So, I did, after going to the desert, visiting National parks, and hanging out in Salt Lake City with Jackson and Dan.
Thank you Ryan, Alyssa, KyLa, Nathan, Curtis, Catalina, Hollis, Erin, Sara, Hannah, David, Shannon, Hannah, Hailey, Yadira, Griffin, Kalene, Tom, Pete, Chris, Vega, Pierson, Charlie, Kyra, Malka, Kyle, Gage, Gus, and all the other human beings that made this winter more bearable.
Love,
Cal
PS: Nathan and I saw 2 condors !!! It was sick! It’s been months and I still cannot get over it!