If you were to ask me how much snow by January 2023 we'd have, I would have never guessed 430"! Thats 33 feet of snow! I have been snowboarding and splitboarding the Wasatch for nearly two decades, and I have never seen a snow pack like this. Generally we are lucky to have over 250" of snow by the New Year. We have been in a decade long drought, so this will help keep those fires down and refill our watersheds. I had the chance to get out and I wasn't passing it up! I headed up the canyon and found a good spot to park. It was chilly, 10 degrees on the Jeeps thermometer. I put on the boots, pack, then headed accross the street. The climb up was pretty fast. But I noticed a little slip in the track when you plant would your skin and step forward. Pretty unusual for new snow. The only time I have expereinced this before was after a riming event post storm back in 2017. I didn't fall, but you can't go fast because each board has to be planted when you would step forward. This is tricky in this area because the skin track winds its way through a section of Aspens. A slip and fall might have you getting close up with a tree. After a fun, but slightly challenging climb, I topped out right below Willow Knob.
After making the switchover from walk to ride, I took in the quiet where I was at. There were some birds going in and out of a big pine, and hearing them sing was really nice! Light little snow flakes were falling as the sun would peek in and out of the clouds that were slowly rolling by. The ride out was amazing! The snow quality was the stuff Utah is famous for! I had a fun run through the glades and the aspens. You can see that run by clicking my YouTube video posted below! Please like and subscribe! A great day in the mountains! More adventures to come!
