So, this season, I’ve been on a mission to tackle some backcountry routes that I’ve been wanting to do for a while. So far I’ve ticket “The Seagull” on Argenta and that’s it. Between having access to every resort in Utah and a busy schedule dominated by a two year old, I’ve had a hard time finding the time to wander the backcountry. When you’re in a time crunch and you can either go hike for hours for a single run or go the Brighton and lap Millicent 10 times you can figure the decision I’ve been making.
Yesterday, I set out with Kristian to tick Mt. Superior in Little Cottonwood Canyon off the list. We got off to a bit of a late start, but we were hiking at 8:30 outside of the chapel at Alta taking Poll-Line Pass. I normally go splitboarding on these kinds of missions, but, out of solidarity with Kristian I strapped on a pair of verts. Basically they are snowshoes made of plastic and turned out to be a great hiking option in today’s snow conditions. It was a bluebird day and the snow looked great. In April the sun is brutal and the avy report was warning of wet slides on east, west, and especially south facing aspects. Our intended route down the face of Superior faced due south. We knew that if we were going to get it we needed to hustle. Once the sun heated up the face it wouldn’t be safe. It was a race against the sun.
Doing the ridge on superior can be somewhat spicy. It gets pretty thin and in some spots you can definitely feel the exposure. We made pretty good time and were standing on the summit at 11 a.m. Unfortunately that wasn’t early enough. During the last 500 vertical of the hike we started seeing the wet sluffs coming off the face. The sun had done it’s job in no time. When you’ve got an avalanche warning for a certain aspect and then you start seeing natural activity going down, it’s just not responsible to ride that slope at that point no matter how bad I wanted it. We decided to backdown and weighed our options.
Luckily we didn’t have to think long. Right off the backside of Superior there is another wide chute that drains down into Cardiac. We strapped in and rode two good descents in springtime pow slashing untracked waves of powder on the way. It was a blast and took the bitter taste of disappointment from not having ticked a descent off the list. At least I was having good fun turns down another line I had never done before. After hiking around and backup to Poll-Line Pass, we strapped in and pointed it back to the truck to the heavy sun blasted slush.
On the drive down we looked back up Superior and about 80% of the south face was now washed out with wet slides all the way down. In the backcountry, it’s important to not get so caught up in riding your line that you don’t recognize and heed changing avalanche conditions. No matter how bad you want it. I’m not done yet, Superior. See you soon.
If you’ve been following this blog, you know that I spent 6 weeks this winter with the Burton Chill Program and my 13 year old neighbor Jake. Burton’s Chill Program takes at-risk and inner city youth to the mountains and provides them with all the gear, transportation, and instruction that they need to snowboard. The Chill Program was a great experience for both of us. Jake got to experience the mountains and learn how to snowboard, and I got the joy of sharing something that I love and in the process get reminded why snowboarding means so much to me. Here’s the video. Let me know what you think.
Beaver Mountain that is. Located up in the wilds of Logan Canyon, Beaver Mountain is Utah’s most northernly resort. Beaver Mountain installed it’s first chairlift in 1939 and has been specializing in good snow and good times ever since. On Thursday a group of us from the office made the drive up to Beaver Mountain and we weren’t disappointed. We arrived in the parking lot to 14 inches of fresh spring powder and beautiful blue skies. With fresh tracks under the chairlift we got to work pillaging all the powder we could find. With only 30 or 40 cars in the parking lot there wasn’t much need to rush, but, nevertheless powder fever took over.
After a few laps on Harry’s Dream we headed for Marge’s Triple. In the wide open trees off that chair we found powder everywhere. After that we wrapped up the day with a run down the backside. From Harry’s Dream you can head out of bounds and ski down to the Logan Canyon Road. This is where Beaver Mountain gets steep and it has to be close to 2000 vertical from the peak to the road. The powder back there was fantastic with hucks and pillow lines abounding.
Be sure to get up to Beaver Mountain and check out this great family owned and operated ski resort. Who needs high speed quads and superpipes when you’ve got cool locals, great snow, and good prices.
