Peak 10420, Big Cottonwood Canyon- March 2019

What an amazing season we are having this year! It just keeps snowing in the Wasatch! Most of the Cottonwood Canyons now have over 500" of snow for the season. Base depths are 130" to 160" depending on the area. After getting a powder day on the lifts at Solitude on Thursday of last week, I returned to the backcountry to keep the legs fresh and to enjoy the winter vibe that we are holding in the high terrain. I decided to hit the trees on the west face of Peak 10420 up Big Cottonwood Canyon. I made my way to the winter gate, put on the boots and pack and made my way up the skin track. From the road I broke trail all the way up. It was deep trail breaking, in some places it was knee deep from the last storm we received. I found a new route into this area and set a skin track in there. The walk in was chilly, but the sun was occasionally making an appearance out of the clouds which made the cold trek in the trees a bit more pleasant. I eventually topped out where I felt there was no avalanche danger. Included is a picture of my kit that I take with me every time when I am splitboarding.

Peak 10420 Trip Report from CPPhoto on Vimeo.

Once I topped out, I made the switchover to ride mode. I hung out in the trees for a while as they released their piles of snow our of the canopy which was like watching a mini blizzard. Eventually I made the drop to head home. In some sections the snow was so deep you just had to point it if you did not want to get stuck. I found some great snow on the way out and riding was really a lot of fun. Overall a great walk in on the skin track and a really fun ride home. Looks like we have another round of snow set for midweek so it looks like this party is going to continue. Spring temps are forecasted for the weekend. We are only a couple of months away from the trails melting out and the hiking to begin. Until then I am gonna get as many of these days as I possibly can. Enjoy the pics and videos! More adventures to come!

Peak 10420 Trees 3.10.2019 from CPPhoto on Vimeo.

Spring has sprung! Solitude Mountain Resort- March 2019

I don't usually ride the resort, but when I do, I ride at Solitude Mountain Resort. I won a pass from Liftopia, and I picked Thursday to be the day to use it. The forecast was calling for more snow, so I figured why not take a day and let the lift chair do the work for once. It was snowing really hard when I showed up, and the lot was empty.

I put on the boots and made my way to the Eagle lift to get some first tracks. Once the opening bell sounded it was game on. The snow was perfect, ultralight Utah powder that we all love. This video is from my first run of the day! So much fun going at high speeds and slashing up the new powder.

Solitude First Tracks 3.7.19 from CPPhoto on Vimeo.

I picked around all the lifts on the frontside of the mountain waiting for Honeycomb to open. I found some really good snow as I rode off trail on all the lifts finding some good lines on the mountain. I made my way up the Summit lift for a run, stopping at the rope that signifies area closed above Honeycomb, and the patrol walked up and opened the gates! I got first drop into Honeycomb! The ride out to the Honeycomb Return was nothing short of amazing as the snow was so good back there. I went out the gates on the Eagle ridge getting even more powder turns as the day progressed.

Honeycomb Rope Drop And Some Pockets Of Fun At Solitude 3.7.2019 from CPPhoto on Vimeo.

I eventually reached my limit. I did over 14,000 feet of vert for the day! This may have been my last day at a resort for the season. I'll be back on the skin track this weekend. When I arrived home, my crocuses had bloomed in the garden. Spring has sprung in the Wasatch! We are getting closer to the days where the snow dances will turn to dirt dances! Its been a great season and we have more on the way! Enjoy the videos and pics! More adventures to come!

Grizzly Gulch, Little Cottonwood Canyon- March 2019

March had arrived! With it we have gotten a fresh paint job in the Wasatch! I decided to tour up Grizzly Gulch this week to kick off the month. I made my way to the end of the road in Little Cottonwood. Got a spot then put on the boots, backpack, and strapped into the boards. The walk in was much warmer than I expected so I am pretty sure I over dressed. I was a little slow to start getting warmed up but eventually was pushing up the skin track at my normal pace. The new snow had bonded to the old snow pretty well so the skin in was pretty nice! There were a lot of people that were up here getting after it. Talked to quite a few backcountry recreation folks from skiers, snowshoers, and splitboarders. Everyone seemed to be happy that we had some new snow. I made my way into the gulch, then followed the skin track up Black Bess. I topped out where the fog met the peaks as visibility was not the best and I wanted to be able to see my line as I was riding incase I had to jet to a safe zone if I had a collapse. I found a nice spot out of the wind and made the switchover.

