Utah trip photos

ahhh the Aspens!

Halo boy

dinner with friends in Park City

f-f-f-f-freezing

poo, poo powder mountain

day 3, still snowing

I hope he's a good kisser!

so many lines to choose from

Snowbasin arrival

1st mornin' coffee


deep!

Day 6 Video

Day 6 - The Canyons

Wednesday, February 6, 2008 - With 2-4 inches of snow in the forecast, we decided to head up to The Canyons for our last day, which was only a mile from our hotel. We had printed up coupons for 2 lift tickets, 2 burgers, and 2 soft drinks or beers for only $100. Normally lift tickets are $76, so that was quite a deal! We called Ari and Chad in the morning and planned to meet them at the bottom of the mountain.

The Utah snow machine is something that you just have to experience to believe. Our 2-4 inch forecast turned into 8 inches magically in the wee hours of the morning, and it was still dumping as we packed up the car. As we stood in line for lift tickets, a local snowboarder told us where to go to get the goods. I had already planned to hit the same area he talked about, with the absolute best natural halfpipe I have ever seen in my life. We were on it!

We took the open gondola from the parking lot to the base area, where we caught an enclosed gondola up to mid-mountain. From there it was a short lift down and then back up to the top of the next ridge where the Lookout Cabin would be our lunch stop later on. From there we dropped into the trees for another round of face shots on our way down to the high-speed quad on the far right of the mountain. Although not as deep as Powder Mountain, the consistency of the snow this day was absolutely perfect, with a foot of knee deep new snow on top of freshies still left in the trees!

We hit the trees just down from the natural halfpipe while waiting for it to open for a few runs, and then as soon as we saw the open sign we dropped into the trees above the gully. It was sublime! No tracks through the trees as were the first ones down it, and then fresh tracks through the half-pipe as we banked off walls and raced down through the bottom banked slalom section. We were definitely going to do that one again!

In fact, we could have done that run again and again for the rest of the day. But we wanted to explore the rest of the 3,700 acres that make Snowbasin the largest inbounds ski area in Utah. We headed down to a double chair that took us back up to the Lookout Cabin. Unknown to us, we were about to experience one of the best culinary experiences in the Wasatch Mountains. We thought we would just get a quick bite to eat, but when they asked if we had reservations for lunch, we knew we were in for a treat.

After a baked goat cheese appetizer with a real cherry sauce, we feasted on triple-decker gourmet chicken club sandwiches and turkey on rye with homemade cranberry sauce. Are we in heaven? It turns out that they do dinner sleigh rides to the Lookout Cabin nightly, and it is a fantastic place to take the ladies. Note to self…

After lunch we headed over to the middle of the mountain to session some of the other high-speed lifts that service this massive area. It seemed like every run we were getting more incredible untracked powder down through the trees, and I am still not sure what was my favorite. We hit up the 9990 lift for last chair in the afternoon, and got an amazing open powder run down to yet another high-speed quad. Wow!

The general consensus was that we were going to need several more days to explore The Canyons ski resort. It is just too big to hit all in one day. And it is nice that they open at 8:30 a.m., so you can get an early start on a powder day. Next March we are planning on renting a condo nearby with hot tub and bringing the families so that we can fully enjoy our new found powder paradise.

From Park City, it is a short drive to any of 7 ski resorts that allow snowboarding, including The Canyons, Park City, Snowbasin, Powder Mountain, Solitude, Brighton, and Snowbird. Accomodations are inexpensive if you rent a condo with a group, and it would be super fun to bring a crew and hit up some powder sessions together. There is a variety of terrain for all levels, and if the sun shines for a few days we can also pump up some kites and try some snow kiting at Strawberry Reservoir nearby or Powder Mountain’s new dedicated snow kiting area. Let me know if you are interested, because we are going to make this trip an annual pilgrimage.

Day 5 - Park City

Tuesday, February 5, 2008 - What a difference a day makes! After being buried up to our chests in deep snow at Powder Mountain the day before, with snow falling all day and low visibilities due to clouds covering the mountains, it was nice to see the sun. And then we stepped outside. The temperature in our rental Subaru Outback said 2 degrees! Ouch. But with the sun shining, the cold temperatures did not last very long. By the time we got up to the mountain it was in the mid-teens.

