Piney & Hoopa

After four decades, Piney and Hoopa are leaving Alta Ski Area after giving their life's work to the Alta Ski Patrol and Alf Engen Ski School.

It was a joy and an honor to catch up with these enigmatic characters this fall. They have greatly contributed to Alta over the many years—one likely taught you how to ski and the other opened up the terrain for you to ski. Piney and Hoopa have earned the respect of many, in not only this canyon but across our entire mountain industry. Their love and commitment to Alta Ski Area and Alta skiers was evident every single day.

Here's to you, Piney and Hoopa, having earned your stripes and a beautiful career at snowy Alta, all the while. scoring the distinction and recognition through just a single name. Piney and Hoopa.

What’s ONE word that describes Alta to you?

PINEY - Fantasy.

It’s a fantasy. Look at my life. I graduated from college in December of 1977 and started working in February of 1978 at Alta. I’m 66-years-old and have worked at Alta my entire life. How can you work somewhere else after working at Alta?

HOOPA - Alta.

You get or you don’t. Real skiers are drawn here sometime in their skiing life, because Alta is the Center of the Powder Skiing Universe. Some skiers stay for a while, some for a lifetime. I hope that when they do go, they take a little bit of Alta with them.

"Real skiers are drawn here sometime in their skiing life, because Alta is the Center of the Powder Skiing Universe. Some skiers stay for a while, some for a lifetime. I hope that when they do go, they take a little bit of Alta with them." — Hoopa

What brought you to Alta?

HOOPA - I went straight into the ski business in the North East after graduating from a liberal arts prep school in Maine. I heard through the windsong about this little place out West at the top of this canyon in Utah. Through word of mouth, this place just sounded really cool. Real skiers talked about this place in hushed, mystic and mythical tones. I thought I’d come out and give it a try.

My high school roommate and I rented a basement apartment in downtown Salt Lake City in 1976. I had planned to come out for 7-10 days. I met Alf Engen and I had my rear-end handed to me from the terrain and the snow. That trip ended up lasting one month before driving back East in my friend’s beat-up Chevy.

After that initial trip to Alta, I told myself that when I “grow up”, I’m going to move to Alta and teach skiing for Alf Engen. In 1980 I started to communicate with Alf Engen and Max Lundburg via letter. The return letter from Max said that the last on-snow tryouts were to be the last week of October and all Ski School positions would be hired at that time. I made sure to be back in Utah the last week of October 1980.

PINEY - I was attending the University of New Hampshire and during my Junior year, we went to Florida for spring break. We didn't like Florida that much, and one of my friends said that we would go to Alta for our Senior year spring break. I said, “where the hell is that, Colorado?” We had friends living at Watson Shelter in 1976 so we kept to our word and drove out to Alta and back for our Senior year spring break. I graduated from the University of NH in Dec of 1977 and moved out here in February of 1978.

What were your earliest memories of Alta?

PINEY - My very first morning ever waking up at Alta, I was greeted by the cacophony of the 105 recoilless going off. I couldn’t believe how awesome this place was, especially staying on the mountain. Lift tickets were just $6 and the Supreme lift wasn’t yet built.

HOOPA - I’ll tell you about my first day. It was a beautiful spring day and all of the lifts were slow doubles. I remember getting on Germania, the old slow double. The clouds were building and by the time we got to the top, the winds were raging, graupel was falling and you could hear the crack of thunder. Visibility was less than 100 feet. Immediately, I knew that this mountain was the real deal. Ron Kane happened to be at the top at the time and said, “you boys might want to follow me.” We didn’t pass up this offer and followed him to Watson Shelter.

For days afterward, we could see our tracks in the apron, with snow remaining so deep, even on the bows of the pine trees. I thought to myself, really, it can be like this?

What’s one thing that most people still don’t know about Alta?

HOOPA - How caring the owners of this ski area are about the employees and the skiing experience. I’m really proud to work for a ski company that supports skiing.

PINEY - People don’t know and recognize the immense history that stands at Alta before us, today.

My biggest memories are the early 80s. Huge snowfalls. Between Thanksgiving and Christmas is snowed every single day. It wasn’t on the map for so long, people that were here knew the secret. It only takes people one time skiing Alta or Utah to realize that they will be coming back.

Thanks, Butch Adams for the amazing photography.

