Lone Peak is one of those iconic, Wasatch mountains that just begs to be skied. If you look at her from the south as she rises high above the town of Alpine, gigantic ramps of south-facing slopes call out. Every time I drove north from Utah County in the winter, I would promise myself to…
Tag: Wasatch Mountains
Backcountry skiing Box Elder Peak
Years ago, on a mission to ski/rappel down the Northwest Couloir of The Pfeifferhorn, I first laid eyes on Box Elder Peak. After a long ascent up Red Pine Canyon in Little Cottonwood, my touring partners and I crested the ridge above Dry creek Canyon, and beheld I sight I didn’t know existed. If you’ve…
Support Utah Avalanche Center at Ski Salt Lake Shootout Party
The Ski Salt Lake Shootout is happening right now in Utah’s Wasatch Mountains, and the after-party at Brewvies will be the place to go on Saturday night to check out all the shreddy photos, mingle with world-class photographers and ski athletes, and have a good time. Plus, ticket proceeds will go to help the Utah…
Bitter cold and powder snow at Alta
The early December skiing in Utah has been unseasonably good this winter as a few good storms have given skiers and snowboarders a bunch of powder days already. But it came at a price. A massive arctic cold-front descended over the entire state, dropping temperatures well below zero with wind-chill values as low as -32…
Alta and Snowbird open for 2013/14 season
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…
2013/14 Ski Season Begins In Utah!
The slopes are crusty, and the open lifts are few, but make no mistake about it: the 2013/14 Utah ski season is underway! Brighton Resort got things started a day earlier than originally announced when they had a two hour opening party on November 7th (and it was all free!). However, both Brighton and Solitude…
New WOW trail to be built in Wasatch Mountain State Park
Park City is already an IMBA Gold Level mountain bike destination, and the Wasatch Back is about to get even better as the Mountain Trails Foundation and the Wasatch Trails Alliance are teaming up to build WOW, a new, non-motorized trail in Wasatch Mountain State Park. WOW, which stands for “Wasatch Over Wasatch,” will go…
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…
A loopy journey on Mount Timpanogos
At around 10 p.m. I received an invite from my friend Adam Fabrikant for a run the next morning on Mount Timpanogos. Adam is a fierce mountain goat, and while he may hesitate to use those words exactly, he shows no limit to his energy stores. Therefore, I dabbled with some second guessing after I agreed…
Hiking to Alexander Basin
Alexander Basin, located in Mill Creek Canyon, is a beautiful hike to glacier-carved bowls on the north side of Gobbler’s Knob, but has a notorious reputation of being very steep. But steep doesn’t mean long, so if you’re in the mood for a leg workout, but don’t have a lot of time to hike, then…