Alta and Snowbird opened for the season this week, which means all Cottonwood Canyon resorts are completely operational for the 2013/14 ski and snowboard season. Early season conditions are pretty good as recent storms have created a descent base and enough coverage for several lifts and runs to open. Alta opened on Friday, November 22nd…
Tag: Little Cottonwood Canyon
Video: Dub Roots from Dubsatch Collective
Nothing gets skiers jazzed up for ski season more than over-the-head powder footage. In this week’s featured video, the new short film “Dub Roots” by the Dubsatch Collective, there’s plenty of it, and they even keep it mellow with one of my favorite Pink Floyd songs. The video is shot entirely at Alta. It’s basically…
Superior hiking in Little Cottonwood Canyon
For me, no other roadside attraction in Utah provides the aesthetic allure of Mt. Superior. Its enormous concave face lets the imagination run wild, and even in the fall, with not (just yet) a speck of snow on the ground, it’s easy to mind-rip big turns all over its intricate structure and terrain diversity. The…
July 4th in Alta: America and coreshots
The 4th is glorious, and it is great. But it’s also sweaty and crowded. Sometimes jamming into a public arena with half the valley to swap “oohs and aahs” over exploding ordinances as the temps just drop below 90 is less than attractive. Whiny me. So this year on the 4th, as they often do,…
Escape from Black Friday: skiing above the madness on Red Top Mountain
Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving and the biggest shopping day of the year, is memorable for images of frenzied shoppers practically rioting in pre-dawn madness just to score some deals on stuff. Well, there’s another pre-dawn tradition on the day after Thanksgiving, and that’s backcountry touring into the Wasatch Mountains to burn off those…
The Patroller Z Chronicles: Opening Weekend
There is something special about the opening day at your home mountain. “How was your summer?” is often the question of the day and it is reminiscent of the first day of school. Catching up with your pals and showing off your latest threads is exciting. Standing in the lift line, the anticipation is tangible….
The Patroller Z Chronicles: Instant Winter
Prologue: Instant winter. A furious and prolonged storm has descended upon our Range. Snowfall totals cresting 50” have been reported in favored terrain and riding conditions have proven excellent over the last five days. Locals from around the valley are preparing for their season and Facebook is about to implode from all the powdery footage….
New Wasatch Backcountry Skiing Map an encyclopedia of routes
There a new map of the Central Wasatch for backcountry skiers, and it’s a doozy. The Wasatch Backcountry Skiing Map by Steve Achelis is the most comprehensive map we’ve seen. It features every known, named ski route in Mill Creek and the Cottonwood Canyons, which covers over 1,100 skiable lines. In addition to the indexed,…
Share your opinion about the Wasatch Canyons
The Wasatch Canyons have been getting a lot of attention these days. From Ski Link, to proposed resort development, to questions about transportation and water quality, Parleys, Big Cottonwood and Little Cottonwood Canyons are a powder keg for controversy. Opinions are strong and emotional as some people want to see more development, while others are…
Friday Video: “See You at the Bird!”
With the first snowfall on Utah’s mountains in late September, the level of excitement for ski season has reached a fever pitch. So for this week’s Friday Video, we’re featuring “See You at the Bird!” from The Levitation Project. SEE YOU AT THE BIRD! from LEVITATION PROJECT on Vimeo. This short vid is worth watching,…