Double Day

My hopes for a big line Saturday were trumped by weather and a snowpack that made me feel apprehensive. I called Josh Snow to see if he was down to squeeze a short tour in. He had been trapped inside all week studying for finals and was more than happy to escape. 

As we started our tour the familiar thumps of artillery making the resorts safe reminded us that we needed to keep on our toes. There was significant wind loading and we were able to pop out small pockets along the ridge. We decided to just goof off on a small cliff, something I haven't really done all season, and not to go after any bigger lines. After we had our fill we hiked up for one more little run and headed home.

As soon as I got home I switched into fishing mode and headed out the door. We hit the lower Provo River on one of its prettiest stretches. The fish were really active and before too long I hooked into one of the biggest fish I have landed. Steve nabbed another two big ones and Josh brought in a bunch of little guys. It was a beautiful day to be out and it is always fun to squeeze in two hobbies. I love Utah in the Spring. 

Brothers

Dwindling Dawn Patrols

I am trying to mentally prepare for the end of the season as winter sputters out these last few storms before giving up. Am I ready for summer? Almost. I have a few more goals for this season, but I have already dusted off the bike and am building my climbing hit list.

David and I met in the parking lot and took an easy stroll up Grizzly Gulch. We watched the sun paint the ridges as we walked and talked about the season and how good it was to just be out. "Just being out" is a phrase that we tend to use as an excuse for a day with less than adequate snow or conditions. In all actuality "just being out" is the real blessing of where we live and our circumstances. There are days that I forget how lucky I am to just be out. 

On any given day in the Wasatch there are at most a few hundred of us out in the backcountry. We are such a small percent of the population. Our days start in the dark, we meet up with friends and are on top of mountains before the majority of the valley's alarms are going off. We are a lucky few and are privy to some of the best things Utah has to offer. As David and I walked and talked I couldn't help but be sad that winter is coming to a close, but I also felt so grateful to be where I was in that moment. Utah is rad.  

Photo Credit: David Kaplan

Photo Credit: David Kaplan

Superior: Good morning, bad afternoon

I hopped out of my car at the base of Mount Superior a little after 6 a.m. to check the snow. I expected to feel a hard sun crust when I pushed my hand into the snow but found it to be soft. I couldn't believe it. We suited up and quickly started up the skin track toward Flagstaff. I continued to check the snow as we climbed higher thinking there would be a crust somewhere. The soft snow and stable conditions made us rethink our destination. Josh hadn't bagged Mount Superior yet so we set our sights on the summit.

We found a good rhythm and made Cardiff Pass before the sun was on it. I knew the day was going to warm up fast so we hurried up the ridge to avoid a warming snow pack. We hit the summit a little before 9 a.m., snapped a few photos, and dropped in. We passed up some better snow to hit the summit, but it was worth it. The line was tracked but we found some good turns amongst the tracks. 

Later that day a report came in that the same line had avalanched. The slide carried a skier roughly 1,700 feet. He suffered a dislocated shoulder, bumps and bruises, not to mention lost skis. The avalanche popped around noon. The daytime warming had created instability in the snow and the unlucky skier hit the trigger.

There is always the possibility of something going wrong when you are out in the mountains. The trick to spending time in them is minimizing your risks. I don't doubt that the party that was caught in the avalanche was experienced and that they followed protocol. The problem they encountered was failing to beat the fuse that the sun had lit as soon as it hit that south facing slope. I readily admit that I was lulled into a sense of security with the amount of tracks on the line we skied. The difference for us was that we were on the right side of the clock. The snow was stable and we rode it without incident.  Springtime in the Wasatch is a touchy time. Get up early and get off it early.

Touring lately

Winter? Oh yeah. This is what that feels like. After last year I kind of forgot. So far it already feels like we have more snow than all of last season combined. We have been getting out a bunch and it just keeps getting better. The snow has been fairly stable and I am looking forward to getting into some bigger lines this year.

Todd came out for a tour a couple weeks back, it wiped him out for a few days but we had a good time. Other than that there have been quite a few good days and I am looking forward to the rest of the winter.

 

Turned Back on the Grunge Couloir

 I grew up at the foot of the north summit of Mt. Timpanogos. Every summer my mountain bike would take me to silent meadows that looked out on this peak that I thought only bold mountaineers could handle. I had no idea that this rugged pile of dirt was so accessible. In the spring you can grab a 4 wheeler and cut your ascent down to a few hours, in the winter you can hop on a snowmobile and shorten that even more.

Jeremy picked me up at 3:30 a.m. so we could get high before the snow got too warm. We thought with all the rain we had been getting the snow would be settled up high. We met up with Jim Knight, Rob Greener and Greg Paul. Between the five of us there were two four wheelers, I ended up as the hood ornament. Three guys on a quad with full gear? Poor four wheeler...

The ascent was great. I feel I am in good shape... until I go out with all these guys. I gradually drifted out the back of the pack. I like to blame it on my stopping to take pictures, but that really isn't the reason. As soon as the sun came out it got hot. It went from winter weather to T-shirt weather within a half an hour.

As we were gaining the entrance the the couloir the snow conditions were deteriorating. The snow up high hadn't settled into a corn cycle leaving unstable layers making for hazardous avalanche conditions. The rapid warming aggravated all of this and resulted in our turning around. The ride down was soft and fun. Corn snow had formed up on the lower slopes making for some fun turns.

 

 

Rob Greener

 

The grunge on the far right

 

The decision to call it a day.

 

 left: bomber peak Right: The group getting ready to descend

Avalanches are so gnarly. These trees were probably blasted over by a slide close to a mile long.