Alta Utah Powder Skiing Jan 5, 1974 HQ

This is a better quality version of the classic powder day from the 1973-74 Ski season at Alta Utah. We, Lowell (Rock) Nelson, Mark (Stein Erikson) Johnson and Wes (the Bird) Lindahl were ski bums that year and skied ~100 days on a $135 seasons pass. None of the old 8mm film is edited, and filming itself was ad libbed during just 2 runs down. We couldn't wait to get rid of the camera to free ski!

[@lynnmstephens]

I was there that day! I was a senior in high school (Weber High in Ogden) and it DUMPED the day and night before, then cleared off for a great bluebird day with powder so deep it would choke you. Rented some 'wider' skis (Blizzard Wizards) from Sunset Sporting Goods on 29th and Washington in Ogden and headed up with my buddy Curtis Peterson. What a great day skiing! Still remember it.

[@joekaras1]

This is such a good video. I come back to it every couple of months when I need a pickmeup.

[@carlklister]

It was an amazing experience to be bumming then. More so when I look back on it now. So lucky to have been there. Lange Banshees, Marker M4s, wood core VR17s.

[@carlklister]

Thanks Mark - this is beautiful. I showed it to my kids today and told them about ski bumming in CO from 78-82. You captured it all right here - makes me misty!

[@johnboymaverick4761]

i think skiers anywhere get a warm fuzzy feeling from this video.... how can you not?

[@charleshultquist9233]

I grew up on 207 cm racing skis in the moguls and powder...seeing this takes me back.

[@jonl3045]

Anytime I wanna feel good about life, I just put on this video. Thanks for uploading it. Been skiing Alta since 1978, the place never gets old.

[@marksjohnson5]

Thanks Jon. Alta is a feel-good place period; there is simply no place like it.

[@jdkelley47]

My buddies and I watch this video every year at the beginning of the ski season. Perfectly captures what I love about skiing. The music, the scenery, everything. And we've skied a lot of places, but Alta remains our favorite. Thanks for making the video.

[@MarkJohnson-mp3of]

Thanks jd. I agree that there's no place Alta. I hope you have some great runs this year.

[@Tinyl1]

Man I can’t believe I found this video! I remember seeing those guys that day. My dad and me were big powder skiers then and he was one of the first ski school instructors at Alta. I had skis strapped to my feet at a very young age and competed in my school days.I miss living in SLC...it was great growing up skiing at Alta.

[@AltaJackson]

The soul of skiing. I love Alta. I love what this video symbolizes.

[@BoyajianDon]

The best video on KZbin. It's like the best of skiing and the Wonder Years collided! Alta is a magical place...and so is skiing powder...this video captures both soooo well!

[@zemquoi]

Awesome! This reminds me of my very first day of skiing in UT, which was 10 years later, but just as spectacular. I had never seen skiing like this in my life, and was hooked in an instant. Alta has been the gold standard ever since.

[@matthewmanghi5765]

Soooo....sweet. Put a huge smile on my face as I wait patiently for the snow to fly once more. :)

[@JoshP81]

I think I have just seen the most perfect video on KZbin.

[@MatthewLeo1]

Thanks Mark! Ex ski instructor here (10 years) but I didn't get to Utah until the late 90s. I watch this video every year pre season to get in the right mindset. The vibe it exudes is right on!

[@marksjohnson5]

@carlklister thanks, these old films bring out so many memories from this very unique ski era....cheap passes, fewer crowds, the switch from leather to plastic boots and wood skis to fiberglass, skiing powder on narrow skis, and changing our view of moguls from one of annoyance to a fun challenge.

[@KozmoJ68]

I can't thank enough for your posts. Nylon ski pants are back in! No doubt impart do to you! K2 for good!!!!

[@leetlau]

thank you mark - even better the second time

[@prutters]

This is for real..thanks for upload.. :)

[@bigkatunas]

Wow, that put a smile on my face. Simply awesome! Timeless.

[@lorenzobolognini7284]

It's so beautiful that i would like to come back in 70's and 80's

[@wasatchmagic3252]

Favorite ski video, best song!

[@MagnumoftheMountains]

Been loving this video for the 10 years it's been up. CLASSIC skiing! 0:39 moment of pure beauty.

[@v4ngeloz]

Oh my god this video is pure magic

[@stefanrustas6565]

Waoow, all the feelings that comes rushing! I'm about 10-15 years younger than these guys, but the rhythm is the same... My glory days where from the mid 80:s to around 2000. Did ski a lot of powder with guys of all ages, if you know that dance, you dance forever! I'm actually using a pair of 204 K2 super MSL from around year 2000, and they are new! Since I have had some problems with injuries, and have a weak leg... I just decided that if I can carve again with these skis (after 20 years of doing other stuff, mainly surfing and kitesurfing) on my small hill. Then, I have no reason to go modern! Never went to Alta, got baptised in Chamonix.

[@skimanproductions]

Love the video!

[@kayakutah]

That'll bring a smile to your face!