Chad was already up on the mountain getting some high-speed groomers, and we headed up to meet up with our host Jeff and get some lift tickets. I was immediately impressed with how professional the greeters and lifties were at Park City. This was a different level of mountain for sure. We took the high-speed 6-pack Payday up to mid-mountain to meet up with Chad.

A high-speed groom run was in order for a warm up. Then we headed up another high-speed 6-pack to the Jupiter lift. We hit some trees down Thaynes to get up to Jupiter, and then up the Thaynes lift back to the ridge. We had already ridden as many lifts as at Powder Mountain, and the day had not even really begun!

The Jupiter double chair accesses Jupiter Bowl and Scotts Bowl to the west, as well as the west face of Jupiter Peak. There was still plenty of untracked powder in the trees, so we did a few runs down an area called Portuguese Gap. The snow was not as deep as Powder Mountain, but that only made it more rippable and less work. The consistency of the knee deep powder was perfect from the cold temperatures the night before, and we could tell that this was going to be another one of those days.

After a few more runs on Jupiter, we headed over to Mcconkeys high-speed quad to meet up with Jeff. It is very nice to know some locals when you have never been to a mountain before, and we were glad to have a tour guide. For the rest of the day Jeff showed us some nice glades through the trees with fresh powder on every run, even though it wasn’t a powder day! Park City is a HUGE mountain, and there is so much terrain that you can find stashes on every run where noone else has been.

We skipped lunch and rode until the end of the day, when we were tired and hungry and ready to relax a little. Thanks Jeff for showing us around and being such a great host. I had no idea that Park City was such a killer mountain, and I will definitely be back!

Day 4 Video

And what a day it was...

Day 4 - Powder Mountain

Monday, February 4th, 2008 - Just when we thought that this week could not get any more intense, nature threw us another curve ball. We were planning on heading down to Salt Lake City early in the morning, and hitting Snowbird in Little Cottonwood Canyon. Checking the Utah DOT reports the morning before, we were aware of road closures for avalanche control at 6 a.m. With the volume of snow in the forecast, I knew from past experience that there was a possibility the Cottonwood Canyons would not open until 10 or 11 a.m. With a line of cars waiting to head up the canyon to Alta and Snowbird, it would not be worth the 1 and a half hour drive down south from Ogden.

So we made the command decision to head up to Powder Mountain, which was only an hour from Odgen. It was snowing lightly again when we left the hotel, but we did not notice much more accumulation from the night before. We drove up Ogden Canyon again, and turned left to go around the northwest side of Pineview Reservoir. We could see the mountains covered with clouds as we headed up, with blue skies over the valley and the view was incredible. It was obvious that it was going to be one of those days.

We had heard from some other skiers the day before at Snowbasin that Powder Mountain was closed the day before due to wind and avalanche danger. The latest report from Powder Mountain ski resort was that they had received 39 inches in the past 48 hours. Huh? Could that be right? Over 3 feet of untracked snow was waiting for us to drop in.

Powder Mountain is a little strange in that you drive up to the parking lot, which is located mid-mountain. So once you get your lift ticket, you strap on your skis or board and drop into the lifts. It took a while for the mountain open because of avalanche control inbounds. Around 10 a.m. they dropped the rope and over 100 people took off down the hill.

We got to the top of the lift, and dropped into the high-speed quad. The run down was ridiculously deep! It was a sign of things to come. After a few runs down the face under the quad, we went a little too far and ended up getting stuck in a flat area away from other peoples tracks. It took me over 30 minutes to hike out up to my chest in the deep fresh snow. Crap! My goggles were fogged up, totally overheated, and hating it.

It was time to find some steeper terrain. Luckily when we got back to the top of the lift, they had opened Powder Country! We went through the gate, and crossed the road on the other side into the fresh untracked powder. I had heard about this area of the mountain before, and it definitely lived up to its reputation! The trees going down to the road were steep and deep, with lots of vertical. We had to traverse a little down the road to get to the bus stop, where a line of people waited to get a ride back up the hill.

