WASATCH STOKE, CONDITIONS, OBSERVATIONS AND ASSORTED DRIVAL 17-18

[NBABUCKS1]

Anyone have any deals on lift tickets for alta or snowbird? Just moved here and want to ski something other than snowbasin (where I have my pass).

[Skidog]

Anyone have any deals on lift tickets for alta or snowbird? Just moved here and want to ski something other than snowbasin (where I have my pass).

Check KSL.com lots of 60-70 days on share cards around.

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[Brock Landers]

Got after it again with skidog and his crew again, solid solid day getting to things I haven't in the past. Tired as fuck now, trying to keep up w the crew all day.

[Djongo Unchained]

Nother gooder bopping around Alta with Brock Landers. Solid mag. Again many good pow runs. He's headed to Jackson hole tomorrow to ski Tuesday through Friday. Jackson mags catch up with this guy he's solid.

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Can do. Plans are gelling now.
Glad to see winter showed up for you in slc. Looks sweet.
Firm up here now... Corny though.

[Skidog]

Can do. Plans are gelling now.
Glad to see winter showed up for you in slc. Looks sweet.
Firm up here now... Corny though.

He's on a maggotful mystery tour for sure..

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[happytimefunbox]

Soli was fantastic yesterday!

First chair fishstix





Had a knukledragger crew that had never solied and a skier buddy in tow. Ran into team sfb. Got an evergreen booter and the hunnycomb opener. Gspot skied deep! Tell mrs sfb my buddy ted is sorry for bumping rails with her! Safety was met and multiple mexicañ sport drinks were consumed. All and all another stellar day in the wasatch

[lhitchner]

I am looking for reports on snow conditions for the Wolverine Cirque chutes, in particular Granny Chute.

I am an old guy (72) who has skied Granny once each of the past 2 years. I was lucky and hit it when the snow stability was safe, snow conditions were very good, and there were only 2-3 tracks on that slope. I doubt I would dare to try any of the other more difficult chutes.

If you have recent first-hand knowledge of conditions there this year, please answer these questions:

1. How is the snow stability? Are people avoiding the chutes due to the weak persistent layer and now the UAC's warnings about deep slab? Are the North facing Chutes like Granny's more of a worry than the East, NE, and NW facing ones?
2. How much have they been skied, Granny's in particular? Are people only using Granny's for the booter to climb back up, or have there been more than 2 or 3 tracks on that slope?

[Skidog]

I am looking for reports on snow conditions for the Wolverine Cirque chutes, in particular Granny Chute.

I am an old guy (72) who has skied Granny once each of the past 2 years. I was lucky and hit it when the snow stability was safe, snow conditions were very good, and there were only 2-3 tracks on that slope. I doubt I would dare to try any of the other more difficult chutes.

If you have recent first-hand knowledge of conditions there this year, please answer these questions:

1. How is the snow stability? Are people avoiding the chutes due to the weak persistent layer and now the UAC's warnings about deep slab? Are the North facing Chutes like Granny's more of a worry than the East, NE, and NW facing ones?
2. How much have they been skied, Granny's in particular? Are people only using Granny's for the booter to climb back up, or have there been more than 2 or 3 tracks on that slope?

Im not super familiar with the names of those chutes, but if the one you are speaking of drops back towards alta nothing on Tuscarora or Wolverine looked overly tracked to me last few days i been out Catherines way at Alta. Friday there was a couple tracks down far lookers left of Wolvie. No clue about stability on Wolvie itself, but from what i've skied on Mid patsey Marley things are ok. Also lots of lines down upper Patsey.

Good luck with getting your line again this season. Hope im still looking to score lines like that when I am your age.

[F#*k you cat]

^^^Ski Dog^^^

Are you serious - you don't know which chute is Granny and you call your self a LCC skier.
Look at a map once and a while.

CAT

[Skidog]

^^^Ski Dog^^^

Are you serious - you don't know which chute is Granny and you call your self a LCC skier.
Look at a map once and a while.

CAT

I suck at names of runs at Alta man...to me it's just "I skied over there near the tree by the snow covered rock". I could give a shit what a run is called or how gnar it is...I'm not checking off any lists. I'd just say "I skied a line on wolvie".

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[F#*k you cat]

Search function Jong

Wolverine is not inside Alta's Boundaries.

Maybe consult your bro brah pal Julian Carr for proper names in LCC

[Skidog]

Search function Jong

Wolverine is not inside Alta's Boundaries.

Maybe consult your bro brah pal Julian Carr for proper names in LCC

Dude I'm well aware of Altas boundaries. Thanks though.

Who controls it though? Yeah thanks

ETA what I meant was that even after all my years at Alta I don't even remember those names, much less the names of silly sidecountry chutes. I ain't got time for that, it only matters to you bro brah types. "Yeah man I scored xyz line I'm so gnar".

