Don’t Wait; Get After It!
February 16, 2026
If you have been following along with us this winter, you no doubt have noticed I have chronicled the lack of snow in western North America. Although the status of the snowpack does indeed warrant another rant about the conditions, I am going to resist the temptation to engage in such a whine fest.
Instead, I am here to confirm all those cliches about an OK day of skiing being better than most alternatives. Warning – it’s going to get corny.
First, I offer the following information as facts and not for the purpose of complaining. Take it as background information. Alta/Snowbird (and this is certainly true of most of the western US) did not receive any meaningful new snow for 5 weeks. And while even in the snow capitals of the west there are routinely dry spells, this is unheard of. Here is the shocker – Alta is 11 feet below its normal snowfall! Yep – not a typo – 11 feet!
Ok, now that the facts (remember, not whining) are out of the way…here is the good news. Damnit! Skiing is fun even when conditions aren’t great. To clarify – I am not talking about skiing being enjoyable when faced with sheer icy conditions. But the skiing at Alta and Snowbird has largely been confined to groomed trails for weeks, and even some groomed trails on mostly man made snow. The snow cats have ground up and then repacked (pounded into submission?) the snow nightly. Given the lack of natural snow, the conditions could fairly be described as “firm.”
This long dry winter has been weird enough for me to realize the absurdity of our sport. Hey let’s build lifts up in the mountains, wait for it to snow, and then slid downhill. What hubris! What right do we have to desecrate our mountains just for the our selfish joy of careening down them? While indeed I have had moments of such doubt, I have miraculously been able to lay them aside.
Why, you might ask. Because skiing is releasing and freeing even with less than par conditions. Because even firm conditions are to be enjoyed. Who needs tight figure eight turns in powder? Long arcing, screaming turns on perfectly groomed surfaces are exhilarating and offer no room for error. Given that, they take renewed focus to make sure you don’t end up in the trees. And even though I have been lucky enough to make millions of ski turns, I love the feel of those arced turns and again and again and again searching for that perfect balance.
These weeks have once more reminded me how lucky we are to ski. So…forget waiting for those optimum conditions and get after it!
Be Well; Ski Well.
Kevin Dennis is a life long ski bum with a 34 year legal career on the side. Now retired, he skis 80+ days a year. While he lives in Alta UT in the winters, he has traveled extensively through skiing and has skied almost every major resort in North America (and many you have never heard of). He continues to hit the road often throughout the western United States and Canada and trips over the last several years have included ventures in British Columbia, Montana and Colorado. Whether you want to know about the behemoths like Aspen or Squaw or are interested in the road less travelled (Lost Trail Powder Mountain in Montana or Whitewater in BC anyone?), Kevin has been there, has an opinion and you will most likely have to tell him to shut up after a half hour!
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