Andrew McLean’s guide book, The Chuting Gallery, is a work found on every Utah backcountry skier’s shelf. In it is a checklist of 90 of the steepest, narrowest, and spiciest ski lines in the Wasatch. Skiing all of them is a massive and brave feat that takes years to accomplish. But one local skier, Luke Hinz, will set out to become the first to ski them all in just one season. He calls it, “The Chuting Project.”
While skiing all 90 of McLean’s classic lines in a single winter is a noble, personal challenge, Hinz says it’s not just about him, but about giving back to the community. Throughout The Chuting Project, he will be raising money to help support local skiing non-profits. The select few include the Utah Avalanche Center, SheJumps, Save Our Canyons, and Wasatch Adaptive Sports.
According to Hinz, helping to raise money for these important organizations is paramount, because they rely on donations. “Whether it be the UAC providing daily avalanche forecasts for the myriad backcountry lovers flooding the Wasatch, Save Our Canyons working behind the scenes to ensure the backcountry is protected, SheJumps introducing under-privileged children to skiing, or Wasatch Adaptive Sports providing backcountry skiing clinics to veterans dealing with military-related difficulties, these groups are deeply rooted in Utah’s ski culture,” Hinz said in a press release, adding, “yet they face a constant struggle with budget constraints and lack of funding.”
Even the Utah Avalanche Center, which is under the umbrella of the National Forest Service, gathers the majority of its funding through fundraisers and private donations. By building a partnership with these four non-profits, Hinz hopes to create an opportunity for Utah’s ski community to “come together and provide for these non-profits that give so much.”
By being the first to ski all 90 lines in one season, Hinz hopes to inspire people to do more. This winter, The Chuting Project sets out to unite all of those who call the Wasatch home in supporting the most common of causes.
Good luck to you, Luke. Here’s to hoping you have a stable snowpack, reliable ski partners, and Ullr watching over you.
If you’d like to keep track of Hinz as he ticks off the lines, one by one, follow him at www.chutingproject.com, or on Instagram @chutingproject.
doesn’t count unless they all fill in all the way and he skis all the vertical feet that McLean describes in each line. Half a line is only half of the line.
“Fundraising” aside, it seems to me that telling everybody that you’re going to ski 90 different lines in one season is not that great of an idea. Some of these runs are only skiable for a few days (or hours) every season, if at all. What happens when you get to the end of March and you still haven’t skied the Medusa Face or the Lightning Bolt? Seems like you’re going to have a lot of pressure to ski stuff in sub optimal conditions. Not ideal. You might need to learn how to set up and use a ski belay. Have you taken any avalanche courses?
Also, when did it become OK to spray about your accomplishments before they happen? Been seeing this a lot in the last few years. Most of the skiers and mountaineers I know and respect set personal goals and then talk about it AFTER they make it happen. Apparently, it’s easier to become a “pro skier” these days by telling anybody with a FB account how awesome you are rather than actually going out and skiing.