Its officially spring here in Utah, but you wouldn't know that by the way things have been shaping up here in the Wasatch. Another over performing storm dumped nearly 20" for the storm total up Little Cottonwood Canyon! I took Friday off to get out on the splitboard for some time on the skin track and to get some late March powder. The powder panic was on in Little Cottonwood Canyon as the traffic on HWY 210 was packed to say the least. Once in the mouth of the canyon the traffic moved pretty quick. I arrived at the trail head to it just nuking snow and the winds were howling! I put on the boots, pack, and strapped in and started my climb. The snow was creamy and really nice to climb in and no slipping on the skin track.
As I made my way up I was watching the wind load some slopes that I was going nowhere near on this tour. I made it to the first meadow and the blizzard conditions I was in turned to nearly whiteout conditions and I pulled up in some trees for a minute. It mellowed out and I continued my climb on the gulch. Once I made it to the main meadow I realized I was going to have to break trail all the way up my line. This was a lot of work, but also allowed me to test the stability in the snow pack. There were some slopes that were getting loaded in the wind, and they were cracking and collapsing from the ski cuts I was putting in them on the splitboard. But nothing that threw out the alarm. It was a really fun climb up my line, and challenging as I was taking my time to evaluate the new snow. Eventually I topped out. The wind was blowing hard and the snow continued to accumulate.
Grizzly Gulch Trip Report 3.29.19 from CPPhoto on Vimeo.
Once I settled in at the top of my line I hurried up and changed into my insulated jacked and a dry beanie to get warm. The sun did some peek a boo action for about 5 minutes, and then the storm came rolling back in. I made the switchover and hung out for a bit just watching the clouds come in and start snowing really hard! I like to enjoy the spot I top out in because it is a lot of work to get there, and I love being in the mountains. Time was passing and I was really excited to make some turns so I geared up, strapped in, and made the drop. Ridiculously deep powder turns from top to bottom. One of the deepest days I have had splitboarding this season!
Grizzly Gulch 3.29.19 from CPPhoto on Vimeo.
The snow had a density inversion right at the top from the wind, but once you hit the apron the snow was that classic Utah blower powder! Such a fun ride all the way to the Jeep! Such an amazing day to be out in the mountains climbing on the skin track and getting some late March powder! We are moving to the tail end of the season here in Utah. April usually has a few days as we generally get some late season snow during the month. So I imagine I will get a couple of more days out there to slash it up before I switch it up from the skin track to the dirt track. Enjoy the videos and pics from my tour. The last picture I'll share is of this amazing tree that caught my eye on the way up my line today! What a beautiful tree! Amazing survivor in this environment! It's been a great year on the snow! More adventures to come!
No comments:
Post a Comment