Torchlight parade to mark Alta anniversary Tuesday

With a beer already under its belt, Alta Ski Area's 75th anniversary celebration turns Tuesday night to a torchlight parade on Alf's High Rustler and fireworks.

A select group of Alta skiers with torches is scheduled to descend the resort's most celebrated run around 6 p.m., finishing up at the base of Collins chairlift. The parade commemorates the opening 74 years ago Tuesday of the original Collins lift, a winter after Salt Lakers displayed a desire to ski the snows of upper Little Cottonwood Canyon when rope tows were installed.

The public is invited to watch the procession from around a bonfire that will be built near the lift's base, said Alta spokeswoman Connie Marshall.

Alta's anniversary activities kicked off in November when the resort, in conjunction with Utah Brewers Cooperative and its brewmaster, Dan Burick, created a "steep and deep" dry-hopped pale ale designed to match "the quality, integrity and excellence that Alta Ski Area is known for."

The commemoration continues Wednesday when historian Charles Keller discusses "Alta 1939," the year the community began the transition from mining town to ski haven. His "Fireside Chat," organized by the Alta Historical Society, is scheduled for 3:30 p.m. in the Alta Lodge deck room.

On Saturday, former Historical Society President Brian K. Jones will lead a group of Alta-based musicians in performing songs about the area from the 1890s through the present. The free performance begins 4:30 p.m. at the Goldminer's Daughter Lodge.

Jones, a ski-school instructor since 2000, and his band Uinta Serenade will play several original songs written for a new album, "The Alta Way." Other musicians performing Saturday include Ron Kane and Tom Carter, who played together in the Deseret String Band, Ray Conrad and the Alta Men's Chorus.

mikeg@sltrib.com

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