More snow on tap for the mountains. This time of year we usually get hammered with more snow as spring storms roll across the desert, bringing rain to the lower elevations and creamy spring pow to the mountains. Many locals this time of year start getting a little “Powder Weary”, but, remember this: it will be summer soon. The spring equinox is upon us. Soon the snow will only be a memory and we’ll be daydreaming of faceshots. They’re out there now. Get on it. That line you’ve been waiting to ride all year? Now is the perfect time to do it.
Anyway, I’m not going to beat you over the head about it. If it’s that hard to get you out the door and to lace up your boots, then fine. More powder for me.
Here is the weather forecast for Brighton:
Today: Periods of snow showers, mainly before noon. High near 35. West northwest wind between 6 and 8 mph. Chance of precipitation is 100%. Total daytime snow accumulation of 4 to 8 inches possible.
Tonight: A 40 percent chance of snow showers. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 17. Calm wind becoming west between 8 and 11 mph.
Friday: A 40 percent chance of snow showers. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 32. West wind between 11 and 13 mph.
Friday Night: A 30 percent chance of snow showers, mainly before midnight. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 12. North northwest wind between 8 and 11 mph.
Saturday: A 20 percent chance of snow showers. Partly cloudy, with a high near 28. North northwest wind between 3 and 8 mph.
Saturday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 9.
Maybe it’s the East Coaster in me, but, I love night riding. There’s just something about being out in the evening with the lights on that make snowboarding so much fun. When I was a kid it was all about night riding. I grew up in Virginia and I would estimate that I probably did about 80% of my snowboarding at night in those days. We’d get out of school and head straight for the mountain, an hour and a half drive. We’d ride in the cold until they shut the chair down. It always felt like an adventure. Especially if you’ve ever tried to ride off trail in Virginia at night.
Now that I live in Utah, I haven’t given up on night riding. And I’ve always wondered why more Utahans don’t do it. Especially because here in Utah we’ve got something that Virginia never had, POWDER. On Thursday night we got a nice dose of the real thing. After work (yes RideUtah.com/SkiUtah.com is a full time job) I met up with a couple of buddies with Brighton passes and headed for the hills. We arrived to find a good 6 inches of creamy springtime pow in the parking lot and more nuking down from the heavens. With the new early Day Light Savings time shift, it’s light out until almost 8 o’clock and we happily rode the trees in Wren Hollow, Mary’s, and off of Crest until the way past dusk. Because of the low hanging clouds, the lights on the runs was refracting everywhere and we kept riding the trees until dark.
Now, if you can get off work and shred powder until 9 o’clock why wouldn’t you? Then of course there is also the added bonus of heading to Molly Greens after the lifts have closed, tilting back a couple of pints, and enjoying a plate of their fine nachos. See you under the lights.
This is something I’ve always told people who are new to hiking and snowboarding. Most have heeded my warning and no further explanation was needed. A few have not. One was my little brother. While hiking up the Evergreen Ridge at Solitude, he bobbled his board and down it went. We later found it hidden in a tree well. Another incident involved a newbie loosing his board on the Highway to Heaven traverse. It didn’t stop until it hit the lake.
This weekend was the third incident. Because we weren’t hiking, just crusing groomers, I didn’t feel it necessary to give the first rule yet. Little did I know. After a fall on a black diamond run, the victim (name is being withheld) had to walk to the top of a small hill that he was unable to make it over the top of after his wreck. Upon reaching the top of the hill the victim dropped his board on the snow which immediately started it’s decent without him. On hearing my expletives the victim made a valiant attemp to recapture his board, but despite his diving to recover it the board slipped out of his grasp.
I was actually on a pair of skis yesterday and I pushed off after the board as fast as I could. I quickly got behind the board but was unable to get in front of it and I was skiing as fast as I could. (Also, I’m a snowboarder mostly and therefore not the world’s greatest skier) I began yelling down the mountain at some skiers below us to get out of the way. My adrenaline was pumping as all I could envision was the board hitting a mogul and decapitating some innocent 5 year old. One of the skiers below me saw the board coming and valiantly put himself in front of the projectile. The board hit him in the ski boots and cleaned him right off of his skis only to continue it’s decent.
