Wildcat Tour- Collins Gulch- Little Cottonwood Canyon- 5.10.2015

Old man winter seems to be playing a cruel trick on those powder starved sliders here in the Wasatch. We have had more snow in April and May than it seems we have had all winter. There was 16" of very heavy, wet, dense snow that fell up Little Cottonwood Canyon and another tour seemed to be in order. I met Chris and his friend at the Collins lot at Alta, and we headed up. It was a busy day up there, and a lot of traffic on the skin track. We made the climb straight up the gut, past the mid-station and up to the top of the Wildcat lift. Chris and his buddy wanted to climb Baldy, and I just did not have the time with family plans, so I decided to make the changeover there. We said our goodbyes, and they were off.

Just as I was strapping in to drop, a double slide came down in the apron of Baldy, with one person in the toe of the debris. There was quite a large party heading up to the slide pile, and the person seemed to be up and moving. I figured that was a sign that things were getting too warm up there, and I dropped in to ride to the base. The snow was very heavy and you had to make calculated turns to smear the thick cream cheese conditions up there. I finally made it to the bottom. After getting the boots off and putting the board in the car, a injured skier rolled up at the base.

It was the individual who was in the avalanche I saw, and he was in a lot of pain. I carried his gear over to his vehicle, and the Alta Marshal got the paramedics on the phone. He had an obvious rib injury and what looked to be a wound on his waist. He said he was not in pain, but I could tell he was in shock. He said the slide had flushed him over a pretty big cliff, and from the looks of it he was lucky it was not worse. I left when the paramedics arrived. I hope he is ok. This is a prime example of terrain choice and the heating of the day can change everything. This may have been my last day of the season. 14/15 is going to go down as the lowest snow year, and warmest winter ever on record. We may have another storm before it is all gone. More adventures to come.

Wildcat Tour 5.10.2015 from Christian Paul on Vimeo.

Sunday Funday- Powderhorn Tour- Solitude- 4.26.2015

After wrecking myself harvesting some corn snow last Sunday, it was all about redemption on this trip. We had a full crew, five deep skinning up Solitude to the top of Powderhorn. It was really nice to be back on the splitboard. Great day to be out, and about 8-10" of fresh everywhere overnight. That combined with what we got on Saturday was gonna make for a great day. It was in the mist on the way up, pea soup at times. But we eventually made it to the top and hung out for a bit. We had a fog delay dropping in as everything went whiteout. Eventually it moved on up canyon, and we were able to drop and make some incredible turns. We decided a second lap off the top of Apex was in order and we strapped in and dropped into some really good snow. The ride to the base with everyone charging it was just a great time!

It was so nice to redeem myself after hucking my meat to the mat last Sunday and wondering if I was going to get out on the board again this season. Today was just that day, getting back on the pony that bucks you off. Great day in the mountains with friends riding powder. Hard to beat that. Not sure how many more of these gems we will get before summer decides to show up and put this party to rest. More adventures to come.

Solitude Powderhorn Tour 4 26 15 from Christian Paul on Vimeo.

Splitboarding Solitude- 4.16.2015

It has been a winter for the record books. The kind of winter you do not want to see as a snowboarder. But it seems that old man winter was trying to redeem himself with this late season April storm which dropped some serious snow on the Wasatch. We decided to skin up Solitude because they are closed, and it still has good coverage unlike other parts of the Wasatch. We started from the base to see trees littering the landscape that were blown over in the wind storm that preceded the snow event. We made our climb up pretty fast and in no time it seemed we were standing on the Eagle ridge with the winds just pounding us. We all got exfoliated on the way up to Powderhorn from gusts of wind that were just brutal at best. Finally got to our spot, switched out from touring to riding mode and we made the drop. There were for sure some variable conditions out there as the wind was having its way with the transport of the snow. I still made some nice turns and had a great run all the way to the base. The lower part of the mountain was a bit heavier, and kind of grabby. A great day, first time out for my friend Gabe on the splitboard. He did awesome! It was nice to be out with the crew in the mountains once more. Enjoy the video with pics below. We will see how much longer mother nature lets this party continue. I'll take it while I can with the lackluster season we have had. More adventures to come!

