Driving down into the Collins Lot at the Alta Ski Area is like passing through a time tunnel. You feel you are being transformed to a time where you’re rockin’ all the latest gear, but skiers around you harken back to the days of old in their passion and attitudes. Alta snowflake stickers dot helmets, while functionality trumps style in clothing. This is skiing at its roots!It was a bluebird day with the sunshine pouring down Grizzly Gulch. Anxious skiers were rushing for a spot in line in the lift line, while others were finishing up opening day tailgate breakfast.We decided to double down on opening day last Friday, hitting the mothership at Alta for a few runs before heading home to Canyons. As the clock neared 10 a.m., the lift line came alive, hootin’ and hollerin’ with poles clicking as the 87th season at Alta got underway.My ski buddy Tom got my traditional tour as we headed up. “That’s Alf’s High Rustler on the left,” I told him, imagining Alf Engen himself swooping down through the powder in wooden knickers. “Over on the right is the 1980-vintage Yan double (yes, two people, barely) that takes you up to the ridgeline separating Alta from Snowbird.” Hitting the angle station, I pointed out the site of the old Watson’s Shelter, a mid-mountain refuge that opened in 1939 and was the gathering spot on the mountain until it was replaced in 2005.My Alta days start with five minutes standing in the saddle atop Collins. Coming off the lift, I glimpse Sugarloaf Peak to the east, towering above Devil’s Castle. Swinging around to the south, I stare down into Ballroom, moving up to the alpine terrain atop Baldy. But where my mind wants to spend time is looking across valley to the north and the majestic ridgeline of Mt. Superior. Early-season snow came whisping off the peaks against the deep blue skyOK, let’s go skiing. What a glorious morning arcing turns down Main Street.I could already tell my legs would feel the pain. But it was time to head to opening No. 2. It was just a quick 45-minute drive to the Canyons lot.Riding up the cabriolet, I thought about heritage. This place I call home doesn’t have quite the 87 years as Alta. But climbing into the Red Pine gondola for the first time in seven months certainly felt like home, bringing back memories of Park West and Wolf Mountain. We hoped for a surprise opening of Tombstone to show off the changes and upgraded snowmaking on Another World and Chicane. But that would have to wait. But there was nothing wrong with laps on Kokopelli and Snow Dancer as we slid off Saddleback Express.I do have a habit of holding up my ski partners as I stand at the top of ski lifts surveying the mountainscapes. High atop Saddleback, I looked up to Square Top, then gazed into the distance at the top terminal of 9990. To the north was Murdock Peak, patiently waiting for the eventual opening of Condor.We skated over to Kokopelli, carving some nice turns down the top drop until someone figured that 12 inches between my Rossignols and the trees was somehow enough room to shoot through. We all survived.Opening day is first about finding all your gear. Then it’s about getting your ski legs back, or at least figuring out that your lack of exercise would result in burning quads the next morning. Most of all, though, it’s about coming home to familiar places, carving turns on slopes that are your own, and thinking about how fortunate we are to glide on the snow through some of Mother Nature’s finest creations here in Utah.I simply love skiing. You won’t find me on the High Traverse at Alta and likely not atop 9990 at Canyons. You might joke about my number of runs each day or the low black-to-blue ratio. But I’ll be out there.I was also invigorated by Wasatch High School students Ryder Frahf and Kennen Vareoman, who camped out overnight to be first on the lift. And all with the goal of 30,000 vertical feet on opening day.That, my friends, is a real goal!The post Ridgelines: Doubling down on opening day appeared first on Park Record.