Those of us who live in Utah sure are lucky. We reside in the absolute best place in the country for outdoor recreation. Our state is so full of amazing scenery and outdoor opportunities that it’s near impossible to whittle down all the trips one took in a 12-month period to just 5. But taking a look at the archives and all the mountain biking, hiking, backcountry skiing and backpacking, I’ve distilled my favorite excursions in Utah down to 5. So below is my top adventures of the year in no particular order, as well as one from contributor, Ryan Malavolta. Of course, in true fashion, it’s pretty much all skiing…
Antelope Island never gets much snow, but looking at her from I-15 in Davis County, a white pyramid floating above the slate water of the lake, makes any backcountry skier think that making turns might actually be possible there. Frary Peak, the highest point on Antelope Island, can provide ski touring opportunities, especially when snowstorms drop three feet of snow so you can ski the unsociable.
Even if you don’t do any skiing, just being on Antelope Island in the winter is worth it. The land is alien – stark and barren. Few plant life save for lone trees scattered like pickup sticks and buried shrubs provide contrast against the dead, salty waters of the lake lay frozen far below. Read the full article.
Winter Nights at the Bunchgrass Yurt
One of the greatest joys of being a backcountry skier is staying at a yurt or hut high in the mountains. While Utah doesn’t have a fancy hut-to-hut system like Colorado’s 10th Mountain Division huts, what we do have are quaint, small, and cozy yurts that are every bit as capable of getting us to the goods as a log, multi-story cabin. The Bunchgrass Yurt, located in the Bear River Range of far northern Utah, is one such yurt.
From the yurt, we skied for three days on White Pine Knob, Chicken Hill, and the surrounding mountains, followed by good food, booze and friends inside the shelter. The Bunchgrass Yurt is an ideal place to find some solitude and excellent ski terrain just steps outside the yurt door. Read the full article.
Skiing Powder in Downtown Salt Lake City
Lake effect snow is a wonderful thing. We all know storms tracking across the Great Salt Lake soak up all that warm, salty water and puke it over the Cottonwood Canyons. But sometimes, once in a great while, a strange storm makes all that snow fall in the valley, and the foothills above downtown Salt Lake City get completely buried in feet upon feet of light, fluffy powder. One weekend in January saw one of those storms, and for once, skiers left the likes of Alta and Snowbird and drove down the canyon to ski powder in town. Read the full article.
From bikes to boards, to beer, one of the most challenging and rewarding adventures of 2013 was skiing on Deseret Peak. The north Twin Couloirs had been calling my name for years, and we finally skied them in May. It was a smorgasbord to adventure. We began by mountain biking up the road to the trailhead, followed by hiking up the trail to the snow line. From there, we transitioned to skins and skis to the bottom of the couloirs, and boot packed up them to reach the summit of Deseret. After celebrating with beers at the top, we skied back down the couloirs on perfect corn snow, then watched wet avalanches pour down the summit cliffs that boomed liked thunder. Read full article.
The First Annual? Utah Bikes and Beers Tour
Two things we do pretty well here in Utah are bikes and beers. Leave it to Mike D (who does insane bike rides while eating junk food) to find a way to combine the two into one hell of a day, and Ryan Malavolta to make it happen. A few years back, Mike got to thinking: why not ride to every single brewery in the valley in one day, quaffing delicious craft brew and cranking out miles? Sounded like a great plan. It was a ten hour day of riding, drinking, and shooting the breeze with a good friend. Will this be the only incarnation of the Utah Bike n’ Beer Ride? It better not be! Read the full article.