I rolled the dice on Monday night as the weather forecast was epic with 30″ plus forecast over the next 48 hours in Little Cottonwood Canyon. Got a super deal on a room at the Cliff Lodge at Snowbird and wagered that I’d be better off not having to drive back and forth with 4-10″ being called for in the valley and more on the benches. What ensued was both miraculous and tormenting. 44″ fell in a 24 hour period at Snowbird. So much snow that Tuesday saw the canyon road close, for 36 hours. Alta and Snowbird never opened. Anyone up canyon was locked inside (inter-lodged) because avy danger had gone berserk. Meanwhile everyone else in Utah pillaged stupid deep and light snow from Brighton to Snowbasin and back again. All we could do was grimace as the facebook statuses came pouring in and do our best to drink the hotel dry. The icing on the cake would be the wind that roared all night Tuesday effectively crushing 4 feet of blower pow into a creamy dense layer that only felt 10-18″ deep. Ya win some, ya lose some eh?
Wednesday dawned the bluest skies one could ever imagine with nary a whisp of wind. I caught the 2nd tram and spun what may very well be the best Regulator Johnson lap I’ll ever take. Creamy smooth silk. Fast and effortless over a mountain that had seemingly been wiped of all it’s contour. I waited back at the top for McKenna Peterson and Erin Bragg to catch up since they’d run the gauntlet of hwy 210. A little bird told me that the Baldy rope drop was 20-30 minutes out and we had to make a choice. We could jump into an already tracked Cirque and get back in what was now a 5 boat wait for the tram or head to the bottom of the bootpack and bet it all on one epic first dibs run. The girls opted to gamble and this time it worked out as planned. These were the only pics we shot all day.
Erin Bragg
McKenna Peterson
It was simply too much mayhem with a staged opening to shoot and too much fun skiing to lug around the gear all day. Eventually we hooked up with Andy Sabatier and the four of us ripped pow in the sun until we were spent. Might not have been the most epic day snow wise but I’ll be damned if I could ask for a more enjoyable day at the resort. It was just flat out fun. The mountain was in a playful mood and we did not deny her. If you’re gonna gamble and lose, this is a good way to do it.
Gambled and lost?
I rolled the dice on Monday night as the weather forecast was epic with 30″ plus forecast over the next 48 hours in Little Cottonwood Canyon. Got a super deal on a room at the Cliff Lodge at Snowbird and wagered that I’d be better off not having to drive back and forth with 4-10″ being called for in the valley and more on the benches. What ensued was both miraculous and tormenting. 44″ fell in a 24 hour period at Snowbird. So much snow that Tuesday saw the canyon road close, for 36 hours. Alta and Snowbird never opened. Anyone up canyon was locked inside (inter-lodged) because avy danger had gone berserk. Meanwhile everyone else in Utah pillaged stupid deep and light snow from Brighton to Snowbasin and back again. All we could do was grimace as the facebook statuses came pouring in and do our best to drink the hotel dry. The icing on the cake would be the wind that roared all night Tuesday effectively crushing 4 feet of blower pow into a creamy dense layer that only felt 10-18″ deep. Ya win some, ya lose some eh?
Wednesday dawned the bluest skies one could ever imagine with nary a whisp of wind. I caught the 2nd tram and spun what may very well be the best Regulator Johnson lap I’ll ever take. Creamy smooth silk. Fast and effortless over a mountain that had seemingly been wiped of all it’s contour. I waited back at the top for McKenna Peterson and Erin Bragg to catch up since they’d run the gauntlet of hwy 210. A little bird told me that the Baldy rope drop was 20-30 minutes out and we had to make a choice. We could jump into an already tracked Cirque and get back in what was now a 5 boat wait for the tram or head to the bottom of the bootpack and bet it all on one epic first dibs run. The girls opted to gamble and this time it worked out as planned. These were the only pics we shot all day.
Erin Bragg
McKenna Peterson
It was simply too much mayhem with a staged opening to shoot and too much fun skiing to lug around the gear all day. Eventually we hooked up with Andy Sabatier and the four of us ripped pow in the sun until we were spent. Might not have been the most epic day snow wise but I’ll be damned if I could ask for a more enjoyable day at the resort. It was just flat out fun. The mountain was in a playful mood and we did not deny her. If you’re gonna gamble and lose, this is a good way to do it.