Grizzly Gulch Trip Report 3.3.2019 from CPPhoto on Vimeo.

After digging a quick pit, and not finding anything that raised the alarms, I hung out for a bit as the sun would peek out through the clouds, then the clouds would set in and it would start snowing once more. After a bit of a break it was time to strap in and make the drop. The snow was deep, much more than was reported. The turns were really fun and the ride out to the Jeep was one of the best of the season. I could not believe how good the snow was! Exceeded any expectation I had when I left the house in the AM. Even slashed it up a bit at the bottom in snow that was a bit more dense in consistency but still a lot of fun to ride in. A great day out on the skin track and a really fun ride home! Looks like we have more on the way! March is shaping up to be a good one! Enjoy the pics and videos! More adventures to come!

Grizzly Gulch 3.3.2019 from CPPhoto on Vimeo.

Promise Land, Big Cottonwood Canyon- February 2019

What a month of snow it has been! 140" of snow in the Cottonwoods for the month of February. Conditions have been stellar to say the least. I was able to squeeze in a couple of days last week at Solitude for some lift served turns. First time on the lifts this season. Nothing like breaking corduroy and slashing up chalky cold snow. I picked up a couple of new pieces of gear last week. I got a new touring pack, the Osprey Kamber 32. This is a game changer as it has multiple pockets and much more storage than my previous pack. It has its own avalanche gear pocket. It helmet carries, and the main pocket for dry layers and such is so huge! I truly felt lighter and faster touring with this pack on. I look forward to many more days on the snow with it! I also purchased a new beacon, the Arva Neo+. This transceiver is digital with three antennas, will locate multiple burials, has a 70 meter search range, a group check function, ability to mark a victim once they have been located, and will return to send mode if it does not sense motion after a period of time protecting the wearer from rouge avalanches if you were in the middle of a rescue. I am very happy with it!

Promise Land Trip Report 2.24.19 from CPPhoto on Vimeo.

So with all this new snow and new gear, I decided Sunday to do a tour in the Cottonwoods and test out the new gear. I made my way up from the Guardsman gate and made my way up the Promise Land. There was still really good snow off the road, and I was breaking trail and setting the track all the way in. The new pack sure makes touring seem less hard as it really did not feel like anything on my back. I took far less breaks on the way up because I was not as tired. I also like the fact it has a insulated storage chamber on the shoulder strap for your hydration tube so you can keep your water from freezing and your hydration contained. Once I topped out I changed into my dry layers, activated my old beacon, dug a hole, threw my pack with my old beacon in it, and buried it. I then walked off and then went into search mode with the new beacon and was able to locate and problem strike my pack pretty fast. Its good to practice, and really fun to test your skills. After my beacon drill, I took a hydration break then made the switchover. I dropped into some really nice and soft settled powder. I narrowly missed a huge hole in the snow which you can see in this video of my ride out below. Other than that it was a really fun ride weaving in the trees and getting some soft turns. My wax job must be holding up, I was able to ride the road almost all the way to the Guardsman winter gate without having to unstrap and push. A great day in the Wasatch playing with new gear and getting some turns. Its been a great season. Looks like more snow for the mountains is on the way! Enjoy the pics and videos! More adventures to come!

Promise Land 2.24.19 from CPPhoto on Vimeo.

Grizzly Gulch, Little Cottonwood Canyon- February 2019

February has been a very interesting month. Since the first of the month the Wasatch has received over 118" of snow. I have not been out for a bit as the avalanche danger has been high, and we have a complicated snowpack. I had the day off on Friday and decided I would get out for a walk on the splitboard and see how things are stacking up. I decided to head up Grizzly Gulch for a nice walk on the skin track, and some low angle turns on the way home. I made my way up the Albion Basin road to the turn off for Grizzly Gulch. The wind was howling and transporting a lot of snow. The wind slabs were obvious so they were easy to avoid. As I climbed the wind was burning my face under bluebird skies. I rounded the corner and headed up into the gulch. The skin track is well established this year, and we have so much more snow than last year when I was here. I kept an eye on things as I climbed, looking for any red flags or recent avalanches. Surprisingly I saw none, so I proceeded to my spot to make the switchover for the ride out.



