Alta, Utah – The Comfort of Familiar Places

It’s not always about the new destination; it’s the comfort of familiar places

With some new friends at “Ski With The Girls” day at Alta.

Last winter, the big fireside talk at the infamous Chateau Apres Lodge in Park City was Alta.  Skiers say it’s the place to go for deep powder.  If Deer Valley is the venue for those with deep pockets, Alta is for the ski purists because snow is the only thing there and skiing is the only thing to do.

It’s only September and I haven’t even finished my last race of the season, but I’m already filled with excitement about winter (I skipped autumn) and the skiing possibilities.  I’ve already booked my air and hotel, so I’m good to go for my Christmas ski holiday.

But this trip is more than a birthday and Christmas gift to myself; it’s a time to reflect upon the year’s race season and a time to take a break and simply play (without any odometers, lap counting, fueling, speed training or racing).  This trip is necessary as brushing one’s teeth; it’s a preventive measure.

How do you feel about your racing season?  For me, it meant surpassing bike accidents and learning to keep going and re-defining my race goals a week before the race, being honest with myself about my true abilities, not making any race all encompassing and bigger than others and learning how to be less self-critical while learning from mistakes.

A blue sky view of Alta’s Collins base from afar.

I’ve learned that racing is a very personal journey, as in many of life’s pursuits.  As one grows from the novice level, improvement comes with each season.  Each season has a theme, a feel that enables you to look back at each racing season and be objective, true and kind to yourself.  As a novice skier, while I have yet to learn how to properly tackle the moguls, deep powder and all mountain terrain, I already have an idea of what I want for next year’s races. I want to qualify for the Boston Marathon and my local bike club’s A-level spring training program, which means I have to work on speed on foot and on the bike.

But I’m not type A by any means; I pride myself on being more grounded, so I look to the year-end after I finish all the year’s races as a time to retreat.  Do you have such a place that you escape and retreat to? If not, you owe it to yourself to find your own personal haven.  It could be a wellness spa that you go to once a year, a weekend program at your yoga center, the woods behind your home, but it’s a place that you can call home, that evokes the feelings of comfort and security.

Smiling at the top of “Mambo” run.

Such a place for me are the mountains of Alta during the winter.  While my ambitious side would prefer to leave no mountain range unexplored and no vantage point unviewed, the vast landscape makes that goal impossible to meet even if I decide to move to this old mining town.

I’ve learned that skiers return to Alta because it provides the comfort of home – warmth, connection, the inviting mountain and nature all around that makes you think you’ve found solace.  Families congregate like clockwork at the hotel lounges and they know to line up early in the morning to get their desired dinner reservation time. Their children have grown up skiing at Alta and only have holiday recollections at their particular hotel.  As strangers sharing the lift, one of the first questions tends to be, “Which hotel are you staying at?”  And each skier is almost always a devotee to his/her hotel.

Since I carry my digital camera everywhere, I’ve had to stop a few times to try to capture the post card scenery of greenery peppered with real, wild, pure white powder. I’ve learned that expert, adventurous and even not-so-smart skiers love to discover new trails and go off-piste.

I am an avid solo female traveler who tends to seek others, yet I also revel in my own company. I rise early and am on line as the lift opens.  I carb-up during lunch and waste no time so I can head out for the next half of my ski day.  Sometimes I’ll stop along the mountain to catch my breath, take a break or more likely, to figure out the curves I will make to get to the bottom of a challenging slope.   While I’m familiar with the main trails of this mountain, the variable snow and weather ensure that each familiar run never feels the same. Although I’ve never felt alone and was never one to return to the same destination, I have found the comfort, safety and security of returning to this familiar place.

A sunny ski day on February makes all the ski difference.

There are lessons and tricks I’ve learned through my travels.  As a runner, I never leave home without my running shoes.  They’re a security blanket for me because I know I can work out whenever I want to, and in my travels I’ve discovered a certain beauty to early morning explorations.  Some of my fondest running explorations include the Sahara desert and Christchurch, New Zealand (I discovered the Cadbury factory where I scored some free chocolates to take back to my roommate at the hotel).  I always carry a water bottle with me when I travel to remind myself that I constantly need to drink.  Since I’m all about traveling light, my travel clothes are those that I hardly wear at home.  I wear them during my trip and donate them to the hotel after use.

My travel tradition has always been to spend my last day alone to let it all soak in.  On my last day at Alta, I let myself be guided as I glided over all the fluffy snow underneath.  I was surrounded by snow-capped peak mountains, the native trees and my heart lightened.  I knew this is how it’s supposed to feel; I knew this is how I’m supposed to feel.

6 Ephemeral Art Forms You Won’t Want to Miss

Tired of visiting the same old museums, finding yourself craning over tourists to get that perfect picture of the diminutive Mona Lisa only to find a better reproduction in the museum shop? Sure, museums have their big fans, and were else are you going to see a collection of static art that just, well, stands there for time immemorial? Museum alternatives abound, but what’s an art lover/museum hater to do?

Temporary, or ephemeral art has a now-you-see-it-then-you-don´t quality to it. It may be constructed for the viewer, as a form of prayer, or even for the joy of the art itself. If you’re looking for a way to infuse art into your very pores while waiting on not a single museum line nor padding down a single hard marble museum floor amid the clicks and whirs of your fellow humans’ preferred recording devices, consider the following six forms of art that are as unique as the artists that create them.

Sandcastles

For artwork that absolutely will not stand the test of time, particularly on a windy, heavy-surf beach that’s subject to rain, nothing can beat the sandcastle. Kids’ versions with moats and scavenged trash these are not. Rather they are works of art that take hours (and sometimes teams) to construct.

