Winter is often the best time of year to bag a peak, as snow covers rocks and uneven terrain, making a simple walk on skis to the top of a mountain very easy. At the same time, winter can also be the worst time to bag a peak as snow and avalanche conditions can make a simple summit bid a difficult or impossible endeavor. Such was the case of our attempt to stand atop one of the biggest mountains in the Northern Wasatch – Ben Lomond Peak.
We started the day at the North Fork trailhead near the Camp Utaba entrance in Liberty. The summer roads heading up the mountainside were buried in snow and groomed for nordic skiers and snowshoers. We skinned up and made our way along the road, stopping briefly to watch a gigantic moose munching on leaves in the trees adjacent to the road. A skin track soon appeared to the left, heading up a drainage. We followed it as it meandered up onto Cutler Ridge, where we got our first glimpse of Ben Lomond Peak hiding behind foggy, low clouds.
We hiked for miles atop the ridge far above the Eden Valley that spread out below us, with a spectacular view of Willard Peak and the open bowl beneath her that tried to lure us with her untracked powder on impossibly long fall-lines. By about noon, we were below the east face of the mountain. Contouring south, we gained the ridge and took in a dizzying view of North Ogden far below our ski tips. We ate lunch at the foot of rime-covered trees, then made our way to the final assault of Ben Lomond.
But as soon as we got onto the face, a terrible mix of variable snow comprised of wind-blown crust, lenses of wind buff, scoured ground and pockets of powder made skinning very difficult. Concerned about avalanches, we dug a pit and performed an extended column test. We didn’t get any results, which gave us enough confidence in the snowpack to continue on. But about halfway up the face, I heard a whomph and the snow collapsed beneath my skis ever so slightly. It was enough of a warning, so we hightailed it out of there and skied back down to the saddle.
Two men were hanging out and waited for us there. They had been watching us from below, and wondered if we would decide to climb the peak. Both were locals who knew the area well. After picking their brains about the best skiing down to the car, they offered us brandy and beer, so of course, we accepted and joined them for a chat. That’s one thing I realized is different about backcountry skiing away from the Central Wasatch – there is no competition for fresh tracks, so the skiers you meet are a lot friendlier and willing to share both beta and booze.
After saying our goodbyes, we skied a treed face below Ben Lomond where amazingly soft powder on a long fall-line made the trip totally worth it. We weaved through the trees, and played on rollers and wide open faces down below Cutler Ridge. Skinning back up, we climbed back to the top of the shoulder, then skied the remaining couple-thousand feet back down the the car.
While our attempt to accomplish a winter summit of Ben Lomond had failed, the skiing around Cutler Ridge opened our eyes to an incredible backcountry ski area that felt far different from the mountains above Salt Lake. The quality of the terrain means we will absolutely be back to explore some more, and perhaps even try to climb the mountain again.