Twin Lakes, Big Cottonwood Canyon- 6.9.2015

The forecast was for 90 degree temps in the valley, so I decided a higher altitude was in order to beat the heat. I headed up Big Cottonwood Canyon, driving in some serious rain falling in the lower part of the canyon. By the time I reached the Silver Lake parking lot, only a few drops were falling. Once I had my trail shoes on, the sun was out and everything was beautiful. I started my way in, and headed up the Twin Lakes Trail. Very green, and amazing temperatures. Everything was perfect. I must be getting my hiking body back, for minus a couple of pictures from the Silver Lake Overlook, I went straight up this hike all the way to the lake. I usually meander to where I am going, but today I seemed to have this need to push myself uphill. It felt really nice!

Finally up to the dam and I was standing lake side at a very low Twin Lakes. Lowest water levels I have seen in a couple of years. There is still a lot of snow to melt out of Mt Milicent and the Wolverine Cirque, so I expect they will go up a bit. I made my way along the west side of the lake as far as I could go before post holing was going to be the only way to carry on. I found a nice spot to relax and take in the view, and just enjoyed myself while I was there. On the way out, some dark clouds moved in and a light sprinkle started coming down, and made for a very nice hike out. I caught some great images up there. It was great to be back up at Twin Lakes. Just a week or two more and the high terrain and peaks in the Cottonwoods will be all accessible. I am looking forward to it. More adventures coming soon!

Dog Lake, Mill D North, Big Cottonwood Canyon- 6.2.2105

Continuing to enjoy this early access to the upper Big Cottonwood areas, I took a hike up Mill D North to Dog Lake. The sun was out and it was very warm, but things were so green! The hike up was really nice, and not that busy on the trail at all. I made a quick pace up to the stream crossing, and then pushed to the Desolation junction. From there I made the final climb up to the lake. A couple of hikers when I go there, but they left and I had the place to myself for more than an hour. I finally had to head down and made it a quick exit to the care. Everything is pretty much ready but the upper cirques and peaks above 9500 ft. Pretty soon the last of the white stuff will be gone, and the dirt path will be open everywhere once more. The below image is a pano I shot up there today. More from the dirt path soon!

Willow Heights, Big Cottonwood Canyon- 6.1.2015

Finally, the alpine is beginning to melt off and you can now get to most places up to about 9500 ft. I decided to start off the summer hiking by heading up to Willow Heights. The area is just greening up, with bluebells in bloom, and the rest of the flora is about to pop in a couple of weeks. I made a quick pace up to the lake, then took a snack break on the NE side of the lake. I decided to head up to the top of the ridge behind the lake, and take in the view. It was great up there and the temps were very pleasant. I spent some time up there watching the clouds play with the wind and the light and shadow playing with the basin. Eventually it was time to head down and finish the loop through the woods and out to the car. It is nice to be back on the dirt path. Here are a couple of shots from the day. The summer walkabouts have begun!

Wildcat Tour- Collins Gulch- Little Cottonwood Canyon- 5.10.2015

Old man winter seems to be playing a cruel trick on those powder starved sliders here in the Wasatch. We have had more snow in April and May than it seems we have had all winter. There was 16" of very heavy, wet, dense snow that fell up Little Cottonwood Canyon and another tour seemed to be in order. I met Chris and his friend at the Collins lot at Alta, and we headed up. It was a busy day up there, and a lot of traffic on the skin track. We made the climb straight up the gut, past the mid-station and up to the top of the Wildcat lift. Chris and his buddy wanted to climb Baldy, and I just did not have the time with family plans, so I decided to make the changeover there. We said our goodbyes, and they were off.

Just as I was strapping in to drop, a double slide came down in the apron of Baldy, with one person in the toe of the debris. There was quite a large party heading up to the slide pile, and the person seemed to be up and moving. I figured that was a sign that things were getting too warm up there, and I dropped in to ride to the base. The snow was very heavy and you had to make calculated turns to smear the thick cream cheese conditions up there. I finally made it to the bottom. After getting the boots off and putting the board in the car, a injured skier rolled up at the base.

