Alta - Backcountry Experience

I have just returned to New York City from a very exciting skiing trip in Alta, Utah. For five days the Alaska Mountain Guides (www.alaskamountainguides.com), namely Renata, Ben, Mike, Kyle and Kyle and last but not least Will, took extremely good care of me.

Ben and Kyle made sure that I got some really good powder runs in Alta's backcountry. After having been skiing for almost 20 years now, and after a fairly lengthy hike (at least for me), I finally got to ski knee-deep, untouched powder snow (Kyle, thanks for letting me drop in first, I really appreciate it). It was so good that I could not help but scream out loud while taking my turns on the fresh snow. Those of you who know me a bit better will know that it takes quite something for me to have such outbursts.

The (other) Kyle provided me with a completely different, yet no less exciting or memorable experience: winter camping and rock climbing. Kyle and I spent a couple of nights outside in a tent, somewhere tucked away in the Wasatch mountain range. Let me put it this way, it was cold, yes, but we were rewarded with very peaceful, soothing and stunning scenery. By the way, both Jamie Oliver and Gordon Ramsay would have struggled to keep up with Kyle's stir fry and chili mac both of which will not be forgotten.

I also spent one day skiing inbounds with Will who showed me some of his favourite runs, a blend of groomers and some more technically challenging, narrower and steeper runs.

All in all, a fantastic week. A big THANK YOU goes to AMG - you guys really exceeded all my expectations. Keep up the good work.

For more pictures, please see Links "Alta - Backcountry Experience".

Seb