All the greats are recognizable by one name. What’s the story behind the name Piney?

PINEY - In 1978, my first year working at Alta I started living at Watson Shelter for a few weeks and decided that I should probably get a job that provided a ski pass. In search of that ski pass, I got a job at the Snowpine. I worked for ONE day, then had my two scheduled ‘weekend’ days off. During those two days off my friends convinced me to come back to Watson Shelter officially as an employee. After working just one day ever at Snowpine, I became known as the Man From the Pine which was eventually shortened to Piney. The name really stuck when I was hired on Ski Patrol two years later and there was already a Gus on patrol.

HOOPA - You have to watch the video On the Lift With Hoopa from 2013 to find out.

What’s the most entertaining thing you’ve overheard on a chairlift?

HOOPA - One day on one of the old slow double chairs, a woman who I was just riding with on a day off, said to me after sharing way too much personal information “You know, you will tell people you just met on a lift, or on an airplane things you would never tell anyone else!”

PINEY - April Fools Day has always provided great banter back and forth between Alta Ski Patrol and Snowbird Ski Patrol. One year, in particular, I will never ever forget hearing Snowbird’s response to one of our antics. That’s all that I can tell you.

During your time, what has changed the most at Alta?

HOOPA - The quality and the size of the cars in the parking lot along with all of the challenges surrounding cars in the canyon. Every building and facility and every ski lift has changed and been upgraded multiple times over the years but the soul of Alta remains the same. Maybe the only building that hasn’t changed is the reflector on top of Patsey Marley.

PINEY - Alta’s national and worldwide profile has changed the most over the years, becoming more visible. Lifts and snowcats have changed drastically over the years. Remember, today’s existing Wildcat lift and the Westward Ho area was Alta’s original ski terrain. That’s it, it was that small.

What’s remained unchanged at Alta?

PINEY - The mountain has not changed, not one iota. The mountain runs the place. It snows. We throw shots. People go skiing. In February when it snows, it’s the same snow that fell on the same mountain in February of 1939, Alta’s inaugural winter. It’s the same Alta I remember coming to in 1977.

HOOPA - The soul of Alta remains the same.

When you reflect upon your incredible tenure, what are you most proud of?

HOOPA - After 40 years at Alta and 20 years as the Alf Engen Ski School Director, it’s almost impossible to single out one thing, but I’ll leave you with this. I started the formal fireworks program at Alta, which fittingly, will be my official last act on 12/31/20.

PINEY - As Ski Patrol director at Alta I am most proud of our safety record and our ability to help people.

I'm also very proud of our dedication to skiing and for the fact that Alta is famous for getting terrain open. The layout of Alta is so good, we have the systems in place, where we can keep people skiing while controlling parts of the mountain. All the while, Alta’s ownership and management don’t spare a dime when it comes to opening terrain. If new terrain and fresh snow are ready to ski, we open that terrain whether it is a Tuesday or a Saturday. Because of this philosophy, there are so many skiers who have had the best day of their life on skis on a Tuesday.

What's the best career advice that you have ever received?

PINEY - I was taught early on that I didn’t earn the coat, the people before me earned the Alta coat. The Alta snowflake is revered. When I go anywhere and people see the snowflake they don't see me; they see the 200 people that came before me. It’s the shoulders of the people you’re standing on. Working at Alta, you have to realize that you’re not the show. Our job is to make sure that everyone has fun. Our job is to make our ski guests have the best day of skiing of their lives. A personal touch can really help.

I’d be in Europe wearing my Alta Ski Patrol hat and they would say, you work at Alta, you must be special. Especially among the class A avalanche resorts. You are instantly respected at any ski area in the country.

"The Alta snowflake is revered. When I go anywhere and people see the snowflake they don’t see me; they see the 200 people that came before me. It’s the shoulders of the people you’re standing on." — Piney

HOOPA - It was in my first or second year working in the ski industry Back East, I remember storming into my boss's office all worked up over some insignificant event. As I started to rant on and on, the boss slowly swiveled his chair around and gave me that special boss look. He was a big guy, former New Hampshire Highway Patrol Officer, and with a measured response, he asked if anything was on fire, or was anyone in immediate grave personal danger. The answer was of course, “no.” With a sly little smile, I said, “Well then I guess we have time to think this through.” This stuck with me, along the same lines of what Onno would say, think fast and talk slow. Truth be told, I was not always great at following this excellent advice.

