Saturday, November 22, 2008
An Offering
In an attempt to appease the snow gods and show them that, yes, I am ready for the snow to come in full force - to show them that I am ready to sweat for it - I offer this collection of trailbreaking/skinning up photos. Please let it snow soon.
Sunday, November 16, 2008
East meets West
Well the weather has been nothing less than interesting for the past two weeks. Almost 50" of new snow in two days down in the Cottonwood Canyons was followed by a few more inches of snow. Then the weather took a break for a few days while the temperature rose and the next storm system moved in. However, this time the freezing level hit the ceiling, rising all the way up to 9500 feet and raining on all of that delicious coldsmoke powder and turning the whole thing into an Ontario-esque ice skating rink. At least mountain weather is never boring (unless you live in Southern California).
I took a drive by Snowbasin, on the back side of Mt. Ogden, the other day and noticed that the upper bowls had good snow coverage. Also, thanks to their snowmaking, it was possible to start skinning from basically the parking lot at 6500 feet.
Well, I knew that it was going to be crusty and icy up there, but I convinced my room mate to come have a look with me. I figured if nothing else it would be good training. The past few days have had the temperature way above normal and the freezing levels have been crazy high, above 10,500 feet. I figured we'd encounter stout crusts in the morning which would soften into something soft or mushy as the day progressed. Boy was I wrong. That snow was hard as hell all day! Here's where we started skinning.
Yours truly lovin' the arm shot.
Joshua skinning on up on the only soft snow we found the whole day. Too bad it was only 3 inches deep here.
Here's Chris skinning up with the tail end of the Bear River Range in the background.
Initially the plan was to skin up to a saddle next to the summit of Mt. Ogden and ski the southeast facing bowl that drops down. However, the higher we got the more iced over everything was. In fact the snow was shimmering and glazed over. Not a good sight to see when you're about to ski. But the views were awesome!
So we changed our plans and headed towards the Needles Lodge, a sheik lodge/restaurant located at about 8700 feet. The last couple hundred feet to the lodge involved some of the diciest, scariest skinning I've ever done. It was basically pure ice. So we took a long lunch and waited around for a while to let the snow/ice soften up. Well, eventually it did, but only the top 2 millimeters. Sweet. We probably would've had to wait another two hours for that snow to really soften up. Crazy.
Here's a view from the Lodge.
The boys ready to slay or be slain by some Icy Death.
Our tracks in the "soft" snow section.
Chris in deep. Not.
Despite the icy conditions, it was a great day. We were able to skin and ski right back to the car for 2200 vertical feet of descent. Not bad considering the snowline was really 1000 feet above where we started. It was a beautiful day to be in the mountains with fantastic views and great weather. Now if we could just have another 40 + inches sans rain please?
I took a drive by Snowbasin, on the back side of Mt. Ogden, the other day and noticed that the upper bowls had good snow coverage. Also, thanks to their snowmaking, it was possible to start skinning from basically the parking lot at 6500 feet.
Well, I knew that it was going to be crusty and icy up there, but I convinced my room mate to come have a look with me. I figured if nothing else it would be good training. The past few days have had the temperature way above normal and the freezing levels have been crazy high, above 10,500 feet. I figured we'd encounter stout crusts in the morning which would soften into something soft or mushy as the day progressed. Boy was I wrong. That snow was hard as hell all day! Here's where we started skinning.
Yours truly lovin' the arm shot.
Joshua skinning on up on the only soft snow we found the whole day. Too bad it was only 3 inches deep here.
Here's Chris skinning up with the tail end of the Bear River Range in the background.
Initially the plan was to skin up to a saddle next to the summit of Mt. Ogden and ski the southeast facing bowl that drops down. However, the higher we got the more iced over everything was. In fact the snow was shimmering and glazed over. Not a good sight to see when you're about to ski. But the views were awesome!
So we changed our plans and headed towards the Needles Lodge, a sheik lodge/restaurant located at about 8700 feet. The last couple hundred feet to the lodge involved some of the diciest, scariest skinning I've ever done. It was basically pure ice. So we took a long lunch and waited around for a while to let the snow/ice soften up. Well, eventually it did, but only the top 2 millimeters. Sweet. We probably would've had to wait another two hours for that snow to really soften up. Crazy.
Here's a view from the Lodge.