One little-known secret is that dirty sand works better than pristine sand, as the grains of sand cling to one another a little better. Mid June brings crowds to Newport Beach, Oregon for the sandcastle building contest there, but true professionals will also be found at the US Open Sandcastle building contest which is holding its 30th annual competition on August 8th, 2010 in Imperial Beach California.

These temporary artworks won’t last long, so you’ll have to be there or crane to get a better look at your friends’ photos.

Sand painting

Religious sand art is present in many parts of Asia, particularly in Tibet. The sand mandala (from the Sanskrit mandala meaning essence, containing or circle circumference) is a colorful, almost kaleidoscopic circle designed by Buddhist monks and then filled in with sand using a series of funnels, bags and scrapers.

The mandalas are made of crushed sand or rock, though crushed lentils and other materials may be used. Mandalas are also present in Hinduism, where they may also be called Yantra. In both cases, mandalas contain religious symbols, and are not meant to be preserved. The making of the mandala is a form of worship by the person who makes it.

Ice Sculpture

Carving a giant block of ice into a recognizable glittering figure isn’t quite the same as standing on the beach under the hot sun, but it’s got that pop-culture element, and the results can be spectacular. Tools include a chain saw, drills with different bits, hand saws, picks and chippers, and of course, tongs. The usual uniform is somewhat unbecoming, with rubber boots and gloves being practically de rigueur. To buy your own ice carving supplies (including giant trays in which to freeze the ice blocks), follow that link.

For those of us who are less likely to hack at a piece of ice, and more likely to want to go see one, the winter festival in Quebec is a good option, or for the more intrepid, go to Harbin in northeastern China, where Siberia-like winter temperatures may drop to nearly 40 below. To see a more complete list of winter and snow festivals, click there. These competitions tend to take place in the winter, so plan on bundling up and heading out to see them in January or February.

Butter sculpture

Moving away from the frozen-solid and towards something a little warmer, are the different types of butter sculpture. The oldest instance of butter sculpture is actually a Tibetan religious artform called Torma, in which butter is mixed with other ingredients, such as flour and colorful dyes either as ritual items or to later be consumed. The monks work the cold butter with their hands as though it were clay, and form it into various shapes of religious significance.

A more mass-market kind of butter sculpture consists of shaping a giant yellow cow out of “pure creamy Iowa butter,” over a frame of wood and wire mesh at the Iowa State Fair every August. The tradition is long-lasting, though the cow is not. The cow has been reproduced every year since 1910, and versions have cropped up in states as far-flung as New York. Other themes such as the Last Supper have also been created, though plans to build a model of Michael Jackson were thankfully, scrapped.

Carved vegetables

Many of the garnishes that appear on your plate at a Japanese or Thai restaurant are truly works of art. If you’ve ever wondered how to make those tiny birds or clever radish roses, or even a giant carved watermelon where the red flesh is visible through the green rind, consider buying this book. The website also has links to different sets of peelers and carving tools you may need for your next play-with-your-food project.

But a better-known type of vegetable art can be seen mainly in late October, and mainly in the United States. Despite cold temperatures, the carved pumpkin (or Jack o’lantern) doesn’t usually stand much of chance of making it far into November, making it somewhat ephemeral as well.

Between neighborhood vandals, rot and the local fauna, these artworks are mainly best enjoyed on their shining night, which is Halloween, or October 31st. Impromptu parties abound, with children and adults hacking at pumpkins with slippery hands and old kitchen implements and seeded pumpkiny pulp stuck to nearly every available surface. To see a giant collection of carved pumpkins, join the crowds that pour into Keene, New Hampshire every year for their giant display at the Pumpkin Fest. They usually have more than 20,000 pumpkins, though they recently lost their most-carved-pumpkins crown to Camp Sunshine, a summer camp for sick children, which held its own Jack o’lantern contest in Boston in 2006. Tune in this year to see if Keene wins its title back on Saturday, October 17th. More details here.

Flower carpets

Carpets are usually long lasting, at least until someone spills grape juice on them. These carpets are made of flowers and flower petals, or of colored sawdust, to cover large surfaces and be seen from a distance. One very large display of this sort is the Tapis de Fleurs in Brussels, Belguim, which will be premiered this year on August 12th at 9 AM.

The concept for the first flower carpet in Brussels was developed by E. Stautemans, a landscape architect whose projects have included a massive carpet at Ghent of 164 x 42 meters, but the foreground of the Grand Place in Brussels is his favored setting, and this 77 by 44 meter carpet is still huge and impressive. For more information, visit the Brussels flower carpet site here.

Other flower carpets are constructed around the world at Corpus Christi, a Catholic holiday that takes place in June. Carpets may be seen in areas as diverse as Tenerife in the Canary Islands, inside the Arundel Cathedral in Arundel, England, and of course in Rome. These carpets filled with religious symbols are meant to be admired, and at the end of the day, trodden upon, making them a truly short-lived affair.

With so many continually changing works of art (or kitsch) to see in so many locations, there’s no reason to limit yourself to museums, canvases or mundane sculpture materials. There’s bound to be something decorated, painted, carved or cast somewhere near you. Tell us about it!

Photo credits:
Sand cats by ThisParticularGreg on Flickr, Dogs playing poker by kandinski on Flickr, Sand dinosaur by wikimedia, Sand painting by wikicommons, Ice sculpture by Today is a good day on Flickr, Butter Harry by jakebouma on Flickr, Butter cow by wikimedia, Watermelon by bluemodern on Flickr, JackOLanterns by anonymous to you on Flickr, Carpet by vdhaeyere on Flickr

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