After switching lenses on the goggles, we dropped back into the main mountain to find the Paradise quad was open. It is a fixed quad, which limits the number of skiers accessing this area. Paradise is the steepest part of the mountain, and we were happy to find some extreme terrain. Once again, this area lived up to its name, and we were soon dropping in on steep open fields of waist deep powder!

We spent the rest of the day hitting the faces to the left and right of Paradise ridge. It seemed that everywhere we went it was untracked, and the only challenge was keeping your speed so that you didn’t sink in the deep snow and get stuck. With the steeper terrain, it was easier to keep riding, and only towards the bottom did it flatten out a little so you had to stay on another rider’s track. It ended up being an epic day, one of the most insane of the trip, and if it was any deeper we would have needed a powder specific snowboard to even enjoy it!

After riding Powder Mountain, we called our friends Ari and Chad who were in Park City. We decided to head that way to hook up with them, and Andrew’s friend Jeff who is the Lift Operations Manager at Park City. It is only an hour drive to Park City on I-84, and we found a nice hotel with a hot tub and indoor pool right off the interstate. Time to relax a little after our big day.

Day 3 Video

Day 3 - Snowbasin

Sunday, February 3, 2008 - After an epic day in the inbounds backcountry areas at Snowbasin, we decided it was a good idea to go back for more. I checked the automated snow report at 6 a.m. and they had already received 9 inches of new snow since 1 a.m. Wow! We walked down the hall for breakfast, and noticed that it was dumping even in Ogden, and there was 5 inches of new snow in the parking lot. It was going to be one snowy day.

We drove up Ogden canyon again, but this time with higher snow banks, and snow covered roads. At the resort we found at least a foot of new snow by the time we got up there, and blizzard conditions. The mountain was closed until they completed avalanche control, so we had to wait for a little while to get on the lifts.

The John Paul Express quad was closed, so we headed up the gondola. As winds gusted to over 70 mph on the way up, we were glad to be on an enclosed lift! It was obvious that this was going to be an extreme day on the mountain. The first run we dropped into was waist deep and wind blown, and some of the challenging conditions there are. The temperatures were somewhat warm ahead of the cold front (in the low 30s), making the snow thick and wet.

The quad finally opened, and then we were able to find some steeper terrain where we could actually get some speed and float on top of the thick snow a little. The past 2 days were catching up with us though, and we were spent by the end of the day. All of our gear was wet, and the goggles were fogged up from getting too overheated trying to get unstuck from all of the deep snow.

With the Super Bowl set to start at 4 p.m., we headed down the mountain on the interstate to our hotel in Ogden. Sometimes nature gives you more than you can handle, and you end up feeling like a beginner again. This was one of those days.

Day 2 Video

Day 2 - Snowbasin

Saturday, February 2^nd, 2007 - Anxious for more powder turns, we left our hotel early to head north about an hours drive to Snowbasin Ski Resort. Snowbasin underwent a massive facelift before the winter Olympics a few years ago in Salt Lake City, and hosted the downhill ski races. I had been to Snowbasin once when I lived here in 1995, but not since the renovation. Andrew had been there last year, and called me from the lift to rave about the best run he had ever had in his life.

As we approached the mountain, we could see clouds hanging over the peaks, and knew that the snow was falling again from a small disturbance moving through the area. We could immediately see an area of untracked powder and tree runs to skiers left of the lifts. I commented how it was amazing that such steep and deep terrain was lift accessible so close to the base area. Andrew said that this indeed the same area that he had called me from, and we were heading straight there.

It turned out that while the previous day had been a powder day, the area we were seeing from the base was closed due to avalanche danger. The deep snow had settled overnight, making it perfect for steep tree runs leading to a traverse back to the lifts. Going up the high-speed quad, we could see our line from the chair. It was on!

After a handful of runs into our new found playground, we decided to go explore some of the rest of the mountain. We headed up the gondola to mid-mountain, and down to the Strawberry Express, on the far skiers right. I had been to this area when I was there before, and remembered some low angle glades that offered some incredible turns. We had several nice runs in this area before it started getting tracked out, and it was time to go grab a sandwich out of the car.

