I’m not a religious man, except when it comes to the outdoors. Sure it’s a common phrase, but to say that the mountain is my church, well, by Ullr that’s the truth. So on Easter Sunday, instead of sitting in a stuffy chapel on hard benches, we ascended into the cathedral of Mount Nebo for our own sunrise service.
A good weather window made it the right time to bang out spring corn turning on Nebo’s Northwest Couloir. So we rallied down to the town of Mona in Adam’s jeep and drove as high as we could on Mona Pole Road. Not far up the canyon, however, we got stuck on ice. Out came the tire chains which allowed the jeep to get a few hundred feet higher. But the snow soon got too deep and we stopped at around 7,000 feet.
It wasn’t a long skin up the road before we reached the slidepath that allows entry to the cirque below the summit and her two skiable couloirs – Champagne Couloir and the Northwest Couloir. We aimed for the latter because the top of Champagne didn’t look like it had enough snow. But what a spot! The cirque is a huge stadium of cliffs that wraps around a semi-circle atop the flat meadow below – a hanging valley high above the valley floor where ant-sized cars on the interstate slowly creeped by.
At this point, the morning sun crested rock walls that loomed over us. It was the sunrise for our Easter Sunday. We were celebrating the only way we know how.
Up the rock-walled chute we went, first skinning high above the canyon, then transitioning to crampons and ice axes for the steeper section higher up. The snow alternated from firm to soft as we continued up. Wet slide activity was beginning to happen with roller balls tumbling down and even rock fall that worried us enough to put our ski helmets on.
After what felt like thousands of steps, followed by a steep, sketchy traverse over a rock band, we heaved ourselves onto the summit ridge. The final push to the top of Mount Nebo was only about 600 feet away. We dropped packs and started up, but found that hiking up loose scree in ski boots is a horrible time.
The hour was late, wet avalanches were coming down below us, and verga-bottomed storm clouds were fast approaching from the west. So we got together, assessed the safety situation, and determined that the summit could wait another day. We were about to get what we came for anyway – skiing the Northwest Couloir.
The drop in on the 60-degree upper face of the Northwest Couloir was daunting. One by one, we slid down and made turns on what Sean called, “the steepest skiing he’d ever done.” Sean is a patroller at Snowbird, so that statement had weight.
After navigating the rocky and steep upper section, we were free to open up and make turns in the middle of the couloir. The snow was still a bit firm, requiring balance and precision with every shift in weight and pressure on skis. But spring corn welcomed us toward the bottom where a thousand feet of creamy buff shot us down into the cirque flats.
Pole clicks and celebratory whoops of joy proceeded our descent. We were elated with the run. It was among the most visually stunning, steep, and difficult backcountry ski tours of the year. Our Easter service on Mount Nebo could almost be called a “spiritual” experience.
Jared , been following all your adventures awesome stories and journeys in the Utah peaks. .
Been mountain biking again since all our trails are clear of snow now and it’s warm. Again . Miss the skiing. Already. . .
Chat later. TC
Thanks Tim! Wish you can join us for more Utah ski adventures. Next season!