Another day in the trees

The snow changed dramatically from day one of the storm until now. It came in light and fluffy initially, that is what we rode the other day, but throughout the course of the storm the snow became much more dense and heavy. Every day I go out things are different. Sometimes the snow is great, sometimes it sucks. Occasionally I think "it isn't worth getting up at 5 in the morning today" but every time I do I never regret it. Parker shot these photos of me this morning. I am really blessed to have talented friends that enjoy the mountains. 

Silence

Windless snow storms are unique. Every other type of storm creates noise. Rain falls hard, winds howl, lightning and thunder crash, but Snow? What does it do? It captures sound and doesn't let it go.

David Kaplan and I went for a short tour up Big Cottonwood Canyon the other morning and made our way up through some low angle trees. As we hiked the through the freshly fallen snow it was remarkably silent. The only sounds we heard all morning, other than our own, came from another party dropping into a line and screaming with joy all the way down.

As David skied away from me I took a moment to look around and listen. I couldn't hear the hum of my computer. There was no traffic in the distance. There weren't even any planes overhead. In today's world it is almost impossible to forget about civilization because it is always there. Snow helps you get away from it all. The next time a big storm like this comes, take the time to get away and listen to the silence.

Timpanogos

 

I was really craving a long day in the mountains. I had been hoping for the Grunge Couloir, but as I called around looking for a partner people let me know that it wasn't filled in. Brody Leven was looking to explore the Southern Wasatch and it came down to just the two of us.

We met and made the short drive up to the Aspen Grove trail head and then made our way up Primrose Cirque. The snow was surprisingly good and we made good time. After stopping for lunch we decided to go for the summit. We crossed the valley and headed up to the summit ridge. We started to make our way across to the summit. It was slow going. Having left my crampons at home I was taking extra time kicking in steps. I was pretty tired by this point, my endurance needs a little work. We eventually realized that we weren't going to make the summit. 

We decided to turn back. The trip back was a little faster, and we got back to our drop in point at just the right time. The sun was setting and we snapped some great shots. 

The ride down was probably the most exciting part of the day. We got cliffed out and had to hike up a ways. We lost the light and I was attacked by an invisible bump. Then we rode out blind on a bumpy trail only able to make out the faint outline of it. We had a good time.

Before the sun

Waking up before the sun. The dark drive up the canyon. The cold walk up the hill. All these things aren't fun as individual tasks but when you put them all together and add watching the sun rise it is an awesome experience.

The snow is getting deeper and a lot of the lines are starting to fill in. This season is shaping up to be a good one. Things have been good. Can't wait for more.