Powder Park is one of those Utah places with a name that just rings with images of tall pines, wide valleys and deep powder. All of the above is true, but it takes a lot of work (or money) to get there.
The work part means it’s a fairly long skin to get there, especially when you pass several other great backcountry lines along the way. As you ascend Mill D North Fork in Big Cottonwood Canyon, you have to want to ski Powder Park pretty bad if you turn your nose at Short Swing, Reynolds Peak, Tom’s Hill, and Big or Little Water.
Money means you can reach Powder Park very easily through the backcountry gates at The Canyons ski resort on the Park City side of the ridge. Of course this means you have to pay for a lift ticket and there’s not much chance of anyone spending $70+ just to ski the low-angle slopes at Powder Park.
Of course some people are strange… or smart. The secret to Powder Park is that it’s hidden in a small offshoot valley in Mill D North Fork. The open bowls and widely-spaced trees on sheltered aspects mean that good snow can be found when most areas are sun crusted or skied out.
Powder Park is a very popular spot for beginner ski tourers because of it’s penchant for soft snow and low-angle slopes. But that doesn’t mean it gets terribly crowded or is less fun for advanced skiers. When you’re hungry for untracked lines and don’t mind a long, flat skin to get to it, Powder Park is the spot.
To get to Powder Park, leave your vehicle at the Spruces Campground in Big Cottonwood Canyon. Walk across the highway, and skin up Mill D North Fork. After passing the cabins and climbing up the valley for two miles you will reach a fork with a sign. Go right toward Desolation Lake. Before reaching that lake however, there is another branch that goes left alongside a large, flat area. Following this branch takes you to Powder Park where gaining the ridge give you a 360-degree view of Big Cottonwood, the Park City ridgeline and Mill Creek Canyon as they all converge in this place. Of course, the skiing is even better than the view.
As always, check the Utah Avalanche Center forecast before heading out into the backcountry and bring along the must-have gear of beacon, probe and shovel.
2 thoughts on “Ski the backcountry at Powder Park”