...this blog is destined to be a bit more active now that the snow is starting to fall and I'm nearing the end of a 2.5 month stint doing field work in Idaho. I did manage to squeak one day of skiing in at A-Basin on my sanity-conserving trip back to Colorado. Chalk up one day for the 2008-2009 ski season.
November5-6 new snow count at Alta, UT read 49"!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Lucky for me, I'm sick as a dog and am not going to get a chance to get after it before it gets sun-baked in today's 40 degree weather...but hey, it's a long winter, right?
More snow = more blogging in the near future. For now, I'm going to scrape all the summer wax of all the skis...
Saturday, November 8, 2008
Saturday, August 23, 2008
...SNOW
The move to Steamboat forced me to leave my ski equipment back in Utah. Then it did this in Colorado on August 15. Winter is closer than we think...


Monday, August 4, 2008
...Classic Wasatch Descents pt. 2
Baldy Chutes - Yeah, Yeah. So this is within the boundaries of Alta Ski Area but they still make me giddy like a schoolgirl when I can catch them open up several days after a storm has blown through, or better yet, pre and post season. Main Chute is a classic and mellow line while Little and Dog Leg push the steep scale a bit. Perla's isn't quite couloir status while Tree Chute is just plain bananas (if even skiable) unless its a big snow year and an avy hasn't ripped Baldy's face off mid-season. Not many ski areas give you access to chutes of this magnitude. (Big Sky another example) This is just another reason why Alta is second to few in the world of inbounds steep skiing.

Sunday, August 3, 2008
...a Career?
A grown-up job has taken me away from the Wasatch and landed me in Steamboat Springs, CO. Moving is inherently obnoxious, and buying EVERYTHING for an apartment from scratch sincerely tests the limits of my ability to load up the credit card. Thousands of dollars later, here I am, anxiously awaiting a paycheck to alleviate the pain.
Steamboat is an incredible town. I've been here for two days and am feeling extremely happy and fortunate to have landed in another beautiful ski/mountain town. The apartment is right on the main drag of town within walking distance to every bar, restaurant, and shop in this town. I'm also a quick bus ride up to the Steamboat ski area, walking distance to the ice rink, rodeo grounds, a tiny local ski hill, and the Yampa River. And these things are only what I've discovered in two short days of residence. It seems that Steamboat is much more of a "locals town" and has much less turnover from season to season. Even in the middle of August, "Ski town USA" is buzzing at all hours of the day. I can't wait for winter.
The digs are fantastic. It's really easy to find pictures of my apartment on the internet given its prime location downtown and vantage point to the ski area. It's the upstairs apartment on the left side of the photograph. Yes, it's right next to a dive bar. (click the pic for high res)
More importantly...
Steamboat is an incredible town. I've been here for two days and am feeling extremely happy and fortunate to have landed in another beautiful ski/mountain town. The apartment is right on the main drag of town within walking distance to every bar, restaurant, and shop in this town. I'm also a quick bus ride up to the Steamboat ski area, walking distance to the ice rink, rodeo grounds, a tiny local ski hill, and the Yampa River. And these things are only what I've discovered in two short days of residence. It seems that Steamboat is much more of a "locals town" and has much less turnover from season to season. Even in the middle of August, "Ski town USA" is buzzing at all hours of the day. I can't wait for winter.
The digs are fantastic. It's really easy to find pictures of my apartment on the internet given its prime location downtown and vantage point to the ski area. It's the upstairs apartment on the left side of the photograph. Yes, it's right next to a dive bar. (click the pic for high res)

Friday, July 25, 2008
...Classic Wasatch Descents
The mid-summer itch for skiing is starting to hit as memories of blower powder days are long faded away. Images of some of most classic lines in the Wasatch make me salivate and look forward to getting back into the mountains as soon as flakes start flying again. Those who live in the Wasatch should know these classic lines, but for those of you stuck in the flat lands of the Midwest, these are a few reasons to pack your bags and move west. The pictures do a lot of the talking...
One of the most easily accessed big mountain lines in the Wasatch, the SE face of Mt. Superior (11,132ft) demands the utmost respect. Wrong interpretations of the snowpack could send a freight train barreling over the road below. This picture was taken from the top of Mt. Baldy b/w Alta and Snowbird ski areas, giving you the idea of how accessible this line can be. After one season in the Wasatch, this descent is still at the top of the to-do list. Barring no season ending injury, I'll be looking forward to a sunrise ascent at some point next season. (Initiate salivation)

Thursday, July 24, 2008
...the Comforts of Home

Anyways, I plan on spending the the next week and half immersing myself in fresh water, catching up with my dearest and oldest Midwest friends, bar hopping the fine social establishments Traverse City has to offer, and packing up some my most prized possessions to take to my new Colorado home.

Wednesday, July 16, 2008
...The Century Mark

Anyway, the original objective was to ski the Pipeline Couloir at Snowbird, but warm weather had taken its toll and Main Baldy Chute at Alta was the only other option. The skiing was fantastic (1400 vert in total before the skis had to come off) and the surrounding mountains radiated the lush green of early summer. Skiing in July doesn't disappoint...

Tuesday, July 1, 2008
...Higher Elevations
After another hour of trekking, the hut came into view and it was finally time to drop some of this gear at the sleeping location. The afternoon was spent napping and avoiding swarms of flies in anticipation of a sunset summit and a ski down the main snowfield post sunset in an attempt to ski some firmer conditions. The wait was well worth it...
Mt. Timpanogos doesn't disappoint. The hike to the summit is a hard days hike and can be done easily in the summertime (following snow melt) without the overnight. Fantastic views and fantastic snow deep into the month of June...life doesn't get much better than this. The permanent snowfield up on Timp will likely be the source of skiing late into August and possibly even September! Unfortunately, the real world is coming sooner than later... Hopefully, the trip can be made again even if I have to start punching the clock like the rest of the world...
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
...Excercise
The folks are came into town Tuesday evening and my skiing days may be cut back while they're in town for the next month, and also while I make a trip to Steamboat Springs for a grown-up job interview. Apparently, I'm a bit strange for keeping this skiing thing rolling into mid-summer. Strange or not, I'm sincerely looking forward to the possibility of climbing and skiing Mt. Timpanogos on the weekend of the 28th. As you can see below, snow comes easy when you're on the largest massif in the Wasatch. Good luck me.

Tuesday, June 17, 2008
...June Steeps







The lower half of the couloir. (right)
Saturday, June 14, 2008
...New Summits



Friday, June 13, 2008
...the New Frontier

Thursday, May 8, 2008
...Seasonal Closure


















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