Tag Archive for 'Utah'

White Rim by Moonlight

The 100 mile White Rim loop down in Canyonlands National Park in Southern Utah is one of my all time favorite bike rides. There is nothing all that hard about it (aside from the mileage) and I love the way it just keeps unrolling in front of you, even though towards the end, you might wish there was a shortcut or two.

I’ve done it about six times as a day-ride and once as a multiday car-supported camping outing, but when Brad Barlage suggested that we do it under a full moon, it seemed like an excellent idea. All went according to plan except the full moon was obscured by clouds. And there was some rain and lightning. And a large part of the road was washed out. And there was a LOT of loose sand due to the lack of vehicle traffic. But aside from those details, and lots of mosquitoes and being completely dark, it was excellent. We weren’t bothered by the pesky scenery until sunrise and I’ve never seen so many bats, toads and Kangaroo Mice in my life.  Fascinating, really. Continue reading ‘White Rim by Moonlight’

Candy-Hearted Rustler

I’ve owned an Alpaca packraft for about two years now, but am ashamed to admit that I have hardly used it to anywhere near its potential. Packrafts roll up to about the size of a small two person tent, yet when inflated they can easily carry heavy loads, bikes, packs, etc..  To maximize their fun potential, you need to find, or since it is still a young sport, create, a route that involves some logical mixture of biking, hiking, canyoneering, paragliding, etc, and rafting.  There seems to be an unlimited supply of these types of adventures in Alaska, but you have to work a bit harder to figure them out in Utah. Continue reading ‘Candy-Hearted Rustler’

Baldy Chute – August 10th. ??!!

Alta’s Main Baldy Chute is one of my favorite little couloirs – little as in about 750 vertical feet and fairly easy to get to.  When I first moved back to Utah long ago, it was at the top of my wishlist as far as lines I was dying to ski and I thought that I’d have to wait around and ski it when the resort opened it.  I made the mistake of telling Alex Lowe about this desire and in typical Alex fashion, we ended up skiing it the next morning right at first light in about 3′ of fresh October powder.  I think that was also my first, uhmmm, chance encounter with the Alta Ski Patrol, and although the area wasn’t open yet, unbeknownst to us, they were sighting in the avalanche guns and were watching our every move.  Since then, I think I’ve skied Main Baldy about 25 times, although I have yet to do it  officially during Alta operating hours when they are open for the season. Continue reading ‘Baldy Chute – August 10th. ??!!’

Surprisingly Good Skiing!

Despite reports of only five inches of new snow, the skiing this morning was great.  Maybe even beyond great, in a stable, face-shot, knee deep kind of way.  We found a chute that had additional depth from the sides sluffing into it.
B-Rad Barlage booting a chute in knee deep pow.
B-Rad Barlage booting a chute in knee deep pow.  This photo was taken with my new Canon G9 camera from about 50′ away with a slight zoom. Considering the low light and fast boot movement, I’m amazed at the quality of photos this camera takes.

 

Tommy Chandler, Backcountry.com's in-house photo man and a friend from way back.
Tommy Chandler, Backcountry.com’s in-house photo man and long time SLC friend.

 

If this is what five inches skis like, I can't wait for a ten inch storm!
If this is what five inches skis like, I can’t wait for a big real storm to come in.

 

Tommy Chan living the "It's all about the down" dream.
Tommy Chan living the “It’s all about the down” dream.
 

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Sunday Photo – Little Pine Couloir, Utah

This photo of Little Pine slide path on the north side of the Little Cottonwood Canyon road leading up to Alta is a good reminder of why just saying “yes” to skiing is a good idea.
Petra Pirc followed by Fred Marmsater in Little Pine slide path, Little Cottonwood Canyon.
Petra Pirc followed by Fred Marmsater in Little Pine slide path, Little Cottonwood Canyon.

We did this as a Dawn Patrol outing, and from the start, it didn’t seem very hopeful as the valley was completely socked in with fog.  Thinking that it was just going to be a good workout, we started out from the trailhead in poor visibility, but about a third of the way into this 3,600′ beauty the visibility started to clear and we found ourselves above the inversion in beautiful weather with ideal powder snow condition on a huge south facing slope!  The hardest part about Dawn Patrolling is often just waking up, but with memories like this, it makes it a bit easier.

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