The boys ready to slay or be slain by some Icy Death.
Our tracks in the "soft" snow section.
Chris in deep. Not.
Despite the icy conditions, it was a great day. We were able to skin and ski right back to the car for 2200 vertical feet of descent. Not bad considering the snowline was really 1000 feet above where we started. It was a beautiful day to be in the mountains with fantastic views and great weather. Now if we could just have another 40 + inches sans rain please?
Sunday, November 9, 2008
Hooray for Snow!
Well, this past week has been pretty awesome. Obama won the election, I passed my OEC course, and it snowed 45" in two days in the Cottonwood Canyons down by Salt Lake! What more could a boy ask for? I would've liked to have been able to get down out to ski on Wednesday or Thursday, but I had to stay focused on my exams for those days. So, I headed out yesterday, Saturday, to go get some turns in around Brighton in Big Cottonwood Canyon.
I went with my roommate Chris, who, unbeknowst to me, invited quite a few of his friends along as well. There ended up being eleven of us total going backcountry skiing. Too many people for my taste, but we still had a good time. After the storm finished on Wednesday things stayed fairly cold through Thursday and then got really warm on Friday which created a thick sun crust on anything south facing. So we headed for some north facing openings where we could hopefully find some preserved powder. Here's a view from skinning about half way up where we first dropped in.
We found a great opening with lovely powder. Although it wasn't as deep as I would've hoped, it was still great to be skiing powder again with a base below it. That 45" had settled fast with the high temps. Here's some of the crew climbing up behind me as I break trail.
Here's a look at a fun little opening that we skied. Great to be in winter again. Absolutely my favorite time of year.
Unfortunately after this photo my camera batteries died so I didn't get anymore photos of the incredible views higher up or of anyone skiing the pow. But take my word for it, it was silky smooth! After playing around in this area for a bit, half the people headed down while half of us skinned up to the top of a Preston Peak, a 10, 315 foot tree covered peak with some rad skiing off of it once it gets a little more snow coverage. Anyway, it was great to be on top of my first Wasatch summit on skis! We skied out through glades and some of the trail cuts at Brighton finding heavy and wet snow with the rising temps. However, the snow was soft and the turns were still great. So nice to be back on skis and not hit any rocks. More snow is in the forecast for the week!
I went with my roommate Chris, who, unbeknowst to me, invited quite a few of his friends along as well. There ended up being eleven of us total going backcountry skiing. Too many people for my taste, but we still had a good time. After the storm finished on Wednesday things stayed fairly cold through Thursday and then got really warm on Friday which created a thick sun crust on anything south facing. So we headed for some north facing openings where we could hopefully find some preserved powder. Here's a view from skinning about half way up where we first dropped in.
We found a great opening with lovely powder. Although it wasn't as deep as I would've hoped, it was still great to be skiing powder again with a base below it. That 45" had settled fast with the high temps. Here's some of the crew climbing up behind me as I break trail.
Here's a look at a fun little opening that we skied. Great to be in winter again. Absolutely my favorite time of year.
Unfortunately after this photo my camera batteries died so I didn't get anymore photos of the incredible views higher up or of anyone skiing the pow. But take my word for it, it was silky smooth! After playing around in this area for a bit, half the people headed down while half of us skinned up to the top of a Preston Peak, a 10, 315 foot tree covered peak with some rad skiing off of it once it gets a little more snow coverage. Anyway, it was great to be on top of my first Wasatch summit on skis! We skied out through glades and some of the trail cuts at Brighton finding heavy and wet snow with the rising temps. However, the snow was soft and the turns were still great. So nice to be back on skis and not hit any rocks. More snow is in the forecast for the week!
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
We're Engaged!
Well, it's been a little hectic lately, but just wanted to let everyone know that France and I are engaged!!! It actually happened on October 15th, but things have been really busy, as you can imagine, so I haven't gotten around to updating the blog until now. France came down to visit for about 12 days or so and we had a great time. She arrived on the night of the 14th. Here she is feeling sleepy after flying all day from Quebec, but I'm super glad that she made it!
October 15th I took France for a fun hike up Malan's peak. The 15th was also our two year anniversary so it was just fantastic to spend that together. Here she is ready to go, but doesn't know what's going to happen once we get up top!
The two of us on the way up.
France in Taylor Canyon with some snow on the trail.