What will you miss the most?

HOOPA - The great crew that I have had the privilege to work with over the years. When I started as an on-snow line instructor back in 1980, we were a ragtag group of free spirits, with our fair share of mischievous hooliganism. We worked hard and played hard.

And oh the fun we had! It was a different time, and Alta and the ski industry as a whole were different. At Alta the parking lots were dirt (mud) the lifts were slow, the on-mountain restaurants were tiny and run by concessionaires. The company had no ski shops, no snowmaking, and slope grooming was in its infancy. A lift ticket was nine bucks, single-ride tickets were a dollar. It was right for the time. Over the years I had the opportunity to watch, and to play some small part in, I hope, the evolution of the industry. As a company, we began to embrace changing expectations from our skiers and our staff, and integrated technology more and more into our daily lives and operations. I will miss the powerful comradery of a team of true pros. I will miss sharing in their successes, personally and professionally. I will miss sharing their disappointment and sorrow for when things did go just right.

And yes, I will miss the old days when we just skied our brains out and got paid in powder.

"And yes, I will miss the old days when we just skied our brains out and got paid in powder." — Hoopa

PINEY - The people. I will miss being able to recognize people that have “it” while helping them develop their potential.

Who is a better powder skier?

PINEY - I can hear Hoopa chuckling right now. Many times when we would ski together he would say “You do so many things wrong I wouldn’t know where to start”.

HOOPA - It doesn’t much matter who thinks who might be the best. What does matter is that Piney was responsible for some of my most memorable powder skiing. Back in the day when we were all living together on the 2nd floor of the buckhorn, I remember one morning that I joined Piney on an early avalanche control mission.

On this day we headed to the High Meadows Route, which is the ridge that separates Sunspot to the west and East Greeley to the east. It was a glorious morning, the storm broke and the sun was out. The snowpack was super stable, the few shots we put in had no real results. The High Meadows Route ends at the top of Eddies High Nowhere. I’m not sure what it is like today but back then you threw your skis down into the top of Eddies, and there was a rope that you used to kinda self-belay yourself down. Much to their amusement I flailed my way down the rope, but made it. As we clicked into our skis Piney says:

“Well Hoopa, it’s all yours!”

“No, no, I’m just the guest…”

“We get to do this all the time, this might be your only chance, have at it.”

It had been the perfect Alta storm, thick and rich to start, cold and calm at the finish. As I pushed off it was literally armpit deep. But it was just steep enough, and the snow was just perfect enough that slowly the momentum built and I was not floating, but I was in full suspension.

For the first time in my life, I was truly in the white room. Snow crystals swirled, sunlit the way and I was all in, completely submerged, turn after turn. You couldn’t ever dream that skiing can be like this. The pitch mellowed as I approached the bench, and I came back up to the surface. I turned to watch Piney, in his unique and unmistakable personal skiing style. The “Skiing Beer Keg'' we used to call him. Then he was standing beside me, and we shared that foolish powder skier’s grin. We said not a word, clicked our ski poles and headed off to another day of work.

So it doesn’t really matter who “The Best” powder skier is, on that day it just mattered that we got to share it with each other.

Who would win in an arm-wrestling match?

HOOPA - There would be no wrestling match! If that were truly proposed to the two of us, we would laugh out loud and go find something else to do. Not that we did not have our fair share of battles back in the day. Coming up in the company as we did together, and sharing our “New Hampshire” common background we were both pretty sure that we were right about things, we just did not always agree! Oh, we had some epic battles, one full-on screaming match in the hall way of the admin building, over something of little consequence I’m sure, had the General Manager wondering out loud about our potential future, or lack thereof, with the company! But I always knew deep down Piney had my back. He would speak up publicly for my crew and for me when needed, and take me personally to the woodshed when I needed that too.

PINEY - Hoopa. My shoulder is shot.

What’s next?

HOOPA - I think I’ll go skiing!

PINEY - I’m not going anywhere. I have two kids in school and a wife that has a career in teaching. It’s not a 70-year-old guy's job, my knees are shot after skiing every day since 1977.

Leave Piney or Hoopa a high-five, share your favorite story or just wish them well in the comments section below.