Our traveling backcountry road tour recently brought us to the “other” mountain range of the Salt Lake Valley – the Oquirrh Mountains. After years of looking at these peaks every day and wondering what it would be like to ski them, Adam and I decided to stop the wondering and find out.
We started the tour from the tiny town of Ophir, a former mining community that is now a sleepy burg surrounded by cliffs and the white-capped peaks of the southern Oquirrhs. We drove through the main street, amused by signs admonishing us that quiet time starts at 10pm, as well as seemingly thousands of no-trespassing signs nailed to every wall, tree and fence post in sight.
The road ended on the other side of town where it became unplowed. A few miles of 4×4 driving in deep snow brought us near the mouth of Serviceberry Canyon, a small drainage that allows access to Bald Mountain East, also known locally as Sharp Mountain. It is among the easier mountains to climb in the area, and we heard that the skiing is good here in early winter.
The route began at a green metal gate with a posted sign that said, “No Motorized Vehicles.” Beyond the gate, an ancient tractor lay rotting in the bushes and snow. We skinned up a summer road that switchbacked from sagebrush flats to oak groves, to aspen and pine trees and eventually the high alpine. Once the trail broke the treeline, Bald Mountain East came into view.
The road ended at Chandler Pass, where we decided to climb the east ridge of Bald Mountain. The wind was howling, dropping the already bitter 9 degrees to an unthinkable wind-chill affected number. With hoods on and frozen fingers, we slowly skinned up the ridge and topped out in thick fog that shrouded the peak in milky white.
After a quick lunch and a beer that froze as we drank, we followed the mountain’s south ridge until an excellent fall-line with no rocks or brush appeared below us. Just before dropping in, the fog lifted and sunlight illuminated our descent. Adam went first, carving tracks 1,500 vertical feet all the way back to canyon bottom near Chandler Pass. I followed, whooping in surprise when every turn in creamy powder made me realize how long the run was. It just kept going and going and going.
Hungry for more, we went back up, this time to the south saddle where a stand of pine and fir trees in a northeast aspect looked promising for protected powder. The promise came true. Another 1,000+ foot run of deep, cold snow brought us home through perfectly spaced pines all the way down to the road. As we made our way back down to the car in Ophir, Adam remarked that this was the single greatest ski tour he ever experienced in his life. The terrain, views, snow quality, remoteness and amazing vertical relief all came together to fill his pants with backcountry-touring glee.
The Oquirrh Mountains have been skied, and now that we know how easy it is to get there, how few people go there, and how good the skiing really is, it’s a safe bet we’ll be back. It’s a big range, and there’s lots more routes to explore.