It was the individual who was in the avalanche I saw, and he was in a lot of pain. I carried his gear over to his vehicle, and the Alta Marshal got the paramedics on the phone. He had an obvious rib injury and what looked to be a wound on his waist. He said he was not in pain, but I could tell he was in shock. He said the slide had flushed him over a pretty big cliff, and from the looks of it he was lucky it was not worse. I left when the paramedics arrived. I hope he is ok. This is a prime example of terrain choice and the heating of the day can change everything. This may have been my last day of the season. 14/15 is going to go down as the lowest snow year, and warmest winter ever on record. We may have another storm before it is all gone. More adventures to come.

Wildcat Tour 5.10.2015 from Christian Paul on Vimeo.

Sunday Funday- Powderhorn Tour- Solitude- 4.26.2015

After wrecking myself harvesting some corn snow last Sunday, it was all about redemption on this trip. We had a full crew, five deep skinning up Solitude to the top of Powderhorn. It was really nice to be back on the splitboard. Great day to be out, and about 8-10" of fresh everywhere overnight. That combined with what we got on Saturday was gonna make for a great day. It was in the mist on the way up, pea soup at times. But we eventually made it to the top and hung out for a bit. We had a fog delay dropping in as everything went whiteout. Eventually it moved on up canyon, and we were able to drop and make some incredible turns. We decided a second lap off the top of Apex was in order and we strapped in and dropped into some really good snow. The ride to the base with everyone charging it was just a great time!

It was so nice to redeem myself after hucking my meat to the mat last Sunday and wondering if I was going to get out on the board again this season. Today was just that day, getting back on the pony that bucks you off. Great day in the mountains with friends riding powder. Hard to beat that. Not sure how many more of these gems we will get before summer decides to show up and put this party to rest. More adventures to come.

Solitude Powderhorn Tour 4 26 15 from Christian Paul on Vimeo.

Splitboarding Solitude- 4.16.2015

It has been a winter for the record books. The kind of winter you do not want to see as a snowboarder. But it seems that old man winter was trying to redeem himself with this late season April storm which dropped some serious snow on the Wasatch. We decided to skin up Solitude because they are closed, and it still has good coverage unlike other parts of the Wasatch. We started from the base to see trees littering the landscape that were blown over in the wind storm that preceded the snow event. We made our climb up pretty fast and in no time it seemed we were standing on the Eagle ridge with the winds just pounding us. We all got exfoliated on the way up to Powderhorn from gusts of wind that were just brutal at best. Finally got to our spot, switched out from touring to riding mode and we made the drop. There were for sure some variable conditions out there as the wind was having its way with the transport of the snow. I still made some nice turns and had a great run all the way to the base. The lower part of the mountain was a bit heavier, and kind of grabby. A great day, first time out for my friend Gabe on the splitboard. He did awesome! It was nice to be out with the crew in the mountains once more. Enjoy the video with pics below. We will see how much longer mother nature lets this party continue. I'll take it while I can with the lackluster season we have had. More adventures to come!

Solitude- Powderhorn Tour- 4.16.2015 from Christian Paul on Vimeo.

36" of magic! Snowbird- 4.15.15

Just when you thought winter was over, pow! Mother Nature dumped 36" of the goods up at Snowbird. Everything was delayed today, so it was best be patient and the goods would be available. We rode everything that was open and had miles of powder turns. Things were knee to thigh deep every where you went. Highlight of the day was finishing off a great one on the mountain as they opened Peruvian Gulch. It was so deep off the P-Dog chair it was like watching a digging convention with all the skiers who lost ski's in the abyss. So much deep powder out there, and tons of terrain to get after that was not one week ago where you wanted to be. Mid-Baldy was my favorite line of the day with a blasting slash that I rode out of the cloud in. Here is a shot of me rockin' out as I was about to drop into Primrose. Winter is back for the moment. We will see how long this party lasts.