Spring Fling Scouting Mission

Spring skiing is still in full swing in the Wasatch Range and the Uintas here in Northern Utah. My season still slows down to a certain degree as I add more construction projects into my daily life. Despite the increase in other work, I still find some time to get out into the mountains for skiing. Corn snow is the name of the game this time of year, so early mornings, and sunrises are a staple of the spring corn skiing diet. The high temperatures and strong sunlight cook the snowpack quickly so the aspect and elevation of a particular slope is a key element to harvesting good corn. 

Dusk Patrol Solo

This time of the year sunset in Northern Utah is around 8:30pm. This particular spring day the temperature was going to be a high of 52 degrees fahrenheit and raining in Ogden City where I live at 4,300 feet above sea level. The highest mountain peaks in the Ogden Wasatch Range are at about 9,700 feet above sea level. I knew the high country would see some snow, but the elevation where the rain would switch to snow was in question. A rule of thumb states that for every 1,000 feet higher in elevation it can be expected to see a 5 degree drop in temperature. The base area with which I wanted to start my tour was to be about 6,300 feet above sea level. Some simple math shows that if I started my tour at the highest temperature of the day, typically around 2pm, then there was a good chance that I would be starting my tour in the rain at 6,300 feet above sea level and roughly 42 degrees fahrenheit. With some luck I could be out of the rain and into snow by 7,000 feet above sea level. I was not particularly stoked about touring in the rain, but I held out hope throughout the morning.

Workshop and Wisconsin

What we call "third season" is still in full effect in Utah, but I took a week and half off from the mountains to get a little work done. I also took some of that time to go back to my hometown in Wisconsin to visit family and friends. My wife had some business in Chicago. Our hometown in southeastern Wisconsin is just and hour north of the Windy City so it was perfect to get some family time as well. 

Psychology of the Death Cloud

Snowbasin resort in the Ogden Wasatch Mountains is a basin dominated by a north-south running ridge line with five peaks across the ridge. The dominant weather pattern is from the northwest through southwest. Every once in a while we will see swirling weather from the south or east, but rarely. Any time that weather comes from anywhere other then straight south or north, which even more rarely happens, the clouds will get hung up on the Snowbasin ridge line and linger. They must linger long enough to empty out their precipitative mass to then move on. On this particular day the Ogden winds were blowing from the east to the west stacking big thick clouds up against Mt. Ogden and the Snowbasin ridge line. This has come to be called the infamous, "Death Cloud" of Snowbasin. It is a phenomenon we know all too well, but still it has a way of messing with my head when I am in it. The other day was no exception. Well, actually it was an exceptional day, because I allowed the Death Cloud to get in my head more then I typically do. I suspect my particular schedule that day was playing into my mental state, but typically I can play the game much cooler then I did.