A nice view up the canyon.
A nice look out point we stopped at.
Getting snowier the higher we go!
Up on top of Malan's Peak with Mt. Ogden in the background.
Some cool rocks in Strong's Canyon.
France on of Malan's with Ben Lomond beyond. She doesn't know that she's about to get asked a big question.
Well, fortunately for me she said yes! Here's us happily together after I asked her. So there you have it. We're engaged!
October 15th I took France for a fun hike up Malan's peak. The 15th was also our two year anniversary so it was just fantastic to spend that together. Here she is ready to go, but doesn't know what's going to happen once we get up top!
The two of us on the way up.
France in Taylor Canyon with some snow on the trail.
A nice view up the canyon.
A nice look out point we stopped at.
Getting snowier the higher we go!
Up on top of Malan's Peak with Mt. Ogden in the background.
Some cool rocks in Strong's Canyon.
France on of Malan's with Ben Lomond beyond. She doesn't know that she's about to get asked a big question.
Well, fortunately for me she said yes! Here's us happily together after I asked her. So there you have it. We're engaged!
Sunday, October 12, 2008
Day Two '08-09
Crazy weather being had around these parts this weekend. It's not abnormal to get snow up in the mountains in October, but it is definitely unique to get snow down in Ogden in October, down in the valley. I woke up this morning to 4 inches of snow outside and it was still coming down steady. In fact, it didn't let up all day until about 3:30 in the afternoon. Little Marjorie with her first coat of snow for the season.
So, I headed up to Snowbasin to take a look and hopefully get a quick morning ski before some afternoon engagements. Skinning up.
Looking down on the upper portion of my ski line. Another 800 vertical feet to go after this pitch.
Me about to drop in.
My tracks.
All in all a nice little adventure. The pow was blower, which would've been more enjoyable with a base, but instead I just hit a lot of rocks and got snagged on a lot of grass. Oh well, I was still skiing velvety smooth pow.
A view out my backyard when the clouds cleared a little bit this afternoon.
And a little on mountain video.
So, I headed up to Snowbasin to take a look and hopefully get a quick morning ski before some afternoon engagements. Skinning up.
Looking down on the upper portion of my ski line. Another 800 vertical feet to go after this pitch.
Me about to drop in.
My tracks.
All in all a nice little adventure. The pow was blower, which would've been more enjoyable with a base, but instead I just hit a lot of rocks and got snagged on a lot of grass. Oh well, I was still skiing velvety smooth pow.
A view out my backyard when the clouds cleared a little bit this afternoon.
And a little on mountain video.
Sunday, October 5, 2008
Opening Day '08-09
Believe it or not, the wait is over. As of October 5th the ski season has officially begun. No, there won't be constant skiing until about the end of November/early December, but the sporadic storms have begun their march.
Yesterdays forecast was a little, um, optimistic. 18-24 inches? No, not so much. At the parking lot at Alta at 9300 feet it looked like this.
Still gorgeous though. But boy was I happy to get snowed on. My roommate and I headed up to Alta because we knew it would be the best bet for getting some turns in because it's at a higher elevation than most other Utah resorts. We met this nice guy in the parking lot named Porter who toured with us for a little bit as we headed uphill in search of grassy slopes and the hope that the snow would be enough for some turns. I figured if nothing else, it would be a great little training hike. Who doesn't love hiking in the snow? Well, a lot of people, but I'm not one of them.
We weaved our way through quite a few treed and rocky areas with just barely enough snow to skin up, but certainly not enough to ski down. Here's Chris, my roommate, skinning up.
Chris and I.
After seeing nothing too promising we decided we'd head back down. We saw what looked to be a road that might just have enough snow to eak out a few turns on the way down. Yet, to our great surprise, on our way over to the road we came across a wonderfully open, grassy slope with about 8-10 inches of snow on it. As we'd already begun descending we decided to just boot up the hill for a bit instead of skinning. The higher we got the more promising it looked. I knew at this point, that we were going to get some bonafide turns. October 5th baby! That's one day earlier than last years opening day of October 6th. Here's Chris booting up the last little bit before we strap skis on for some turns.
My trusty rock skis.
Chris starting to head on down.
Me part way down.
Looking back at our tracks. Mine are the ones at center taking the fall line. I had my rock skis, so I didn't mind banging them up a bit. Chris chose to zigzag to save his skis a bit. I definitely hit a lot of rocks. But hey, that's why they're called rock skis!
