2012 Retrospective Christian Paul Photography

2012 was a crazy year for sure. I had some great adventures this year. From my time in the snow, to getting out on the trail, graduating with my photography degree, and getting images published, this year has been full of surprises. The stats: 66 days snowboarding, 56 days hiking and backpacking, 29 days camping, and 177 miles by foot in the mountains. A ton of images, and a lot of growth with my camera. I also learned a bit about time lapse this year, so not only was I able to shoot some great star trail photography, but the video below shows some of the time lapse that I shot as well. I am thankful for all the family and friends who supported me and made it possible for me to get out in our beautiful wilderness to do what I love- immersing myself in the backcountry, and shooting photography. What will 2013 bring? The mystery begins- and I am looking forward to new adventures. Thanks for visiting my blog over the last year, I have had a ton of visitors and I am honored to share my adventures with you all. I wish you all a happy and prosperous 2013.

2012 Retrospective from Christian Paul on Vimeo.

Holiday Happiness 12.21.23.26.2012

Conditions have been incredible for December at Snowbird. I cannot remember the last time we had the whole mountain operational and accessible before Christmas. December 21st was a great cruiser day, Baldy Express opened, and there were windblown fluffies to hit. The 23rd was another blue bird day, with the opening of the Bookends. Snow was very good over there for being a few day after the storm. I took a few days off to spend Christmas with the family, but was back at it on the 26th. Full on blizzard up there, with so much snow, the options were endless. It has been a full season since I have ridden in a blizzard, and I have to say I missed the fury that Mother Nature can dish out. It was a great week up there, more on the way!

Holiday Happiness 12.21.23.26.2012 from Christian Paul on Vimeo.

December Dumpage- 12.16.17.19.2012

What a storm cycle! We had a classic Utah storm roll in and give us the goods! The 16th was fresh and deep blower pow. So much fun, and since things had filled in, just made the riding fantastic! The 17th was a wind buff free refill day. Every run you would take, you would load the chair and it was all filled back in again. These are rare days that you have to take advantage of because usually things get hammered out quickly. But not this day, as the wind and snow was giving us a treat, and it was fresh all day long. The 19th was the first bluebird day in over a week. With lots of leftovers, -14 windchill to keep your human Popsicle nice and cold, made for some great turns at the Bird. This season is shaping up to be a great one, we have the snow, and conditions are prime. Santa for sure showed up for us powder hounds early this year! Get out there and get some! More to come......

December Dumpage- 12.16.17.19.2012 from Christian Paul on Vimeo.

Filling In- 12.6.9.2012

Well, things at the Bird are filling in nicely! Thursday we received a skiff of snow that freshened up the playground. Made for some very nice conditions both on and off trail. The base area was bullet proof, so some care need to be taken to get back to the Tram. Very light traffic, and really good snow both from the storm and from the wind loading it into the catchers mitts. Sunday was a early worm gets the Bird day, as I caught second Tram. Headed out with a "0" degree temp reading on the peak. Got frosted on Regulator by one of the snow guns, had to scrape the goggles on the way to the Cirque. The Cirque traverse is still bony in spots, so take care as I did get a core shot from a rock getting out to Mid-Cirque. The turns down Mid-Cirque were the best so far this season, getting blasted by every turn, and ending up at the bottom like I just woke up from a dream! Rallied the P-Dog chair the rest of the day, just playing in the fluffies and having a great time. It is nice to see it actually snow in Utah again. Winter is in full force, and we seem to have entered a wet pattern which will keep producing snow for our mountains. So more fun on the way!

Filling In- 12.6.9.2012 Snowbird from Christian Paul on Vimeo.

December Begins- 12.3.2012

After what seemed to be a few weeks of spring like conditions, we finally got a storm. It was 5" of wet, dense snow which we desperately needed for our base. I caught first Tram and what a surprise the whole day was. There were some variable spots, some really good catchers mitts loaded with fluffies, and it was a really all around great day up there riding. Looks like we are heading into a winter pattern, so more snow is on the way this week! December is starting off right, lets keep this going!

December Begins- 12.3.2012 from Christian Paul on Vimeo.

Avenue Twin Peaks, Wasatch Foothills, Utah Nov 2012

I feel regardless of your affiliations and beliefs, holidays are time to be spent with family. I spent the whole weekend with my family, including hiking with my daughter on her first ascent of a peak. We have, after instant winter, begun to experience a high pressure ridge that is just keeping out all of the storms. Plus we have been upper 50's during the day, so just really unseasonable weather. We started on the Bonneville Shoreline Trail, and headed up the trail. This has some good climbs without it being too steep. We climbed and climbed, taking a few breaks so my daughter would not be worn out, and finally reached the ridge. After a few snacks, we continued on and made the final push for the top. Avenue Twin Peaks are 2 miles to the peak, and it is about 1100 feet of elevation gain to the top. So it is a great workout. I think this was a great experience for my daughter, she really was loving being up there. We crossed over from the north peak to the south peak and had a full panoramic view of the Salt Lake valley. After soaking it in for a while, we made our way down, just having fun all the way to the car. I am very proud of my daughter, she did so well and never quit. This was by far the latest in the year I have ever gone hiking here in the Wasatch. By this time I usually have switched to just winter activities at this point. But when life hands you lemons, you make lemonade. I love hiking, and it was a treat to be on trail this late in the year. The only bummer was looking at the inversion that was in the valley, realizing that when the adventure was over, we had to go down in that gunky soup. I hope you all had a great holiday.

Thankful Turns- 11.21.2012- Snowbird, Utah

I got a couple of days riding Tuesday and Wednesday before Thanksgiving up Little Cottonwood Canyon. The sun was out and the snow was in great condition. And best of all, on the 21st, I got to ride with my friend Jeremy who I did the Wind River Range trip with back in September. Just fun playing around on things and slashing the smooth terrain at hand. It is days like this that are care free and no pressure. Which in my opinion, is what snowboarding is all about. And that made me very thankful for the turns I got. Hope everyone had a great holiday. Gobble Gobble!!!

Thankful Turns- Snowbird- 11.21.2012 from Christian Paul on Vimeo.