At this point I was able to get in front of the board and was able to tackle it. The victim slid down the hill to where we were, a solid 500 vertical from where the missile was launched and I immediately informed the victim of Rule #1.
Well, Chill is winding down for the season and everyone has been having a great time and really developing as shredders. Over the past 5 weeks we’ve watched these kids go from total beginners to blooming shredders. With Jake it seems like he’s really derived a lot of self-confidence thanks to the Chill Program. At the beginning of the program he didn’t really talk to anyone and would often just freeze up in situations where he felt unsure of what to do. Now he’s confidently cruising the mountain and lapping the terrain park.
Throughout the program I’ve been shooting video and I’m beginning to work on editing a video about Jake and my experiences in Chill. I should have it ready in the coming weeks.
This Thursday is our last night out and that really kind of bums me out. I’ve met a lot of really cool kids, the coordinators of the Chill program Joe and Nick have been super and going out shredding at nights really takes me back to the days when I was a kid back in Virginia, getting out of school and heading straight to the hill to ride until the lifts stopped running. It didn’t matter that it was cold and snowing and dark. All that mattered was that you were riding, working on that new trick, and chasing your buddies down a dark mountain. If growing up means quiting this kind of stuff, I’ll stay a kid forever. Thanks to everyone at Chill, Burton, and Brighton for doing every for these great kids.
Sunday was another awesome day in the Wasatch. All it took was a foot of snow to freshen things up and it was game on. We decided it was time for my beautiful wife to get out there and make some powder turns, so we packed up the kid and headed to Solitude. Now, my wife is more of a sunny day groomer type of rider. If Deer Valley allowed snowboarders, she would love that place. But, whenever she’s in the mood for it I love to watch her rip up some powder and Solitude was the perfect location for it.
When we got to the mouth of the Canyon is was obvious that Little Cottonwood Canyon was closed. The line of cars stretched back to the 7-11. Not a good sign for Big Cottonwood as a lot of the people who would normally be headed up to Alta or Snowbird instead bust left up Big Cottonwood when they see the line of cars. Sure enough, when we got to Solitude, both lots were already full at 9:30. With my extensive knowledge of Utah resort parking spots, I was able to “manufacture” a parking spot right in front of the moonbeam lodge.
We dropped off Max Power, our 2 year old, at the day care and we headed straight for the Summit chair. After a few laps on Summit, we dropped into Honeycomb where my wife was slashing with the best of them. Even with a record crowd at “So Lit Dude” there was plenty of pow and wide open spaces for us to shred. After a couple of more laps with some friends on Eagle Express it was time for lunch. We cruised over to the Thirsty Squirrel to avoid the crowds wash back some nachos and wings with a couple of Sierra’s (real healthy I know).
Tiffin decided she’d had enough for one day and she went and picked up Max and headed down the Canyon. Meanwhile, I can never get enough s I hooked up with my buddy Ben and we did a couple of hikes up Evergreen Peak and found plenty of fresh lines inside and out of bounds. Good fun. More snow is in store. Get out there and make the most of it. It’s going to be summer before too long.
This weeks theme at Chill was Responsibility. We went of the Code of the Hill, you know all that stuff on the back of the lift ticket about watching out for obstacles and people and always riding in control. The goal was also to get kids to think about how this relates to life and how that responsibility plays a part in everything you do. You’ve got responsibility on the hill and you’ve got responsibility in your life and all this is inter-related. The kids seemed to get it. If you ignore your responsibilities there are consequences. That applies both on and off the mountain.
Jake is really shredding now, he’s off of the explorer chair and is shredding up the runs off of Majestic. This week we’ll be taking it to the Crest High Speed Quad. I’m working on Jake to ride out of his comfort zone a little and turn up the speed. It’s coming a long great and I’m real proud of him for sticking with it and braving the cold and the dark all in the name of shredding. More to come.