Me with beautiful Devil's Castle behind.
A look at upper Little Cottonwood Canyon from Alta.
One of my favorite things about this time of year is the contrast between fall colors and winter snows. It was highlighted today by blue skies that came out as we were descending. All in all, a fantastic day. I'm officially stoked for winter.
Yesterdays forecast was a little, um, optimistic. 18-24 inches? No, not so much. At the parking lot at Alta at 9300 feet it looked like this.
Still gorgeous though. But boy was I happy to get snowed on. My roommate and I headed up to Alta because we knew it would be the best bet for getting some turns in because it's at a higher elevation than most other Utah resorts. We met this nice guy in the parking lot named Porter who toured with us for a little bit as we headed uphill in search of grassy slopes and the hope that the snow would be enough for some turns. I figured if nothing else, it would be a great little training hike. Who doesn't love hiking in the snow? Well, a lot of people, but I'm not one of them.
We weaved our way through quite a few treed and rocky areas with just barely enough snow to skin up, but certainly not enough to ski down. Here's Chris, my roommate, skinning up.
Chris and I.
After seeing nothing too promising we decided we'd head back down. We saw what looked to be a road that might just have enough snow to eak out a few turns on the way down. Yet, to our great surprise, on our way over to the road we came across a wonderfully open, grassy slope with about 8-10 inches of snow on it. As we'd already begun descending we decided to just boot up the hill for a bit instead of skinning. The higher we got the more promising it looked. I knew at this point, that we were going to get some bonafide turns. October 5th baby! That's one day earlier than last years opening day of October 6th. Here's Chris booting up the last little bit before we strap skis on for some turns.
My trusty rock skis.
Chris starting to head on down.
Me part way down.
Looking back at our tracks. Mine are the ones at center taking the fall line. I had my rock skis, so I didn't mind banging them up a bit. Chris chose to zigzag to save his skis a bit. I definitely hit a lot of rocks. But hey, that's why they're called rock skis!
Me with beautiful Devil's Castle behind.
A look at upper Little Cottonwood Canyon from Alta.
One of my favorite things about this time of year is the contrast between fall colors and winter snows. It was highlighted today by blue skies that came out as we were descending. All in all, a fantastic day. I'm officially stoked for winter.
Saturday, October 4, 2008
My favorite things...
Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens,
Bright copper kettles and warm woolen mittens,
Snowflakes in October and weather forecasts like this,
Oh, these are a few of my favorite things...
From the NOAA website, today, October 4th.
"A WINTER STORM WARNING FOR HEAVY SNOW REMAINS IN EFFECT ACROSS
THE HIGHER TERRAIN OF UTAH ABOVE 8500 FEET FROM 10 AM THIS
MORNING TO 6 PM MDT SUNDAY.
NEW SNOW AMOUNTS OF UP TO 12 INCHES ARE EXPECTED BY LATE SUNDAY
ABOVE THE 8500 FOOT LEVEL WITH LOCALIZED AMOUNTS OF 18 TO 24
INCHES POSSIBLE ABOVE ABOUT 9500 FEET. SEVERAL INCHES OF NEW SNOW
ARE POSSIBLE DOWN TO 7000 FEET ON SUNDAY."
Bring it on. Here's Timmy in deep last winter.
Bright copper kettles and warm woolen mittens,
Snowflakes in October and weather forecasts like this,
Oh, these are a few of my favorite things...
From the NOAA website, today, October 4th.
"A WINTER STORM WARNING FOR HEAVY SNOW REMAINS IN EFFECT ACROSS
THE HIGHER TERRAIN OF UTAH ABOVE 8500 FEET FROM 10 AM THIS
MORNING TO 6 PM MDT SUNDAY.
NEW SNOW AMOUNTS OF UP TO 12 INCHES ARE EXPECTED BY LATE SUNDAY
ABOVE THE 8500 FOOT LEVEL WITH LOCALIZED AMOUNTS OF 18 TO 24
INCHES POSSIBLE ABOVE ABOUT 9500 FEET. SEVERAL INCHES OF NEW SNOW
ARE POSSIBLE DOWN TO 7000 FEET ON SUNDAY."
Bring it on. Here's Timmy in deep last winter.
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