2012 Retrospective Christian Paul Photography

2012 was a crazy year for sure. I had some great adventures this year. From my time in the snow, to getting out on the trail, graduating with my photography degree, and getting images published, this year has been full of surprises. The stats: 66 days snowboarding, 56 days hiking and backpacking, 29 days camping, and 177 miles by foot in the mountains. A ton of images, and a lot of growth with my camera. I also learned a bit about time lapse this year, so not only was I able to shoot some great star trail photography, but the video below shows some of the time lapse that I shot as well. I am thankful for all the family and friends who supported me and made it possible for me to get out in our beautiful wilderness to do what I love- immersing myself in the backcountry, and shooting photography. What will 2013 bring? The mystery begins- and I am looking forward to new adventures. Thanks for visiting my blog over the last year, I have had a ton of visitors and I am honored to share my adventures with you all. I wish you all a happy and prosperous 2013.

2012 Retrospective from Christian Paul on Vimeo.

Holiday Happiness 12.21.23.26.2012

Conditions have been incredible for December at Snowbird. I cannot remember the last time we had the whole mountain operational and accessible before Christmas. December 21st was a great cruiser day, Baldy Express opened, and there were windblown fluffies to hit. The 23rd was another blue bird day, with the opening of the Bookends. Snow was very good over there for being a few day after the storm. I took a few days off to spend Christmas with the family, but was back at it on the 26th. Full on blizzard up there, with so much snow, the options were endless. It has been a full season since I have ridden in a blizzard, and I have to say I missed the fury that Mother Nature can dish out. It was a great week up there, more on the way!

Holiday Happiness 12.21.23.26.2012 from Christian Paul on Vimeo.

December Dumpage- 12.16.17.19.2012

What a storm cycle! We had a classic Utah storm roll in and give us the goods! The 16th was fresh and deep blower pow. So much fun, and since things had filled in, just made the riding fantastic! The 17th was a wind buff free refill day. Every run you would take, you would load the chair and it was all filled back in again. These are rare days that you have to take advantage of because usually things get hammered out quickly. But not this day, as the wind and snow was giving us a treat, and it was fresh all day long. The 19th was the first bluebird day in over a week. With lots of leftovers, -14 windchill to keep your human Popsicle nice and cold, made for some great turns at the Bird. This season is shaping up to be a great one, we have the snow, and conditions are prime. Santa for sure showed up for us powder hounds early this year! Get out there and get some! More to come......

December Dumpage- 12.16.17.19.2012 from Christian Paul on Vimeo.

Filling In- 12.6.9.2012

Well, things at the Bird are filling in nicely! Thursday we received a skiff of snow that freshened up the playground. Made for some very nice conditions both on and off trail. The base area was bullet proof, so some care need to be taken to get back to the Tram. Very light traffic, and really good snow both from the storm and from the wind loading it into the catchers mitts. Sunday was a early worm gets the Bird day, as I caught second Tram. Headed out with a "0" degree temp reading on the peak. Got frosted on Regulator by one of the snow guns, had to scrape the goggles on the way to the Cirque. The Cirque traverse is still bony in spots, so take care as I did get a core shot from a rock getting out to Mid-Cirque. The turns down Mid-Cirque were the best so far this season, getting blasted by every turn, and ending up at the bottom like I just woke up from a dream! Rallied the P-Dog chair the rest of the day, just playing in the fluffies and having a great time. It is nice to see it actually snow in Utah again. Winter is in full force, and we seem to have entered a wet pattern which will keep producing snow for our mountains. So more fun on the way!

Filling In- 12.6.9.2012 Snowbird from Christian Paul on Vimeo.

December Begins- 12.3.2012

After what seemed to be a few weeks of spring like conditions, we finally got a storm. It was 5" of wet, dense snow which we desperately needed for our base. I caught first Tram and what a surprise the whole day was. There were some variable spots, some really good catchers mitts loaded with fluffies, and it was a really all around great day up there riding. Looks like we are heading into a winter pattern, so more snow is on the way this week! December is starting off right, lets keep this going!

December Begins- 12.3.2012 from Christian Paul on Vimeo.