After some slope testing and a quick pit, yielding no results, I made the switch from touring mode to ride mode. I spent a bit of time up there, just taking in the view and watching the snow tornadoes whirl across the snow surface. Some clouds for an expected storm started pushing into the canyon so I made the drop. The snow was wind buffed supportable powder and really fast! Creamy turns which kept your board on the surface and was so fast and smooth from all the wind action. The ride out of the gulch was fun and the lower you got the more powder I seemed to be turning in. The exit was really fun with some creamy delights to slash it up to all the way to the Jeep. It was a great day out there! It was nice to be out on the skin track again. I really missed it. This winter is shaping up to be the best in years. Enjoy the videos and the pic I took of Patsy Marly being tickled by the sun as the clouds built in. I will never get tired of that view. More adventures to come!

Promise Land East, Big Cottonwood Canyon- January 2019

It just keeps snowing here in the Wasatch. Utah is having one of its best seasons in a couple of years. Over 5 feet of snow has fallen over the last week. Unfortunately with large snowfalls comes high avalanche danger. Utah had its first avalanche fatality last Friday in the Skyline area of the range. You can read the accident report by clicking here Knowing that the steep slopes were dangerous, I wanted to stay very low angle and in the trees, so I decided I would return to the Promise Land, but take a little different route in there. The hop in from the car to the first left turn on the Guardsman road was quick and full of whoop dee do's from the sleds. Once I hit the meadow the snow was deep and untracked. Breaking trail in really deep snow on the way up was a workout, but you knew the reward on the way out was gonna be worth it.

Promise Land East Report 1.20.19 from CPPhoto on Vimeo.

Promise Land 1.20.2019 from CPPhoto on Vimeo.

I managed to connect with another skin track that went a bit more east than I usually do and put me in a grove of old growth trees that were dropping pillows of snow every time the wind would blow. You could hear the big piles coming off the trees and hitting the snowpack. I eventually topped out and found a nice place out of the wind to switch things over. The ride out was really fun. A mix of tree weaving and some really deep snow was so much fun. Supportable powder with some pockets of light snow. No instability noticed in the snowpack as I descended. No cracking, collapsing, or running sluffs. All signs were good for some tree exploring and getting some soft turns. I am loving this area. The more I explore it the more amazing terrain I find. Its a safe zone for when the avalanche danger is high. Sometimes you take a chance on an area and strike gold. I am very happy to have given it a change this season. Its still snowing up there as I write this! Enjoy the pics and videos! Happy Winter!

Promise Land #2, Big Cottonwood Canyon- NYE 2018

Happy New Year! The Wasatch got one of those over performer snow storms the day before New Years Eve. In fact it was snowing for a 24 hour period where it just kept adding to the totals. I decided to end my year the way I started it, in the mountains on the splitboard. The forecast was for arctic conditions with a balmy 9 degrees forecasted with a wind chill of -14. I for sure packed the cold weather gear. I made my way up to the Guardsman gate and got parked and booted up. It was pretty warm in the sun, so I figured it could not be that cold for the walk in. Once I got strapped in and moved from the sun to the shade it was about 20 degrees difference. Half way up the road to the starting point in the meadow my eye lashes were freezing together and I had to ditch the sunglasses so I could see. The snow was really good but a bit sticky meaning cold temps usually make new snow slow going. Something I would address on the ride home.

NYE Tour Report- 12.31.2018 from CPPhoto on Vimeo.

From the turnoff, I noticed there were some folks in the west meadow doing what I think were beacon drills. Possibly an avalanche class out in the field. It was cool to see people interested in snow safety. I made my turn into the trees and moved up the Promise Land. I was breaking trail all the way from the road. It seems to me maybe someone took the road to the false summit and took a line out because there was no skin track in, just two tracks out. I made it pretty quickly up to the spot that I went to last time, and continued up further to the ridge where the false summit connects. It was bitter cold in the wind up there so I actually skied in about 50 yards down into the trees to get out of the wind to do the change over. The cold was bitting and I put on the insulated jacket and a dry beanie, then proceeded to switch things over from touring mode to ride mode. When putting my pack together for the drop, I grabbed the hydration hose on my bladder in my pack and it broke! I have never seen a hydration tube do that! I had to empty my water out because It would have leaked on me all the way out. After getting everything finally situated I made the drop. The snow was deep and I was just crusing in the trees and making turns in really great snow. Once I hit the road I had to skate my way to the car because the snow was very sticky cold. A great day in the mountains despite the bitter temps. Enjoy the photo and videos! More adventures to come!

Promise Land #2- 12.31.18 from CPPhoto on Vimeo.