The Oquirrh Mountains, Salt Lake City’s “other” range on the west side of the city, is like the redheaded stepchild that gets no love compared to the Wasatch. But despite the range’s confusing access because of an obscene amount of private property, and very little in the way of developed trail heads and general information, the Oquirrh Mountains have amazing ski terrain. One such backcountry skiing tour is in Ophir Canyon on Lowe Peak, and her twin sister, Rocky Peak.
Because of massive south-facing sliopes at the head of Ophir Canyon, spring is the best time of year to ski the area. Along with Sean Zimmerman-Wall, Mike DeBernardo, Adam Symonds and Jon Strickland, I traveled into the south end of the Oquirrh Mountains via Ophir Canyon, which goes through the tiny town of Ophir. At the end of the road, we unloaded our gear at the trailhead surrounded by “no trespassing” signs. But the trail is public access, with only a “no motorized vehicles” sign denying any sort of access.
With a late-season tour, the snow line was high, so we had to hike up the first mile or so. Right out the gate, we had to cross the creek… an effort that repeated itself over and over again, dozens of times. But the water level was still low and fallen logs provided dry bridges under our ski boots.
At the intersection with Picnic Canyon, we were able to put on our skins and skis and make good time through the rest of the canyon to the base of Lowe and Rocky Peaks.
Our pre-dawn start meant the snow was still hard on most aspects, but Rocky Peak had an east face that was in the sun all morning. So we ascended a sub ridge to the main ridge line between Rocky and Lowe, and traversed over to the top of the main face. One by one we skied down, and while the snow wasn’t quite corn yet, I could still get an edge and make sweeping turns for over 1,000 feet to the canyon bottom. It was a great run surrounded by new views of the Oquirrh Mountains that we had never seen before.
Ready for more, we decided to bag Lowe Peak next. From the bottom of the drainage, we picked up a ridge that went almost all the way to the top. Some skinning put us on a rocky, wind-scoured shoulder where we had to take off our skis and boot up all the way to the summit. It took a long time and I was pretty beat by the time I passed an old communications shack and tower that lives just below the top.
Satisfied with our tour so far, and in no hurry to end our day, we basked in the sun atop Lowe Peak, ate lunch, drank beers, and took in the sweeping view of the Oquirrh and Wasatch Mountains. After about 40 minutes of lazing around, we clicked into our bindings and started our run.
The top of Lowe Peak was all exposed rock, but we were able to “falling leaf” down through the stone, linking snow patches together until we hit a wide open face. The snow had softened into ideal corn on the southeast aspect. Cutting my first turn, I laughed to myself. It was perfect, and it was only the first turn… there were hundreds more under my skis. The run off Lowe Peak is super long, wide open, and covered in spring corn that skiers like myself dream of all year.
At the bottom, thrilled at our good timing, we weaved through aspen trees where the corn snow was even better. The forest went down to the very bottom of the drainage where we picked up our ascent track and followed it back to the car.
The Oquirrh Mountains may be an afterthought for most Wasatch backcountry skiers, but it shouldn’t be. It’s a short drive to Ophir Canyon, the approach to skiable terrain isn’t long (though it can be annoying with all the creek crossings) and the ski terrain is just as good as anything you can find in the Central Wasatch. Do yourself a favor, and give Lowe Peak a go this spring. You can thank me later.