Brighton

I woke up yesterday with fondue stomach from an amazing dinner the night before. (the after effects of too much cheese and chocolate) Still full I skipped breakfast and ran out the door to meet Jake and Torah at the park and ride.

We headed up to brighton, a resort that I really have no background with. It was amazing going up there with someone who knew it as well as Jake. He knew exactly where to go and he was sending it of some fun cliffs. There was no doubt he knew the zone so it was easy to just go for it without being able to see what was below. I now have a new appreciation for Brighton thanks to two of the nicest people I know.

(Above: I busted out the phone for a shot of Torah sending this nice little feature)

Another UFO

The morning alpenglow peaked as we reached the base of the UFO's. Jeremy Jolley invited me for a morning tour along with Willie Holdman and Rick Black. As we hopped off of the sleds I realized I didn't have my treking poles. CRAP. While poles are not a necessity they make life much easier when going up hill.

I saddled up and started my waddle up the hill. Jeremy and Willie laid down a good skin track that let me make it up to the top a little ways behind them. My penguin waddle to the top of the hill got me there a little slower, but I still got there. It was worth it. The snow was soft and deep.

I stole these photos from Willie and Jeremy.

Hiking up.

Such a good view

Goodbye Beard...

From September until today, Christmas Day, I have been growing out my beard. Having a beard like this was an interesting experience. I actually liked it a lot more than I thought. Other than it driving me crazy while snowboarding it was great. My face already feels cold....

before and after

Mustache face.... I was trying to look French. I feel like they might make this face a lot.

A White Christmas at Snowbird

Screen Shots from GoPro

Over the last four days the snow has been amazing. We finally have some good coverage. To celebrate the storm, and the week of Christmas, I was able to ride with a bunch of people I don't see too often.

Left: I met Chris Coulter this week. He is a great rider and a way nice guy.
Right: Parker about to drop into a chute on the Cirque

Monday took me to the Canyons with these yoohoos. Tanner and Mo.

I spent Tuesday showing Torah and Nate Love around the Bird. Erin took a few laps with us but needed a break this run.

DEEP!

Jonas and Glen Harris... A father son duo. Left: Jonas smashed into the tram
Right: Glen pulling from his yoga knowledge

Jonas dropping in.

Shooting Photos

The storm continued to bring it in. We ended up with a heavy snow with very high water content due to the warm temperatures the southerly flow brought with it. The higher elevations provided some lighter snow but as you descended into warmer temperatures the snow became heavier. It took a bit more effort to stay afloat and by the end of the day my legs were fried.

We decided to shoot photos yesterday to slow our pace down a little. The new layer of snow that had fallen overnight was lighter than the previous day's. We met up with a few guys for a bit and hiked baldy a few times. The snow in there was too good to allow stopping for photos. All these were taken by Parker.

Getting Deep

The beginnings of the storm brought in a little bit of fresh. We spent a lot of the day in Mineral Basin making the traverse out to the Bookends. It was deep, soft, and sunny. Such a fun day of riding.

Left: The windward side of the mountain was totally socked in and cloudy
Right: The Leeward side of the mountain had blue skies

Opening Day at the Canyons

Opening day at the Canyons provided some decent turns in creamy mashed potato snow. We met up with Justin Olsen and ducked into the trees where there was plenty of freshies to go around.

Justin put this up on the Canyons homepage. I am the last shot just taking a little turn.

Shutdown

The moisture in each breath froze in my nostrils and crystallized in my beard as I hiked. The temperature slowly dropped as we ascended Primrose Cirque on the backside of Timpanogos. The snow was deep and light. Our goal was to get to Emerald Lake to spend the night then get up for an early sunrise on the summit. The perfect snow and the amazing lines we skirted as we climbed had us all full of anticipation for the morning.

I ran into technical difficulties with my splitboard which made me leery and kept me bootpacking up the steeper terrain while Parker and Tanner worked to switchback up the face. I stopped for a moment and looked down the valley bellow. Silence. There is nothing like being in high places surrounded by silence.

As I crested the little roller, I suddenly felt uneasy. We continued our ascent until Parker chimed in saying he felt something was up. The slope was looking wind loaded but seemed stable, but all of us had been feeling uneasy. Roughly 150 vertical feet from the top of the cirque we decided to pull the plug. Our cumulative gut feelings turned us around. We felt good about the decision, but it was tough to give it up.

We rode down in the dark through what, in daylight hours, was an amazing winter playground. In the dark, sections seemed like a trap. We were all smacked in the face a few times by low hanging branches. The night ended well, cold but safe.

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