1/31-2/13 Utah/Colorado/Wyoming Roadtrip

pics are here:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2072243&id=42900320&l=a00e8bf270

In an effort to get the hell out of the PNW and away from El Nino, a co-worker and I took a 2 week trip in search of snow and sun.  It was our first time skiing in all these places.  We made the drive from Seattle to Salt Lake City in 13 hours and found ourselves at Squatters Pub for beers then headed to Alta for the night.  Monday went full blue with 6-10" new, a warm welcome for our first-ever Utah turns.  We seemed to be in perfect sync with areas opening just as we slid of the lift all morning.  Tuesday, we had had our fill of the lifts and hit the backcountry.  We joined a small crowd and spooned tracks at Cardiff Pass before dropping into Cardiff Fork and then cruising up to the summit of Superior.  The Wasatch are incredible.  I could get used to skiing this snow, in this terrain, 20 minutes from town.  We had been concerned about the Utah snowpack upon our arrival but were pleased to find that the terrain around Superior had previously ripped big and now lay under 18" of new, stable snow.  Perfect shin-deep turns all day.  Left all my food in the truck and nearly passed out mid-tour. Thanks to the folks who treated us to bagels and cheese after our ski from the summit. Wednesday, it was back in the truck for a stop in Moab.  Clearly, it is the off-season in Moab.  We found a laid-back atmosphere and very friendly people.  Wanting to put off retiring to the truck for the night, we drank a lot of beer at Eddie McStiff's.  It happened to be live folk music night (excellent) and we spotted Steph Davis and Dean Potter in attendance.  More importantly, we found warm beds for the night, thanks Steve! We saw the snow-covered sights in Arches the next day then it was off to Telluride.  Great pizza and beer at the pizza place in town and a cold, clear night in the truck.  Despite the resort culture-shock and super-thin snowpack it was fun to be in the San Juans.  Not really enjoying the firm conditions and rocks, we skied Chute 9 and watched the Freeski comp for awhile and then left for our next stop, Silverton.  We were fortunate enough to be invited to a friend of friend's cabin a 1.5 hour ski up from town.  The handmade cabin was luxurious after a few days in the truck and the skiing was stellar right in the backyard.  The weather alternated between sun and snow.  After spending a couple days touring here we headed north to Boulder to stay with some good friends, stopping in Ouray to check out the Ice Park.  After a recovery day and dinner at the Southern Sun Brewery in Boulder, we drove to Loveland Pass to find some Front Range lines.  We spied an inviting couloir from the road and it turned out great, if a little bony. Ate at Sherpa's in Boulder that night and set out for Motel 6 in Jackson Hole on Thursday.  With the forecast not calling for much snow we were pleasantly surprised to wake up Friday to 6 inches of new that seemed more like 10 or 12 on the upper mountain.  J-Hole rules.  As far as I am concerned, this is what a ski area should be--steep with big cliffs/lines everywhere.  Got in the first box and enjoyed the blower all morning.  The storm came in cold enough that we sank to the crust easily but we did not care.  We found waist deep leftovers in Casper Bowl and then gourged ourselves at Snake River Brewing to cap it all off.  One last 15 hour day on the road (and a brief foray into an Idaho ditch) brought us back to the warm, wet Northwest.  While driving over our home mountain passes we reflected that the deluge we were driving through was the first rain we had seen in 2 weeks.  Sad to return to crappy snow, but we feel lucky to have gotten the goods for two weeks straight.

13 days, 3600 highway miles, 7 ski days, 1 national park, 6 states, too many beers, and 2 perma-grins.  Dirtbag budget: $850 each.