Big Spring

As my previous posts have mentioned, the finish of my winter into spring skiing season has been a sincerely appreciated adventure due to the grind-it-out nature of my life and the whirlwind of new fatherhood recently. My mantra coming out of that fog was, "It's gonna be a big spring." So far, it has been.

^Sunrise over a local favorite backcountry zone, and I had a classic day touring with my good friends and trusted tour partners, Ben, Scott, and Frank. I roll with these fellas with pretty moderate regularity, and it is always nice to get out with the good ole' boys who know how to handle themselves like pros.

^Slogging with buddies on a bluebird day. Can't beat it.

^The overlook pic. Ben, Scott, and Frank.

^Frank dropping in next to Scotty's tracks into 1200 vertical feet of smooth gladed surf.

^I caught Ben in the middle of his look back to check any sluff or signs of propagation on the first turn into the shot. Looking good, Ben. Get it.

^The next day my lovely wife, Christine, pictured in the middle, asked me if I'd guide her and two of her colleagues from the accounting firm she works for. Rick and Matt(L & R) were from one of the Connecticut offices, and in town for business that they managed to attach a nice little ski mission to as well. Of course I obliged, and we rallied up to my obvious favorite, Snowbasin.

^What do you do when you have to guide three accountants for a day. First of all, I always feel folks out with a good groomer rip run. However, after the first run with these two bean counting rippers from the east coast I decided to just hike them up the top right along side a bunch of boundary and warning signs. I rattled their brains with disclaimers of, "don't go left… and that over there is a big slide path so stay on this traverse in controlled terrain." Then I proceeded toss them off a cornice into Snowbasin's famous inbound big mountain terrain, Middle Bowl Cirque. Thankfully for me, and I guess my wife's career, they not only skied it tough, but thanked us for the experience. Rick and Matt were good skiers so it really made the day a lot of fun to get them into some decent snow and bigger terrain to really stoke out the day.

^The spring saga continued a couple days later with a good day of shooting for Vertical Integration in the Ogden backcountry with V.I. original and my long time tour partner, Ben Geiger. I perched under this tree for a while waiting for the sun to break, but as usual, as the day went, the sun broke more and more on Mt. Ogden's west face.

^One of the day's goodies.

^Spring time still brings valley snow from time to time so the deice game for Delta Airlines is still in action. I am still spraying airplanes at night well into the spring here in Salt Lake City. Spring snow is nothing out of the ordinary around here. Gotta earn that golden ticket, and work my system. It is all a part of the hustle. Gotta do.

^Big days of Daddy daycare with my little man, Amos, too. This phase of my life is a blessing and this little face is a manifestation of that. Somehow I have survived this long, and now I am so fortunate to start a little family. Gonna be a while until he understands a lot about his old man, but hopefully I get to teach him for a very long time. He is a total mind blow for sure, and I am never gonna be the same, but what a blessing he is to me and my wife, Christine.

^As is the nature of my life, the next day I traded in feeding times for down climbs. In this pic my good friend, Lance Hamblin, and Ben each down climb these little notches to work our way into a favorite little chute of Ben and I at Snowbasin that we call, "Skinny". Getting there is half the battle, but it is a fun adventure leading into some typically good skiing.

^"See, Lance, I told you it would be good." Good it was too as this pic of Lance diving in portrays. A little extra effort goes a long way. I guess that fits for the overall tone of this spring too. All my efforts, woes, trials, tribulations, projects and responsibilities are indeed palatable, possible, and worth it. My life goes in waves, and I simply need to ride them the best I can as they roll into the coastline of my life. I am stoked to be back on the mountain side of the situation. Hard work usually does pay off, and I am certainly appreciating the fruits of a big spring.