World Wide Wasatch update

| January 2, 2013

“Dude, Christmas is way over. Where is the fresh content? Wildsnow is posting freshies every day.” – Cameron

I know, I know. It hurts to get out-stoked by WildSnow, but I’m use to it.  And, although Colorado may have better bloggers, Utah currently has better snow.  Ha!  Take that WildSnow World Headquarters, Associate Editors, Junior Editors, Airbag Editors and others.

Utah is just about right on its historical snow depth average, which may not be all that earth-shaking, except that it is currently better than all of last season, and it has arrived in a lovely pattern of storms. While snow layers often get a bad rap, in this case, we had some early season snow which formed a supportable crust over the base rocks and then had a series of storms which all bonded together.  There is potential for future avalanche mayhem, but until then, party on Garth.

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Synchronized skinning in Big Cottonwood Canyon with the Park City ridgeline behind.

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There are still plenty of rocks if you know where to look for them.

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Centerous Punchiumous Maximus.

One of the most remarkable things I’ve seen so far this season it the HUGE increase in backcountry usage in the Wasatch Mountains.  The trend has been growing for years, but it almost seems to have doubled this year. It could be early season enthusiasm, new gear from Xmas or something else, but the number of people who are out in the BC now is astounding. I personally like this as I’ve seldom met a backcountry skier I didn’t like (okay… there were a few of them) and hopefully the more people who use the backcountry, the more who will be willing to preserve it.

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Holy crack smackin’ backcountry trackin’! This is one of many, many areas which have been tracked to the gills in a matter of days, or even hours.

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Help support StraightChuter.com and float above it all with a pair of Black Diamond Carbon Megawatt Skis from Backcountry.com. Click on the photo below…

 

Category: Random

About the Author ()

Andrew McLean lives in Park City, Utah and is a gear designer, writer, photographer, ski mountaineer, climber, Mountain Unicycle rider and father of two very loud little girls.

Comments (1)

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  1. Gary Ashurst says:

    Hey Andrew, always fun to see your posts and pics. We too are seeing more BC use than I have ever seen, I believe the high price of the free ride has changed peoples perspectives and also the gear these days is so much better and user friendly. I see that many have opted for the one quiver setup, using their BC gear for everything. Glad to say that even with the escalated use there is still plenty of freshies in our backyard.
    What are your plans this winter and beyond?

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