Scouting Terrain Pays Up

I had been scouting this particular section of the Wasatch Range on my own for the last three summers. You see, I live in Farmington, Utah. Right across the street from me is Farmington Canyon. I have been hiking this terrain with an eye to skiing it for the last three summers. However, the last few years the road has been closed to uphill vehicle traffic all year-round due to landslide issues. Thus, I have not been able to cash in on my summer explorations. The gate finally opened this spring. It was time to get up there and collect. Day one in the zone, and I had to trek it solo. Thus, I chose to explore some sheltered tree skiing for those days when the avalanche conditions on the big lines are just a bit too much. Solo missions are a little scary, but very good for the soul. I was excited to get up high to look around, and take it all in...

Chasing adventure in Alaska...

Alaska. It is a large expanse of wilderness and terrain. Mountains so large that each valley and inlet has a weather system all it's own. I have been going to Alaska in the spring for a long time now for a variety of projects. I have come to learn that options, time, and luck are the keys to the game there. I have spent weeks of down time on helicopter pads, and days huddling wood stoves in Alaska. Mother Nature makes the rules, and I have simply come to roll with her call. This year Andrew Schauer of Bozeman, Montana elected to join me. We were meeting up with Alaskans, Jon Gurry and Dave Magoffin. Jon, Dave, and I have worked together on a bunch of projects over the years. Basically, at this point, we just fly into Anchorage and see what happens.  

the classic...

It was a classic day amongst a blur of adventure. The weather forecast left little to be expected. Grey was the outlook of the day, and a possibility of snow. I drove to Snowbasin under high grey clouds that appeared to be able to go either way. I was not optimistic. I hooked up with an old friend and touring partner, Wes Knopfel. I was on the gondola when he called me. I had a lap or two under my belt for the morning. The mountains had received about 4 inches of what we call, "Basin Butter". It is a thick dense snow that blankets the surface with a butter like consistency. The key to skiing the butter is to find slopes that have smooth bed surfaces from before the storm. Luckily for us, Snowbasin is plentiful with big clean smooth slopes. The visibility was still low, but my hopes were lifting with the clouds. At about 10:30am the grey began to break. Wes and I were ready. We laughed as we rode up Strawberry gondola about the sunshine poking through with increasing momentum. The gift of bluebird skies was a welcomed surprise. 

familiar faces, in familiar places...

I have been on the road for a long time this winter. I have been crisscrossing the ski world for the last two months. I am thankful for all the wild and crazy experiences. However, the flip side of the card is being at home with my wife, my dog, hometown friends, and my local mountains. The first order of business after a kiss from the wife was her charge to get the dog out in the snow to run off some pent up energy. Then it was to change the sheets in the guest room for an old friend of mine that was coming into town to ride some mountains.