New Year's Festivities

This year my fabulous family very sweetly agreed to accompany me on one of my wish-list events - the New Year's Torchlight Parade at Alta!

Here's the premise:  you go up to the Alta ski area at night in the freezing cold, wait in line to take a lift up, wait in line to get a torch or flare, and then ski down a cat track.  I can't believe this isn't on everybody's New Year's must-do list!!!

My aforementioned family was very supportive and barely mentioned the bizarrity of our evening's plans.  Ben even agreed to ski with me (which he later regretted when it was 6 degrees out and we had been waiting in the lift line for half an hour... but I'd like to think that the cocoa and cookie I bought him at the bottom made up for it).  Sam thought the parade would be more interesting from the warmth of the car.  The logic is hard to argue with.

So Steve and the other kids took the car to the road above the Alta parking lot to watch the fireworks and parade while Ben and I skied down.  Steve managed to get some very cool shots of the parade, which is fortunate since if you're going to do something this silly with your New Year's Eve, you had better have the pictures to prove you were there!

And everyone agreed that they were up for the parade next year, too.  As long as we brought cocoa again.  And as long as I was the only one skiing.

Sounds like a plan!