Splitboarding Grizzly Gulch, Wasatch Mountains- March 2023

What a winter we are having in Utah! over 600" of snow in the Cottonwood Canyons this year! It is so deep out there the tree wells which are rarely a problem in Utah, are deadly this year. I had the chance after some health challenges to get out for the first time in almost a month on the splitboard. One thing that has not changed, is the traffic up Little Cottonwood Canyon. Lucky for me my departure was later than most so I only had about a 30 minute drive in the traffic to get to the top of the canyon. Once there, it was a sunny day! I put on the boots and headed up! It is so filled in the first hill didn't even feel steep. Once I got up to where they cut the Grizzly Road, the views started being really nice!

Up, up and more up! There is so much snow the features looked like a cake with frosting. The snow was in such great shape. From Bald Eagles to some Squirrels on the track, the wildlife even seemed to be having a great time! The climb to the cut off was quick. Once at the cuttoff, the snow was un tracked and I had to break trail to the top of my spot. The skies broke bluebird and I made my drop! It was 5 star powder and the turns were some of the best of the season. What usually ends up being a bottom where you pic your way out, its so filled in this year, untracked it felt like a bonus run as I made powder turns all the way to the summer road! What a incredibly day and year we've had in our mountains! Enjoy the pics! Make sure you check out my YouTube edit from this adventure! Please like and subscribe! More adventures to come!

Splitboarding Mill D North Fork, Big Cottonwood Canyon- February 2023

Well, it snowed again! We have hit 495" of snow in the Wasatch this season and its only February. I don't remember a year haaving this much this early! I made my way towards Little Cottonwood only to run into the junkshow on Wasatch Blvd and I made a U-Turn and headed up Big Cottonwood. I parked it at the lot and made my way across to the trailhead and put on the boards and headed on in.

After a fun time up the main track, I saw an old skin track heading uphill and I made my way up it to see where It went. It was snowing really hard on the way up and it was challenging in places because I had to reset the corners on several switchbacks because someone had steep disease. It runs rampant here and it honestly ruins the track and causes you to use more energy. Especially don't make a switchback right into a tree! After getting things right I topped out in a meadow that was getting close to 27 degrees in steepness and I called it for the uhill there. After a minute to refresh and hydrate, I switched it into ride mode.

The ride out was a fun one just floating in the powder and turning in the trees. Keeps you on your toes and you can bet no one had made tracks in them so its most of the time always fresh. The ride out on the main trail was fun making turns and hitting side pow all the way to the road. This season is going to go down in the record books as simply amazing! Enjoy the pics and make sure you check out the YouTube Vlog I made from this day! If you'd kindly like and subscribe to my channel I would greatly appreciate it! Till the next one!

Splitboarding Little Willow, Big Cottonwood Canyon- January 2023

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!

Splitboarding Grizzly Gulch, Wasatch Mountains- January 2023

Happy New Year! This is my first time in the mountains for 2023! I got out in Little Cottonwood Canyon for a day and skinned up Grizzly Gulch via the Albion Basin. The snow was still soft, but a bit wind affected in places giving it an almost variable quality. The climb was fun and just what I needed!

After some good climbing on the skins, and breaking a little trail to get to my spot I topped out. It was beautiful as the sun was peeping through the clouds blowing in from the next storm. There was a lot of wind transport happening with the snow being blown around by very strong wind gusts. After a bit of taking things in and making the switchover I dropped in. The surface was still powder with some wind affected areas as I made my ride out. I had a mix between wind blown and powder pretty much all the way back to the summer road. A great way to start off the 2023 season in the mountains! Enjoy the pics and make sure you watch my YouTube video from this day out in the mountains! More adventures to come!

2022 Retrospective

2022 is going to go down as one of the most incredible all around years in the wild for me! From Cedar Mesa, to completing the Uinta Highline Trail, there was no shortage of adventure. I am grateful to be healthy enough to do the things I love! We've wrapped it up with some days on the snow which I have not had in a few years! Grab a snack, a beverage, click on the YouTube video below, and let me take you on an adventure in the wilds of Utah! Happy New Year and thank you for all the love and support!

2022 Time Lapse Compilation

My 2022 Time Lapse Compilation is now up on my YouTube Channel! This compiles the best of time lapse videos I shot over the year in the wild in 2022! Enjoy the video on my YouTube Channel and please like and subscribe!

Splitboarding The Willows, Big Cottonwood Canyon- December 2022

The Wasatch received 40-70" of snow in the last week. It has been an incredible storm cycle! I had the chance to get out for a day and I took it. I managed a pretty traffic free drive up the canyon and to my amazement there was even a parking spot. I quickly got the boots and beacon on, then loaded up the pack and headed in.

The walk in was glorious! Lake effect snow coming down hard. It felt like being in a snow globe. As I made it around the corner after the first climb, you could see how untouched it all was. As I climbed the steep set skin track up Hour Glass, I spied my line and broke off from the skin track to break trail knee deep for at least a 100 yards! I topped out and made the switchover. Deepest turns I have had in three years! Such a nice ride home. So nice to be back in the mountains! Enjoy the pics and my YouTube edit below! Please like and subscribe! More adventures to come!