White Pine, located in Little Cottonwood Canyon just down the highway from Snowbird, is a massive valley surrounded by huge bowls, dramatic cliff-covered peaks, and lower elevation slopes filled with pine and aspen trees. There are several options when skiing White Pine. You can skin all the way to the top where couloirs await on…
Category: Backcountry
Lorpen Tri Layer ski socks review
Socks are never the first thing that comes to mind when thinking about ski gear, but cold, wet feet can easily ruin a ski day. Thankfully, ski socks have come a long way since the scratchy wool of childhood. Lorpen is a company that for years has been on the forefront of making high-performance socks….
Powder Mountain opens new terrain with guided “DMI” tour
Outside ski resort boundaries, there are many ways to ski fresh powder on untouched slopes. Heli and cat skiing are the usual choices, but Powder Mountain is opening up new out-of-bounds terrain with guided tours. The location in question is Wolf Canyon, known by “those in the know” as DMI (as in “Don’t Mention It.”)…
2010 Wasatch PowderKeg backcountry ski race
The Wasatch PowderKeg is the premiere backcountry ski race in Utah. But a lot of changes have been made for the 2010 event. New this year, the race starts and finishes at Brighton (instead of Alta as in previous years.) Also, a new splitboard division has been added to the competition lineup. The race division, the course this season is 8.9 miles with…
Practice avalanche transceiver skills at beacon training parks
Imagine you are in a group of five people touring the Wasatch backcountry. Then, the unthinkable happens and an avalanche sweeps everybody away, burying them under heavy snow. You are the only one standing and it’s up to you to find and save your friends who will likely suffocate in 15 minutes. This is a…
Video: Wasatch backcountry skiing 2010 season
The Utah 2009-10 ski season may have been less than desirable as compared to previous years, but if one knew where to look, then lots of powder could be found in the Wasatch backcountry while the resorts looked bare as a bone. Despite the lack of blower powder shots during epic dumps, there were still…
Backcountry skiing the north face of Mount Superior
Mount Superior is a beautiful peak that towers over Alta on the north side of Little Cottonwood Canyon, and the massive south face is one of the most classic backcountry descents in Utah. Often times, when getting a late start on a sunny day, the south face gets baked and wet slide activity becomes a visible concern. So the other option is…
Tree skiing in Beartrap Fork: A photo essay
On days when the avalanche danger is considerable or high, there are few places to go backcountry skiing where it is safe. Generally, low angle slopes with lots of trees that anchor the snowpack are the only option. One place that is a good choice for a safe tour is in the aspen groves that…
Snowbird offers free backcountry awareness clinics
Considerable avalanche danger in the Wasatch, along with three fatalities just this week, means it’s time to step back and rethink how to travel safely in the backcountry. One way of doing this is to attend one of Snowbird’s free backcountry awareness clinics. Whether you’re a newbie or a backcountry veteran, it’s always a good…
Black Diamond shows off new Efficient Series of backcountry gear at Winter OR
Black Diamond showed off tons of new and exciting gear at the 2010 Outdoor Retailer Winter Market, and the buzz around the Salt Palace floor was the company’s new lineup of backcountry skis and boots called the Efficient Series. In Fall of 2010, four new boots and six new skis will join the already impressive…