Wasatch Conditions 10-11

[Mark H]

Now that Alta is technically backcountry I shall submit this ob from today:

High north facing still holds soft and stable pow

[ectreeskier11]

sick! is that the ribbon above devils castles?

[twodogs]

^^subtlety not your strongpoint eh?

[ectreeskier11]

^^subtlety not your strongpoint eh?

because everyone and their mother's going to get out and ski a line like that, huh?

[The Gnarwhale]

Ciochetti's Ribbon below the peak


Humbling moment of the day: Kicking snow off the edge and waiting (and waiting and waiting) for it to come spitting out on the apron.


quote-unquote skiing


Mark preparing for the crux puckerfest just below


Victory pow lap


And props to whoever skied this obscure steepness yesterday

[StraightChuter]

Nice one Gnarwhal! Not only that, great photos as always.

Now, get your liver in shape for Antarctica...

[PROVO]

what, you didnt set up a pow shot on the ribbon? sick traverse.

yesterday, another ramp, not nearly as gnar...

[tyfalk]

Great shots guys!! Dont you just love this time of year!!!

[Alx88]

Damn guys, looks like some Tuff-Jong shit went down today. Strong work on the Ribbon Jim and Mark!. Me - 'so you gonna do the E Face with us?' Mark - 'Nah, me and Jim have something shorter in mind.'

E facing 11,253' to 9500' skied pretty well this morning. Hit the 'trail' at 2 to summit around 8-9. Beautiful up there today, got hotter than a Russian Whore in a quick minute though. The temps kind of canceled our plans to exit Coalpit so we were forced to slog out Bells. Showed up in the Valley a few hours later, and it felt like Florida in the middle of July.



Sorry about the Toto in that last one, Dibbs

[Alx88]

Oh and I almost forgot...Fuck the Bird

[Trackhead]

One of those times when "leading" is safer than "following".

[smuggs]

Ciochetti's Ribbon below the peak


And props to whoever skied this obscure steepness yesterday

nice on the ribbon guys. can take credit for the pre highboy steepness lap with a bunch of free riders. lars CA was bored by the castle couloir so we went to the top and found those lines. pretty fun and a great way to start out the highboy party. didnt want to post in here because alta was still inbounds when we skied it.

Lars CA on tele


Silas CA no line like a straight line i thnk crossman skied the magenta line, the rest of us took the 100cm choke over steep ice.


Crossman lines up a cliff


McKenna makes pow turns look cool


then we closed down the high boy party (alta backcountry after 5pm) with out even trying still harnessed up with the harnesses we didn't need

[smuggs]

ALx is that JP u with?

Oh and I almost forgot...Fuck the Bird

[Xover]

lars CA was bored by the castle couloir so we went to the top and found those lines.

nice smuggs! skied that line (Jaws) on the last day of '04-'05; looks just a tad bit more technical this season - but still good to go. curious about the castle couloir though. from the best vantage point near sugarloaf, it looked like it choked pretty tight or even smallish cliffed out - is that the case or not? any shots of it?

thanks in advance.

[Alx88]

Ya, this here is JP

[PointOfRelease]

Originally Posted On My Blog, Point Of Release

When both Jackson Hole and Grand Targhee closed for the season, one must inevitably migrate South in search of lift service and this past weekend presented the perfect opportunity to do so. Snowbird picked up two feet of snow last Tuesday en route to breaking their all time season snowfall record of 688″. That snow was followed by another 18″ Friday night and by Saturday morning I found myself at the base of Little Cottonwood Canyon waiting for avalanche clearance after a 5 hour drive from Jackson that began at 3 AM. And well, from there it was literally all time. Just watch the video and you’ll see.



A few photos:



The Peaks Guarding The Base Of Little Cottonwood Canyon



Looking Down Little Cottonwood Canyon Toward Salt Lake City



The View From Hidden Peak Into Mineral Basin



Little Cloud From Hidden Peak



A Few Turns Through Totally Untracked Snow In The Trees



First Tracks In The Snowbird Sidecountry



60 Degree Weather In Salt Lake During My Drive Out

[The Gnarwhale]

curious about the castle couloir though. from the best vantage point near sugarloaf, it looked like it choked pretty tight or even smallish cliffed out - is that the case or not?

It goes without any airtime

[Alx88]

And well, from there it was literally all time. Just watch the video and you’ll see.

Sweet all-time gay POV on a stick, ski, helmet, and chest... There's only one problem with it....

[smuggs]

nice smuggs! skied that line (Jaws) on the last day of '04-'05; looks just a tad bit more technical this season - but still good to go. curious about the castle couloir though. from the best vantage point near sugarloaf, it looked like it choked pretty tight or even smallish cliffed out - is that the case or not? any shots of it?

thanks in advance.

we stopped at the castle couloir, and up top was a firm steep (60+) sidestep in that i bet 180s would barely clear. not cliffed out from any vantage point we saw looking down or up from the apron. did not take photos as lars was getting bored and we moved on.

[PROVO]

[Trackhead]

Skied what might be a new line off of Monte Cristo today. Plenty of spice, nice location, great views, fun loop. More at my sick blog, check out my spancers, brah.

Line is lookers right ramp west of the summit of Monte Cristo with the happy little ice bulge/cliff in the middle. If you decide you want to go repeat it, be cautious of thin snow over ice and slick quartzite.


Starts out by skiing the west couloir off of the summit, down to the ridge, then cut north to the couloir/ramp.

[Alx88]

Ooooo spicy!

[Johnny Deep]

Nice!

[Brad Davis]

May 4, 2011

UDOT plans to conduct artillery avalanche control work in Little Cottonwood Canyon on Thursday May 5th 2011 starting at 0630 am. Please stay clear of all highway avalanche paths between Tanners and Lt. Pine until after the road has been re-opened. Estimated reopening time is 8:30 a.m.

[The Gnarwhale]

Sunrise on Timp with Ty and Powder Goat below


Skied the south side of the East Ridge, which is as filled as I've seen it.


E-S-W aspects had a supportable crust that corned up, though much later than we guessed yesterday. W-N-E aspects had a breakable crust over several feet of soft snow.