It was tough to motivate after lunch, but we were determined to get back up the John Paul Express and get another few lines down our morning playground. We figured out a high traverse that allowed us to get some fresh lines, even though there were a lot of people in and out of that area all day. We decided at the end to hike No Name peak for the last run of the day.

With less than an hour left in the day, we took the downhill tram from the top of the John Paul up to the ridge. It was spooky as the clouds obscured the ridge, and you couldn’t really tell where you were going on the way up the hill. But once at the top, it was pretty easy to see where we needed to go. We got an additional 500 vertical out of our favorite run, and some great powder turns.

When we got back to the top, we had missed last chair on the tram. So it was a little extra hike up to No Name, but we were up for the challenge. So we started out to the ridge, about a 30 minute hike and short traverse up to the top. From the top of No Name peak you can see directly down into Ogden, where we were staying! There are runs going from the top down into the valley, but I have seen several reports of people being buried in avalanches in that area.

The hike was well worth it! We found epic powder turns the entire way down, with snow up to mid-thigh deep, and only a short traverse out to the lower parking lot at the bottom. What an incredible mountain! Andrew said I would like it, and he was right. With a winter storm warning in effect for 17 inches of snow overnight, we are going back again tomorrow.

Day 1 Video

The Salt Lake City Twin Peaks

Canyon Sports with the twins in the background

Alpenglow on the Wasatch

Storm mountain on the way down the canyon

Stairs Hydroelectric Power Plant

The Powerplant Couloirs

Looking back down the sunrise chairline

Utah winter weather - sunny and snowing!

Plenty of powder

Sunshine as the storm clears out

Check out all of that snow!

On the way up to the summit

All smiles on a day like this!

Literally feet of snow on the tree branches

Andrew with the morning Java

Packing up the Subaru

Filming the snow coming down on the way up the canyon

Whoops! Watch out for that tree well...

Day 1 - Solitude

Back in October my best friend Andrew and I decided that we needed to take a snowboarding trip to Utah this winter. Andrew and I met at Crystal Mountain, Washington in late 1991, where Drew (as he was known to the crew) proceeded to teach me how to rip the mountain with style. 3 years later, during the winter of 1994/1994, I moved to Utah for the winter season to be a fine dining cook at the Mill Creek Inn. I also worked part-time at Solitude Ski Resort, a job that came with a season pass. Andrew came out to visit on his way across country that November, and we enjoyed one of the best days of the year with 5 feet of snow the week prior and 18 inches of new the night he arrived. We should have known that this trip would again confirm that Utah has the "greatest snow on Earth".

On Thursday, January 31st, 2008, Andrew and I flew into Salt Lake City airport at just after 8 p.m. We got our bags quickly, and rented a all-wheel drive Subaru wagon for the week. Following the weather all week, we had watched 2 separate storm systems dump over 4 feet of snow between Sunday and Wednesday. The forecasts were calling for another storm Thursday night, so we were expecting a powder day on Friday.

It was tough to sleep, and we awoke at 6 a.m. to check the snow report. The forecasts were right! Solitude had received 17 inches overnight, no top of 6 inches the day before for a storm total of 23 inches of new snow. Driving up Big Cottonwood canyon, the snow was coming down as snow plows cleared the opposite lane and cars loaded with over a foot of snow on the roof passed us. Stoked!

Solitude Ski Resort is one of the best ski resorts in Utah, and this was one of the best days of the season. There are 3 main areas at Solitude - the face, summit, and Honeycomb canyon, which is like an inbounds backcountry area that is never groomed. Most of the time, Honeycomb remains closed on a powder day, because there is enough other terrain for people to hit, and it takes time for ski patrol to do avalanche control. Not this day. The entire was open by noon, and we hit pretty much all my favorite steep runs on the mountain by the time all was said and done. The snow was thigh deep, and in some cases almost too deep. If you fell on a traverse or a flatter area, it would take 10 minutes just to get back up!

The only regret about our first day in Utah was thinking that it could not possibly get any better than this! Or could it? Our next day at Snowbasin proved that you never know what to expect until you try. More to follow...