The Holy Grail

No ski week is complete without a day at Alta.  Alta is the best ski area in the state, maybe in the nation.  Today we had an interesting experience, though:  The day started muggy and overcast with a couple of fresh inches from overnight.  But, by about 1:30p, a strong, dark storm took over.  We had an episode of thundersnow, which quickly added up to about five inches, but also closed the lifts.  Fortunately, we were at the bottom of Superior, so we ducked in to Alf's for a beer.  After 40 minutes they announced that Superior would not re-open; we jumped on Sugarloaf, hoping to get back to the Collins side before the end of the day.  At that point, the snow came in so hard that I could no longer see through my sunglasses.  It took me at least 30 minutes to make it down to Collins, by which time they had closed it for good.  Unfortunately, Benson, who had waited for me, missed his opportunity for one last run.

Solitude

Yesterday all of us skied Solitude.  The conditions were mixed, from soft to hard and from thick to thin.  And the weather was uninspiring, mostly cloudy, breezy, and warm.  Nonetheless, most of us were skiing until 4pm.  As always, I found a favorite picture of Benson.

Wheeler Lake Trail

Today we skied the backcountry.  We went up the Wheeler Lake Trail for about 2.5 miles.  When I tell people about ski touring, I often note that it is best to feel comfortable with skiing on sticks, logs, stumps, rocks, and dirt.  Benson doesn't ski tour as much as I do, but he definitely understands the concept.

Arapahoe Basin

Yesterday we went to A-Basin.  It was crowded again, and I'm not sure why?  Benson called it "spring break," so maybe that is it.  We test skied nearly the whole mountain, looking for the best conditions.  As always, we found those at Pallavicini.  Palli is truly the reason to ski A-Basin, at least for me.  It is simply some of the best terrain anywhere and the conditions are almost always good.  Skiing laps on Palli is the only way to go.  The picture above shows King Benson just below Palli Face.  The picture below shows me taking an aggressive two footed approach.  More pictures here.

Copper Mountain

Yesterday we went to Copper Mountain.  I have never been there before and the crowds at the base frightened me.  But, once we got above tree line the crowds thinned out.  The upper mountain terrain was also very good.  I made pictures of Benson and he made pictures of me.  The picture above is my favorite shot of him.  In the picture below, he made me look like Darth Vader.  More pictures here.

View from the Office

This week, we were burning piles in the foothills of the La Sals.  I'm probably not the most expert pile burner, but I calculated a personal rate of 20 piles per hour, which includes travel back and forth to the fuel wagon for more diesel.  Pretty good duty.  The only negative is that it is best to burn piles when there is plenty of snow and when the soil moisture is high, which means that the job quickly becomes wet and muddy.  My feet were mucky all day.

One Thousand

When this newspaper began, more than ten years ago, none of our editors thought that it would make history.  But, it has.  Today, we're posting for the thousandth time.  It is difficult to say whether any other weblog has done as much?  Arianna Huffington aside, where else can you go for a sprinkling of art and literature along with nice pictures of trees?  But, above all, we are the leading international journal of afternoon hikes.  At least a thousand of them.

Okay, Okay

"Enough already.  I know you're going to talk about ski touring."  I am.  And, if I didn't have a job, it is the only thing I would be doing.  We've been out every day this week except Wednesday when I was on the road.  The conditions are phenomenal.  What I have truly been enjoying is pioneering new lines through the burned trees on the north-facing slopes.  (Burned by the Brian Head Fire of 2017.)  I need the GoPro though, because it is difficult to fire the camera while dodging black stems.  At any rate, if you haven't tried this, it is highly recommended.

March Lion

We appear to be in the middle of a fairly fierce winter storm this weekend.  I know the lovers-of-spring are disappointed, but the ski touring is fantastic.  The snow conditions have never been better.  (It is especially good when I have EDO to break trail for me.)  The only cause for concern is the avalanche danger.  We ski low-angled terrain, so I usually don't think about it.  But today I began noticing the cut banks above the road.  They are loaded with snow, and might have enough material to hit our ski track.  I made a cut on one of the smaller banks and, sure enough, released a soft-slab avalanche.  The top two layers of fresh snow (maybe from yesterday and today) slid easily on the ice lens that had formed during the warm, sunny weeks.  There wasn't enough material to hit our track, but this was the smallest road cut:  A couple of others are quite a bit larger.  They will now have my attention, especially if it continues to snow.