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[Skidog]

nobody does control work in wolvy cirque last i knew... (except for lost knuckledraggers from brighton with no avy gear )

Alta will shoot it from time to time for sure. As well as all along the pastey Marley Ridgeline. Wolvie could potentially slide into the lower part of Altas Catherine's area I guess if it was really big. Unlikely for sure, but I've seen bomb holes over that direction.

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[Skidog]

Self explanatory.

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[Dantheman]

There's Mt. Wolverine, and there's Wolverine Cirque. They are not the same.

[Brock Landers]

http://www.vanyaland.com/wp-content/...Wolverines.jpg

Or this

[Skidog]

There's Mt. Wolverine, and there's Wolverine Cirque. They are not the same.

Which does grannies spill into Cirque or over the other side?

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[Skidog]

Yeah ok...that's the side you cannot see from Alta. Alta controls wolverine that faces it's inbounds terrain. My apologies for the mistake/confusion.

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[Skidog]

I've only ever gone down to lake Catherine from the Alta side doing the Alta, Brighton, solitude loop. Never down wolvie that direction. Thanks for the education.

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[skiATL]

Thanks man. Me too. THC was fun that day.

As far as over naming of Wasatch Backcountry, while I think every 50' pitch doesn't need to be named, slopes do need names to identify them for avys and observations. I personally like hearing what other people skied and how it was. In fact, when not sure of snow coverage (mostly spring and summer), they are very useful particularly on Instagram to give a clue on coverage so you don't waste a day.

Enough of this crap though. The last 4 days have been incredible. Stoke post upcoming

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[skiATL]

Yesterday was sick. Skied the Whipple. Not too many rocks but low vis made it interesting.




Skied Maybird this morning. Was super deep and amazing. Unfortunately 1 in our party of 4 had a hard stop so we (just 2 out of the 4) had to stop 400' from the top. So I get to have 3500 more feet of fun later in the season to truly tick it off.



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[skiATL]

App won't let me add pics above.
From Maybird:





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[claymond]

^^Dopeness. Headed up little superior yesterday afternoon after the bird to check out how the new snow was on south facing. Quite good and stable. So went back early today for the south face with some friends who hadn't done it before. We dropped about five minutes before things got real busy. Top to bottom best conditions I've had on sup.

[lhitchner]

I suck at names of runs at Alta man...to me it's just "I skied over there near the tree by the snow covered rock". I could give a shit what a run is called or how gnar it is...I'm not checking off any lists. I'd just say "I skied a line on wolvie".

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As F#*k You Cat wrote the Wolverine Cirque isn't inside Alta boundaries. A few hearty Alta side-country-ers sometimes ski there, but it's a long climb to get there and an a long climb back up to the microwave ridge for the run back to Alta. You can find out about Wolverine Cirque and all the named chutes (I think there are about 14-16 of them) in several places. Start here, http://wbskiing.com/2447 , but this only runs on a laptop or desk top computer, not on mobile devices. The bible of Wasatch chutes is Andrew McLean's "the Chuting Gallery" (http://straightchuter.com/chuting-gallery/ and https://www.amazon.com/Chuting-Galle.../dp/0962193577).

In Andrew's book he describes and uses the Steepness Rating system. The Steepness Ratings go from S0 to S7, and in addition to the steepness the rating includes factors such as whether there are "terrain features" that require maneuvering around, if there is a dangerous fall potential, and how safe the run out zone is. S7+ is described as "60 degree slopes with nasty obstacles. A quick and certain death if you fall." There is also an Aid Rating for chutes that require rappels to enter.

Granny Chute is by far the easiest and safest chute (people have died skiing the harder, steeper, narrower chutes) and it's rated at only 38 degrees with S3+ rating. Most of the other Wolverine Chutes are rated S4- to S4+ with Roman's Chute rated S5- (that normally requires a rappel to enter it and that's where the fatality occurred). For comparison Mt. Superior South Face and Suicide Chute are rated S4. Most people don't ski down Granny Chute but rather use it as the ascent route back up for doing more laps. Most climbers boot it up Granny's because it's a little too steep and narrow for a skin track. Occasionally some hearty souls who must love doing lots of kick turns on a 38 degree slope put a skinner up it (fortunately there's only a short choke point just below the top). That's why I asked whether the traffic on Granny's has been mostly just the booter or whether some folks have been putting downhill tracks on it. In my times skiing it there were only 2-3 downhill tracks. So, for us old timers who want to do an easy run rather than the other more serious chutes Granny's can be quite nice with good, safe snow, and only a booter up it.

[lhitchner]

In Mall Walker's photo the Granny Chute is the big wide chute to the left of center with the huge run out zone (one reason it is rated so easy).

Here are a few more photos I took when I skied there last year on April 10.