You may have heard about Bonanza Flats, but have you ever backcountry skied there? Well on Saturday, March 10th you’ll have your chance with the Tour Bonanza Flats event.
The Wasatch Backcountry Alliance, Cottonwood Canyons Foundation and Utah Open Lands have teamed up to present a celebration of our unique Wasatch Backcountry. Join one of two guided backcountry tours above Bonanza Flat and learn about its winter ecology, history, and future management.
There will be two slots to sign up for on Saturday, the first at 9 a.m. and the second at 1 p.m.
What is Bonanza Flats?
Bonanza Flats is particularly special as it was just preserved last summer as public land for all to enjoy. Located at the head of Utah’s Big Cottonwood Canyon, this 1,350-acre parcel is a patchwork of snow-covered meadows, frozen lakes, and stands of aspen and conifer trees. The place was also the focus of a massive public lands campaign that happened in the spring and summer of 2017. Millions of dollars were raised and donated to purchase the land and keep it as open space. Backcountry skiers breathed a sigh of relief when Bonanza Flats was saved because not all of the area is flat.
A nondescript mountain simply known as Point 10420 falls within Bonanza Flat’s boundary. Sandwiched between Brighton Resort and Guardsman Pass, the peak is highly visible, but lacks the marquee status of more prominent summits in the Cottonwood Canyons. Still, savvy skiers can find excellent terrain here.
Access is quite easy and parking is available at the Guardsman Pass winter closure gate. From there, an easy-to-follow ridge heads up into the evergreens. The initial ascent pitch is called Brighton Hill, where skiers find short shots to lap on a west-facing slope called Brad’s Run. Further up the ridge, the “Picnic Tree” provides a landmark, as well as a good seat for a mid-tour lunch. This massive, long-fallen tree marks the start of Lane’s Leap, a steep, north-facing run that is notoriously prone to avalanches. From here, the ridge steepens as it climbs to the summit through sparse woods. Near the top, a false summit is where many skiers de-skin to descend through Promise Land, a steep tree-run of thick evergreens that are just barely wide enough to make turns through.
But the true summit is where the best skiing on Point 10420 begins, which is also the mountainside that was under threat of being forever taken away. From here, wide open, northeast-facing bowls spill down to, you guessed it, Bonanza Flats. In fact, the entire northeast side of Point 10420 falls within the parcel border from Guardsman Pass up the north ridge to the summit, continuing south along the Hidden Canyon Saddle to Clayton Peak at Brighton.
To explore this special and newly protected terrain, reserve a spot and sign up at education@cottonwoodcanyon