Blue Bird Friday- 1.27.2012

This was by far one of the best days of the season! Arrived to the mountain being full on! I hit Peruvian to start off the day, getting runs in places only a week or so ago I would not have even considered riding because of the lack of coverage. Went back to Mineral, and the snow was pretty good there as well. There are still some spots you want to be careful of, but for the most part everything is ready to go. I rode all day because the snow was so good! One of the best days this year for sure, it was nice to be riding a full Bird again.

Uinta Star Trails is a finalist in the 32nd Annual Best Of College Photography by Photographers Forum Magazine

My photo, Uinta Star Trails that I took on my Cuberant Basin trip in September 2011 is a finalist for the 32nd Annual Best of College Photography by Photographers Forum. I am stoked to be a finalist in this since this is judged by real Art Directors and MFA's. I know for sure I will be in print in the book, but I could get cover, or 2nd-5th place as well. Crossing my fingers, but it is cool to get another photo published in a major world wide distributed hard cover photo book. I'm stoked! Here is the picture:

Full On Powder Days! 1.22-23.2012 Snowbird, Utah

We finally got the big dump we were waiting for! I awoke at 7:30 AM Sunday morning to the Sheriff's text that the canyon was not due to open because of avalanche control till 10:30. I went back to bed. Got up at 11 AM, had breakfast, and drove up about 12:30. Got the boots on and headed to Wilbere since that and Gadzoom was all that was going to open. Got some really great runs over there testing out my new Light Rail Bindings from Voile on my split. I can't wait for this new snow to settle out so I can tour with this new set up! Monday started out on some of the best cords of the season. Every turn on trail was a smooth as can be, and the off trail was not bad in Gad Valley despite it getting hammered out on Sunday. About 11:30 AM, I headed to the peak, and not too long after that they opened P-Dog and it was full on! From peak to base I had one of the best runs all season! So much off trail that is now accessible, which five days previous you did not even want to think about hitting any of these areas with how shallow our base was. The powder rush was on, and after a six hour day on the hill, it was time to call it for the day. Thanks to Snowbird Patrol for working so hard to get such a dangerous set of conditions out there. The wind was howling at the peak, and the snow was just dumping from above. Our mountain is FULL ON! Look for The Cirque to be in play soon, and I would not think that Mineral Basin will be far behind. More on the way this week! Pow Pow!

First Powder Day Of 2012- 1.19.12

Finally got ourselves a deep day on the mountain. It was for sure wet and upside down. But the essence of it was amazing. We had a late start because of the avalanche control work that had to be done. But once the day started, it just kept getting better and better. Started out on Wilbere because the line at Gadzoom was a nightmare. No Tram or Peruvian to start things off, and no Mineral Basin either. As the day progressed, the Tram opened up, and eventually to finish off our day, we got Peruvian Gulch as the icing on the cake! Really happy that we got this storm, and it looks as if there is more on the way!

First Powder Day Of 2012- 1.19.12 Snowbird from Christian Paul on Vimeo.

First Snow Of 2012 1.8-9.12- Snowbird

Well, at least we go something. It has been a unusually dry year here in the Wasatch. But a small front did push through and put down a few inches of fresh, making the riding just a really good time. The good news is that I got to ride Solitude on Wen the 11th (Video coming soon, 3 cameras running that day, lots of footage to got through), Mineral Basin opened today which I got to sample for the first time this year, and this high pressure that has been a curse for us is about to get outta here this week. Means lots of snow coming soon. Law of averages says the longer we stay dry, the more snow we will get when this pattern changes. As this video shows, I am making the best of it, and my legs are ready, so lets do this winter! Enjoy the video, I know I had a blast riding and making it.

First Days Of 2012 Snowboarding

Since we have had no new snow until yesterday, it has just been spinning laps and soaking up the sunshine at Snowbird. It has been so warm, it is hard to tell if this is spring or if winter was going to stick around. It really has felt a lot like spring riding up there, and the conditions echo that. I have made the best of it, which is what one should do with everything.