Feb 27 to March 3: A Week in the Wasatch
2/27/15
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I arrived in SLC on Feb 26th after almost 36 hours of Bullet trains, planes and metro buses on a trip from a small mountain town in Japan to my bed in Kent at 11:30 P.M. and leaving for SLC at 10:00 the next morning. That night I was able to attend and put on a slideshow at the Wasatch Splitboard festival and hear about the how the snowpack was holding up.
I'm always amazed by the easy access that the Wasatch provides and with a little bit of new snow you are guaranteed to be in bumper to bumper traffic heading up the canyons.
The next morning Bucky, Martijn and I did a traverse from Little Cottonwood Canyon up to Big Cottonwood. Stopping by both the Hallway and Benson and Hedges Couloirs.
The next day we skinned up the northwest side of Kesler Peak and took a quick lap on the lower tree covered headwall before heading towards the summit.
Here is Ray on the summit with the worlds only Split....SkiBoard?
We decided to drop into the West face and found great conditions up high.
Down lower the conditions were pretty thin and we were forced to do some bushwhacking Wasatch style.
Normal years this waterfall is a 20 foot huck.
The third day we made our way to Mill B south fork.
Up high there was around a foot of new so it made trail breaking fun.
clouds were coming in and out as we climbed but we kept getting the occasional sucker hole.
When we made it to the ridge dividing Little and Big Cottonwood Canyons some clouds came in making it near whiteout conditions. We decided to drop into the Little Pine side which had better visibility.
From the bottom Bucky hitched a ride back to his car in Big Cottonwood while John Lemnotis and I started watching the snow pile up.
The last day I was there Erik, Bucky and I decided to go to Solitude for an Inbounds day with over a foot of fresh snow. We were concerned about how the snow had fallen as there had been a bit of slabbing the day before and we had a blast riding the mostly tracked but occasionally untracked resort pow.
All in all it was a great trip and I have to thank my friend Bucky for putting on an amazing event year after year. I always enjoy the time I spend in the Wasatch.
It would have been nice to stay longer.
But it is great to be home.
And finding good snow in all the local stashes.
I'm always amazed by the easy access that the Wasatch provides and with a little bit of new snow you are guaranteed to be in bumper to bumper traffic heading up the canyons.
The next morning Bucky, Martijn and I did a traverse from Little Cottonwood Canyon up to Big Cottonwood. Stopping by both the Hallway and Benson and Hedges Couloirs.
The next day we skinned up the northwest side of Kesler Peak and took a quick lap on the lower tree covered headwall before heading towards the summit.
Here is Ray on the summit with the worlds only Split....SkiBoard?
We decided to drop into the West face and found great conditions up high.
Down lower the conditions were pretty thin and we were forced to do some bushwhacking Wasatch style.
Normal years this waterfall is a 20 foot huck.
The third day we made our way to Mill B south fork.
Up high there was around a foot of new so it made trail breaking fun.
clouds were coming in and out as we climbed but we kept getting the occasional sucker hole.
When we made it to the ridge dividing Little and Big Cottonwood Canyons some clouds came in making it near whiteout conditions. We decided to drop into the Little Pine side which had better visibility.
From the bottom Bucky hitched a ride back to his car in Big Cottonwood while John Lemnotis and I started watching the snow pile up.
The last day I was there Erik, Bucky and I decided to go to Solitude for an Inbounds day with over a foot of fresh snow. We were concerned about how the snow had fallen as there had been a bit of slabbing the day before and we had a blast riding the mostly tracked but occasionally untracked resort pow.
All in all it was a great trip and I have to thank my friend Bucky for putting on an amazing event year after year. I always enjoy the time I spend in the Wasatch.
It would have been nice to stay longer.
But it is great to be home.
And finding good snow in all the local stashes.
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