Willows Tour #5, Big Cottonwood Canyon- 1.28.2017

What a month January has been! We have received so much snow, that in most places we have more snow to date than we got all last year. We were on a hunt for another shot of powder and we found that up the Willows. The climb in was nice and warm for once. We made pretty good time to the top pushing up the south ridge. There were quite a few people out today. Fortunately for us, none of them were eyeing the line we had in mind. We made the drop into some really great snow. The ride out was nice with an exit through the trees that was a lot of fun! Enjoy the pics and video! Sending January off with some nice turns! More adventures to come!

The Willows 1 28 17 from Christian Paul on Vimeo.

The Cone, Big Cottonwood Canyon- 1.22.2017

Another storm over performed for the Wasatch and the hunt for fresh tracks was on once again. We decided to head up a skin track that we have seen in Bear Trap Fork so many times, but we passed on it with a destination already in mind. We decided to take it this time which led us up through the trees to the Cone. The Cone is a ridge line peak that sits between Mill D North and Bear Trap Fork. The climb was fun, steep at times. But eventually we topped out and made the switch over. We dropped into some amazing treeless powder turns. Riding the ridge out was fun popping through the aspens and a final drop into the main meadow for the ride out. It was an great adventure to ride a new line which we have been looking at for over two years! Enjoy the video and pic from the summit! More adventures to come......

The Cone 1.22.2017 from Christian Paul on Vimeo.

Willows Tour #4, Big Cottonwood Canyon- 1.11.2017

It just keeps dumping here in the Wasatch! Another storm cycle raged the range with large dumps and high winds. I headed up the Willows for some low angle action to keep it safe as the rating was high for steep slopes. The climb up the logging road was quick and really fun. I then made the turn off for my line to discover that it was untracked. Meaning I was going to have to set the skin track to get in there. Let me tell you if you think climbing on the skins is a lot of work, try breaking trail for a thousand feet up hill and let me know how you are doing. I made a good pace despite the work it took to break trail all the way to the ridge. The winds were howling and the snow was coming down hard! I finally arrived at my top out point. I made the switch over and packed it up and made the drop. This was a more dense variety of pow which is very supportable and surfy! I was literally floating on top of 15" of fresh in some parts. The ride out the exit was the best it has been all season. It was for sure high tide out there today! Enjoy the pic of it dumping as I am setting the skin track and the video of the ride home! More adventures to come!

Willows Tour 1.11.2017 from Christian Paul on Vimeo.

Bear Trap Fork, Big Cottonwood Canyon- 1.7.2017

This season has been incredible! It just keeps snowing! We had a bit of a break between storms, so the hunt for powder was on. We took a nice tour up Bear Trap Fork looking for fresh lines and tree runs. We climbed the gulch with much warmer temperatures than we had on our previous visit here this season. We made a pretty quick pace up the drainage to the main meadow. We decided to follow a new skin track up to the top and it was a good choice. On our way up we were taken through some untracked trees and decided that we would take that route out. We dropped into some very nice settled powder which was smooth and creamy to ride. We even found some hits and pillows to jump off of on our way out of the glades. The out on the main trail was really fun as we weaved and dogged our way through the trees and side hits which were as filled in as either of us could remember. An incredible day in the Wasatch finding what was left from the storm and getting after it! Enjoy the pics and video. More adventures to come......

USA Bowl, Big Cottonwood Canyon- 1.2.2017

What a way to start off the new year! We got a storm that over performed and we headed up a location that I have been looking to hit for a long time- USA Bowl! We made our way up the bottom section of the Willows to the Old Stage Road which took us to the bottom of Mill F Fork. From there we had an amazing walk in the woods as the flakes dropped from the sky in such a beautiful fashion. The skin up was pretty amazing and got a bit steep as we approached the top. We finally crested out on the ridge to howling winds and blowing snow. There was a four foot wave on the ridge where the winds were just stacking it up. We regained our core warmth then made the change over and dropped in. The first bit was wind blown, but still fun to ride. Once we gained the main bowl, it was blower pow that was really deep! It was an amazing day out there on the skin track and the ride home was incredible! Enjoy the video! More adventures to come......

USA Bowl 1.2.2017 from Christian Paul on Vimeo.