[@kahlesjf]

I skied at Alta for four days in early 1970. I stayed in a small, low, rectangular wooden building somewhere in what now looks to be the Albion area at the base of the mountain. The layout of the floor was entirely open, except for the toilet area, and was just a set of a dozen or so bunks, as I remember. A few steps from the door, I could put on my skis and glide down to the lift. The entire area was very rustic and free of the commercial facilities of other resorts I was familiar with at the time. I remember taking the lift up the left side of the mountain, getting off, and skiing a short distance to another lift that went off to the right and up to the top of the mountain. Most mornings I was awakened around 5:00 am by the sound of a howitzer lobbing shells from the side of a mountain behind me across the valley to high on the Alta runs in order to trigger avalanches from the overnight snowfall. I thought I died and went to heaven, it was such an incredible experience. In the mid-'90s, my wife and I took a ski trip to Park City. We spent one of our days skiing at Alta. There was much more development in terms of restaurants and lodging. But I remembered the trails I skied 25 years earlier and the snow was perfect, as usual. Great times, great memories.

[@michaelmacomber3360]

Wow, great memories, was also a ski bum at that time at the Alta Peruvian Lodge. Wish i could remember the other people working at the lodge. Lost a couple of poles when falling in that deep powder.

[@marksjohnson5]

@JLThompson74 I was wearing the bulky red down jacket, and had the beard. It was my camera, but Wes (the one in the brown jacket half-way through the film) filmed the 1st half of it. I've got quite a bit more film taken during that time, which I am having digitized this month. All the best, Mark

[@molochi]

It's snowing on Alta. I am ready.

[@sdq605]

Pure Gold, Thank You!!!

[@marksjohnson5]

@TubeMistake Yes, you got the ages correct. And I guess that so many people had problems listening to music and skiing (at least hearing others say "watch out") that they banned "Walkmans" in many places by 1984. Shambala is a great song, and reached #3 on the charts a few months before this film was taken. Best, Mark

[@johnsumner6185]

I skied there in 1997 on my Rossi 4s's with broken edges, no worries with deep powder.

[@TubeMistake]

Thanks for posting this video. The seventies were my heydays of skiing. I'm guessing you guys must be around/near 60. I'm 64 now and getting ready to get way back into skiing. I actually have an Astraltune in storage; the one I was wearing when I fell and twisted my knee at Snowbird and wrecked my cartilege. Some folks can't walk and chew gum. At the time I apparently couldn't ski and listen to music. Again, I love the video and the choice of 3DG tune. It really seems to sync up.

[@TubeMistake]

HQ - head quality. Wash away my sorrows. Pre-Astraltune days no less. Sham-lama-bala.

[@xxbubu]

Thx for sharing with us!

[@marksjohnson5]

@JLThompson74 That's very cool. You'll be interested to know that Rock (the one with the red pants with white stars) was also born on Jan. 5. He turned 23 the day this film was taken.

[@TubeMistake]

Just noticed those orange boots @ 1:58 look like my old Hansons's. I think they came in blue also. As I recall my first boots were orange Reichle boots with five buckles which each had something like 12 different settings. I would spend the whole day gettin' 'em just right - ha ha!

[@jamesdunn9714]

This is my birthday, unfortunately I was in Texas doing my freshman year of university after a four year hitch as a Hospital Corpsman.

[@toconnor7]

Awesome!

[@marksjohnson5]

@TubeMistake I had never heard of Astraltune so I looked it up. Wow, it pre-dated the Sony Walkman (which I later owned) by 4 years. Thanks for the info. Mark

[@marksjohnson5]

Tack sa(o) mycket

[@charleshultquist9233]

Excellent...just fucking excellent.

[@imonehellaloosepie]

i live here. :)

[@TubeMistake]

Well I guess alot more folks like to watch singers sing rather than to watch really inspiring skiing with the singers backing up the action, but for what it's worth 3dog on soundstage 1975 here --->

[@endoalley680]

Back in the days when you had to "keep those tips up" on those skinny things we used to call skis.

[@mfsc12]

Is it weird this video made me cry?

[@olivertwisted]

I really don't miss submarining a pair of 205cm skinny skis into the powder. Floating is more fun.

[@SP_3333]

👍

[@jaypooler9765]

nice Thanks for the share..if you only had a gopro

[@MagnumoftheMountains]

I love GoPros, but nothing beats a good cameraman with a good camera. Realistically, unless a skier is stomping cliffs or doing something exciting, helmet cam footage quickly becomes dull. There's something powerful about witnessing the emotion, the music, and the excellent technique these guys have. They're skiing better than 99% of people in deep power...on straight skis.

[@EMANUELE997]

Someone knows where I can find these red pants with white stars??? Contact me..

[@jessecunningham6460]

Did they have hats in the 70s? ...Imagining some old timers talking story at Watsons, with missing ears.

[@lincolng709]

Red ski pant with white stars. Is that Owen Wilson!?

[@marksjohnson5]

Ha! No, that is my friend Lowell Nelson (AKA Rock Nelson.

[@fredoc.102]

First run, Wildcat lift to Blackjack/Westward Ho. Second run, I'm guessing Backside/Yellow Trail, based on you hiking up from old Germania. Is that about right?

[@marksjohnson5]

Sounds about right!

[@sha0tube]

LOL, the way they ski is so weird. It's like they're on an elliptical machine. And who says you need fat skis, they seem to do fine on those thin ones.

[@buggyguru]

Fabulastic

[@BeautifuLakesStreamsBiologists]

That ain't Alta.... that's MECCA, Baby!

[@jdkelley47]

That's "Utahpia"

[@BeautifuLakesStreamsBiologists]

@@jdkelley47 Good 'un !