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Friends of Flagstaff Meeting Update

Friends of Flagstaff Meeting Update

| April 1, 2009 | 23 Comments

From a Wasatch backcountry skier’s perspective, putting a chairlift up Flagstaff Mountain would be the equivalent of having an Exxon Valdez oil spill there once a year.  It would be devastating beyond words and turn the Days/Silver/Mill D zone into extended slackcountry which would be completely undesirable from a touring point of view.  Currently, it is […]

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Interuption of Service

Interuption of Service

| March 5, 2009 | 6 Comments

I’m never quite sure what to say when people ask me “What do you do for a living?”  If I say I’m a Professional Ski Mountaineer, that leads to all sorts of embarrassing questions, like, “Can you make a living at that?” (no) or “How many of you are there out there like that?” (two)  […]

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Four Year Ago Today…

Four Year Ago Today…

| February 5, 2009 | 12 Comments

… we got married up at Alta by the Honorable Reverend Lou Dawson (First Church of WildSnow).  Now, four years later, we have a little 1.5 year-old red headed skier girl and another on the way.  It’s been a blast – thanks Polly!

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Wasatch BC Skiing Park & Rides

Wasatch BC Skiing Park & Rides

| January 28, 2009 | 13 Comments

With Salt Lake City being so close and the access to the Tri-Canyons being so limited, most Wasatch backcountry skiers end up carpooling for all or part of their trip up to the trailheads.  There are seven or so Park & Rides to chose from and the choice of where to meet can sometimes be more […]

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Alta – Still One Bony Pony

Alta – Still One Bony Pony

| November 24, 2008 | 4 Comments

I’m unofficially starting to worry about this year’s snowpack.  The official worrying begins after Thanksgiving if there is still no new snow, but as of right now, the area around Alta is looking mighty bony and dry.  Sigh.  A “great” early season starts around Halloween and continues all year long.  A normal one kicks in […]

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Bob Athey – the Wizard Cometh

Bob Athey – the Wizard Cometh

| October 22, 2008 | 9 Comments

The Wasatch is kind of unusual in that aside from the mountains themselves, there is little to no central gathering spots for skiers or climbers.  I’d be hard pressed to name a single bar where you had a chance of meeting other backcountry skiers on a consistent basis.   Maybe the Sitzmark in the Alta Lodge […]

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Ahhhh…!

Ahhhh…!

| September 2, 2008 | 2 Comments

Summer bummer… hate heat.  These are a few of my least favorite things. Utah is a “Pretty Great State” three out of four seasons, with summer being skull-popping hot and unpleasant.  While the first snow may be far from actual skiing, it at least marks the end to the season of misery here in Utah. From the Alta webcam, […]

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Click & Chute – The Perils of Web Based Skiing

Click & Chute – The Perils of Web Based Skiing

| August 27, 2008 | 4 Comments

When I published “The Chuting Gallery – A Guide to Steep Skiing in the Wasatch Mountains” in 1998, I was told by a few well meaning Pros that I was going to have the blood of countless sixteen year-old kids on my hands as they all rushed out to try skiing steep lines and died […]

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