Solitude- Powderhorn Tour- 4.16.2015 from Christian Paul on Vimeo.

36" of magic! Snowbird- 4.15.15

Just when you thought winter was over, pow! Mother Nature dumped 36" of the goods up at Snowbird. Everything was delayed today, so it was best be patient and the goods would be available. We rode everything that was open and had miles of powder turns. Things were knee to thigh deep every where you went. Highlight of the day was finishing off a great one on the mountain as they opened Peruvian Gulch. It was so deep off the P-Dog chair it was like watching a digging convention with all the skiers who lost ski's in the abyss. So much deep powder out there, and tons of terrain to get after that was not one week ago where you wanted to be. Mid-Baldy was my favorite line of the day with a blasting slash that I rode out of the cloud in. Here is a shot of me rockin' out as I was about to drop into Primrose. Winter is back for the moment. We will see how long this party lasts.

16" Pow Day @ Sundance Mountain Resort- 3.3.2015

I won some Sundance passes a couple of weeks ago and I figured after seeing that snow report, that this day was a good one to use them. Sundance got a monster dump report of 16" of fresh overnight, and we made haste to get down there. The drive was not bad at all, and we made the resort lot in no time. Gear on and we headed up. The first run we dropped was almost no tracks in it all the way back to the lift. The first two hours were pretty quiet up there. I am guessing the word got out as a small but fun crowd showed up around 11ish. It started dumping so hard and it was pretty much free refills up till a little bit after noon up there. We stayed on Rays for most of the day because the snow was bottomless, unlike the top where you were hitting some crust under the new goods. The terrain off the Arrowhead chair was amazing. Gate 3 gave us some of the best turns of the day up there. The Far East head wall did not open when we were up top, so we did not get to sample the goods over there. We rode till our legs gave out. I felt fulfilled from the miles of powder we rode today. These are the days that we live for. Luxury turns and lapping pow with good friends. Enjoy the edit I put together from today. My camera was on the fritz, so missed some runs because it was not working properly. Pray 4 Snow!

16" Sundance Day 3.3.2015 from Christian Paul on Vimeo.

Sunday Funday- Scotts Pass- 3.1.2015

I decided to head up to Scotts Pass again with the crew this time. We made the climb into the road and to the gate pretty quickly. Then it was up the summer trail to the pass. The climb was quick and gave us a glimpse of what we had in store. We reached the pass and made our way up to the top. Once up there dark clouds started coming in and it was snowing pretty good. I dropped my usual line up there with some detours to explore through the trees. A quick shot down the summer trail, and we hit the final meadow out to the car. A great day in the mountains with good friends. Enjoy the edit and Pray 4 Snow!

Sunday Funday Scotts Pass- 3.1.2015 from Christian Paul on Vimeo.

Scotts Backdoor Tour- 2.27.2015

I was going to try to connect with some new folks for the Wasatch Splitfest, but when I got to the lot, no one was there. So I decided to just head up and tour Scotts Pass solo. New snow, and a nice skin in on the road to the elbow. From the elbow, the trail got a bit deeper and was completely untouched. I was breaking trail all the way to the pass. Arriving on the pass, I headed up to the top of Scotts Backdoor. It started snowing as I climbed, and the big flakes were falling. I reached the top and broke out from touring mode to riding mode. I honestly just sat there for a bit, as the flakes just got bigger and bigger. It was so awesome to be out in a blizzard like this. It has been a while! Eventually, it was time to drop. The very top had a bit of a sun crust under the new snow, but was manageable. When I got to the top of my line, I was making turns in really nice snow! A quick traverse through the trees and I was in the main glade. The snow was so good and very floaty. I made it out to where I normally exit, when I ran into a very nice couple who had toured up from the winter gate. They had a different exit than I was used to, so I followed them out to the road. A nice area, and some really good snow to finish it off. All in all a great day despite missing the Splitfest folks. I guess there is always next year. Enjoy the video and pics. Pray 4 Snow!

Scotts Backdoor 2.27.2015 from Christian Paul on Vimeo.