December 2-3, 2010, Wolverine Cirque, Utah
12/2/10
US elsewhere
2401
4
Bought a single-ride lift ticket at Brighton and 3 of us skinned south out of bounds past the lake, with Mount Millicent looming on our east side. After a 20-30 minute skin in, we spent a 1.5 sweaty hours putting in a boot pack up one of the steep NW-facing couloirs to gain the ridgeline of the cirque.
We spent the second half of Thursday and most of the day Friday riding the steep couloir shots of the Wolverine Cirque, mainly staying on the eastern half of the cup. Slight wind compacted, dry, and no crustiness. Wind load was present but not too deep and did not present much risk after assessment with shovel shear and controlled jump cuts. Not 2-feet of Utah blower with bluebird skies, but solid. Videos and pics coming soon.
We spent the second half of Thursday and most of the day Friday riding the steep couloir shots of the Wolverine Cirque, mainly staying on the eastern half of the cup. Slight wind compacted, dry, and no crustiness. Wind load was present but not too deep and did not present much risk after assessment with shovel shear and controlled jump cuts. Not 2-feet of Utah blower with bluebird skies, but solid. Videos and pics coming soon.
Pics would be good. An overnighter in heaven..
So, assuming you're a local there, clint, can you tell us what's going on with the move afoot to require permits for bc entry? What i picked up was that it was being driven by private landowners in cottonwood canyon (there's a thread over at teatips)
One should not underestimate the possibility of a public lands access fee structure here in the West, that continues to grow and marginalize some users
apologies for laying a track over your post, but it's useless without pics ;)
So, assuming you're a local there, clint, can you tell us what's going on with the move afoot to require permits for bc entry? What i picked up was that it was being driven by private landowners in cottonwood canyon (there's a thread over at teatips)
One should not underestimate the possibility of a public lands access fee structure here in the West, that continues to grow and marginalize some users
apologies for laying a track over your post, but it's useless without pics ;)
DavidG - thanks for mentioning that. I'd heard about the idea of connecting the different resorts before, but hadn't heard that a BC access permit system was being considered. That's something that should get all of our attention, even if we're not SLC locals. It would be great to hear more if someone has the information.
Thanks for mentioning it, and for reminding me that I need to book some time in the Big or Little Cottonwood BC.
Thanks for mentioning it, and for reminding me that I need to book some time in the Big or Little Cottonwood BC.
okay here's some pics/vids: http://picasaweb.google.com/bluesnow10/WolverineCirqueUtahDec2010#
Only 2 yeoman videos in this batch (the other 8 files in the album are photos), but if you patch them together in your mind, you get an idea of the pitch and snow quality.
WRT to the shenanigans between the FS and private property owners in Utah: suffice it to say that good folks like us who earn their turns are very loud and united and I see little chance of the current status changing much.
BTW, I am a Seattle resident. I have spent lots of time in Utah in the last 6 snow seasons, usually 10-15 days, mostly touring with splitboard now. I have some prime BCC and LCC spots pretty well-dialed in, the snow is better, more accessible, yadda yadda
Only 2 yeoman videos in this batch (the other 8 files in the album are photos), but if you patch them together in your mind, you get an idea of the pitch and snow quality.
WRT to the shenanigans between the FS and private property owners in Utah: suffice it to say that good folks like us who earn their turns are very loud and united and I see little chance of the current status changing much.
BTW, I am a Seattle resident. I have spent lots of time in Utah in the last 6 snow seasons, usually 10-15 days, mostly touring with splitboard now. I have some prime BCC and LCC spots pretty well-dialed in, the snow is better, more accessible, yadda yadda
I love the Wolverine cirque it's really straight forward and has a lot of variety terrain from sphincter tightening chutes to open powder 8 style runs. All with easy access from either Brighton or Solitude. Looks like they could use some snow there to fill in the majority of the chutes.
Thanks for the update there.
Thanks for the update there.
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