December 2013 will go down as a bleak month for backcountry skiing in Utah. After a few good storms, the powder faucet shut off, leaving high pressure and rotting, wind-blasted snow in the Wasatch. Southern Utah, however, has been buried in white. Utah is a state divided, and skiers starved for powder have to choose sides. Seeking soft snow, Adam Symonds and I drove to Moab to ski the snowiest peak in the La Sal Mountains: South Mountain.
At 11,817 feet, South Mountain is among the smallest peaks in the range, but it stands out like a lonely mountain, separate from her sisters like Mount Peale and Tuk to the north. While the bigger mountains get all the love from skiers, due to size and accessibility from Gold Basin, South Mountain is harder to appreciate. The approach is extremely long for day tours, and the summit is a full 1,000 feet shorter and barely goes above tree line. But if you’re looking for powder, South Mountain is the place to be. For some strange reason, this area gets far more snowfall than the rest of the La Sal Mountains, and enormous glades and meadows that spill down to La Sal Creek make this seem like a backcountry area with cut runs. The skiing doesn’t get much better.
With the mobile yurt parked at the La Sal Creek winter trailhead, Adam and I skinned up the closed, snow-covered road, then cut off to gain the ridge for the South Mountain Glades. This smaller, unnamed peak southeast of South Mountain has some of the best tree skiing I’ve ever made turns in. Seeking an alternative route, we switchbacked up to the ridge to traverse north to the top for a nice loop tour. Well, turns out that ridge is lousy with boulder piles and fallen logs. The going was slow and with a late morning start, we found ourselves atop the glades near dark.
Rushed, we de-skinned and skied a 2,000 foot glade and meadow shot right off the summit. The powder was soft but a bit sun-crusted. Exhausted from the ascent, this awesome run was reward enough as we played off snow-pillows, carved wide turns into snowfields, and dodged buried boulders near the bottom of the slope. As the setting sun cast an amber glow on Mount Peale to the north, we skinned back to the truck as fast as possible. But the winter sun disappears faster than Nutella Rice Crispy Treat at an office Christmas Party, so we basically bushwhacked and broke trail in deep snow by the light of a nearly full moon.
The next morning, totally beat by the hard, long miles of the day before, we “manned up” and went back for more. Our destination: South Mountain. After learning our lesson about the ridge route, we stayed on the La Sal Loop Road all the way to an open meadow where snowmobiles had a heyday. Finding a creek crossing, we skinned up a side-gully between the South Mountain Glades and South Mountain. Though the obvious route was to the saddle between the two mountains, we stayed looker’s right and ended up on the east ridge, where a gnarly, wind-scoured shoulder got us to the summit after 6 hours of skinning. Beyond tired, we were rewarded by the unparalleled views of Utah’s red rock desert all around us, followed by the best run of the season.
The glades and meadows on South Mountain’s southeast face are sublime. While open snow was crusted by late-afternoon, the sheltered pine forests offered perfect, settled powder through perfectly-spaced trees for thousands of feet. Adam and I whooped, hollered and laughed at our burning thighs as the vertical and never-ending fall line seemed like a dream.
South Mountain is a feisty girl. She plays hard to get, but if you work hard and earn your turns, she’ll give up the goods. So powder-starved, soulful skiers, head south to the mountain of the same name. And bring some Nutella Rice Crispy Treats with you… you’ll need the calories.