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. The weekend 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.
The foothills above the state capitol, City Creek, and the Avenues neighborhood were crawling with skiers and snowboarders (and their dogs) in search of powder. The rolling mounds that are usually home to mountain bikers and hikers in the summer looked more like Flagstaff Peak on a pow day. Hundreds of tracks spilled down from short summits that could be found deep into City Creek Canyon. The atmosphere felt more like a party as every skier seemed amazed that such quality skiing could be found right above the skyscrapers of downtown, only a mere few hundred feet below.
Deep powder turns were surprisingly good considering the elevation and location. Face shots were a consistent sight, and no lack of fresh lines could be found. It felt surreal to skin up in a Salt Lake neighborhood street, hike among backyards, switch to ski mode from a familiar peak above the Bonneville Shoreline Trail, then ski down in resort-worthy snow right above the throbbing mass of metropolitan energy far below.
January 2013 will be remembered by Salt Lake backcountry skiers for a long time, as we will all look back and brag about the time we skied powder in downtown Salt Lake City. In fact, it was such a rare events, you could say it was newsworthy…