Days Fork, located in Big Cottonwood Canyon, is the place to be on a powder day when the snowpack is stable… but you have to get there early. The upper cirque of Days Fork is part of the Valhalla that is the Alta backcountry, which includes Cardiff Fork, Silver Fork, Grizzly Gulch, etc. Because of…
Tag: Skiing
Canyons fires up the Orange Bubble Express on opening day
Canyons opened for the 2010/11 on Friday, December 10th to much fanfare over the new, first-of-its-kind in North America, Orange Bubble Express with heated seats. According to Canyons, the seats are set at a toasty 56 degrees, and judging from people’s reactions on the first day, the Orange Bubble is a hit. The first 100…
Time to enter the Ski Salt Lake Shootout 2011
Grab your camera and head for the mountains with your skiing buddies, because the annual Ski Salt Lake Shootout registration has begun for 2011, and this year the competition is also open to local professional ski photographers and pro athletes (both skiers and snowboarders.) The 2011 Ski Salt Lake Shootout takes place February 7-12, and the…
Salomon unveils revolutionary BBR ski
Alpine skis have undergone a lot of revolutionary designs in the past 20 years. From shaped skis, powder, twin tips, rocker, and reverse camber, it seems every year a new design changes the skiing world. Just when you think nothing else can be done to the shape of skis, Ogden-based Salomon comes along and challenges…
Old ski maps revive Utah’s skiing past
When I was a kid, I always loved to spread ski maps out on my bedroom floor and pour over them. I would trace my fingers down the runs, imagining myself skiing through those trees, or maybe someday dropping that cliff band, just like Glen Plake. So when Eric Wagnon, the Skiing Examiner, brought SkiMap.org…
Backcountry skiing Flagstaff Mountain
Flagstaff Mountain (also called Flagstaff Peak) is right across the road from Alta, is very visible to everyone skiing there, and is accessed by a skintrack that begins right in town. All of this makes Flagstaff arguably one of the most crowded backcountry ski areas in the country. But that’s okay, because the terrain you…
Bid on Black Diamond Drift Skis and help the Utah Avalanche Center
Looking for new backcountry touring skis this season? Well, you can buy some new sticks and help out the Utah Avalanche Center (UAC) at the same time. A shiny new pair of Black Diamond Drift skis with custom Utah Avalanche Center graphics are on auction at Ebay. These skis are brand new, still in the plastic, are…
Get real time Utah Avalanche Center info on your phone
Imagine you’re skinning up for some backcountry skiing in Days Fork near Alta. You checked the avalanche report in the morning and feel good to go as the day is forecast to be a moderate, level 2 rating. Just as you enter avalanche terrain in a high elevation area, your phone chirps with a new…
“Snowvember” allows more Utah ski resorts to open early
After yet another epic storm pounded Utah, ski conditions are unbelievably good for this early in the season. The latest round of storms dropped over two feet in some Wasatch Mountain locations, allowing a few resorts to open weeks earlier than anticipated. And in the case of Deer Valley, it’s no soft opening. On Saturday,…
Wasatch Touring/Alta Ski Resort Telemark and AT Demo
Buying new skis is a big decision. Like any expensive item, you want to know if a ski is right for you before pulling the trigger. However, the only way to know for sure is to try a new pair of skis out for yourself. But in order to demo skis, shops usually charge $40…