2011 will go down as the one of the greatest Utah ski seasons in anyone’s memory. Surely the over 700 inches of snow our Wasatch Mountain ski resorts were buried under, as well as the incredible wet spring that followed, will be talked about in bars and skier gathering places for decades to come. And thanks to the stellar winter and spring, Snowbird has been able to remain open through the 4th of July, meaning hardcore skiers and snowboarders have been getting their turns well into the hot months.
We got up to Snowbird last weekend for a little Wastach bi-fecta, starting with rack climbing in the morning, followed by skiing in the afternoon, then more rock climbing in the evening. You can do this in Utah, but not many other places, that’s for sure! But this incredible day was highlighted by the summer skiing. In late June, the upper mountain was still totally covered in snow.
We started out with a ride on the Tram to the top of Hidden Peak, the only way to get on the mountain if you want to summer ski. The air was warm with a slightly cool breeze under a cloudless sky kept temperatures warm enough to ski in t-shirts. Emboldened by the sun, we skied right down High Stakes on the main face of Mineral Basin. The snow was the expected glob and glook wetness that made turning a chore, but the ride was fast, especially when we stayed in a narrow corridor of skied-off snow that was whiter than the dirty snow on the main run’s edges.
After taking the Mineral Basin Express back up, we decided to check out the terrain under the Little Cloud Lift. A short traverse on Road to Provo put us above Shireen, a steep bit of headwall below American Fork Twin Peaks. Upon the first turn, we knew the right place was found. From the first turn, to the last, edge-able corn snow abounded under our skis. The snow quality was amazing considering the time of year. In fact, a few places even had ice hidden beneath the layer of slush that could be scraped off the surface like too much jam on burnt toast.
We lapped Little Cloud for the remainder of the day, making wide hero turns on the upper faces, and hot-dogging through perfectly-spaced moguls beneath the lift, despite bikini-clad girls and Mardi-Gras-style hecklers floating above.
When the lifts stopped turning at 2pm, we traversed to the Cirque Traverse and gathered with our fellow stragglers for one last run to the bottom. Skiers opened cans of dirtbag beer and snowboarders sunbathed on the rocks as they watched us ski in a gaggle down Great Scott. The snow was equally good here as everywhere else, allowing wide carving turns and/or slarving slashes that throw a wake of icy mush in every direction.
We were able to ski almost all the way to the car via Chip’s Run. Our full-length descent was stopped a few-dozen feet above the parking lot where a short hike down in ski boots through gravel and melting snow brought us to the car and a cooler full of hoppy beers that ended the day on a perfect note.
If only summer skiing at Snowbird could be this good every year…
Find out how to get a little piece of summer skiing of your own at Snowbird.com.