This week in skiing

Ok, I am a little behind on entries.  What can I say, I had skiing and my lovely girlfriend to occupy me and time simply got away.  I think any rational human being would let this one slide.

In any event, here is the wrap up.  After a wonderful day of skiing at Powder Mountain on the Friday after we arrived we sat things out on Saturday as temperatures dropped and the wind howled.  Lucky for us my step-sister Ellyn was in Park City with her youngest daughter, Rachel, who was competing at the Junior Nationals Freestyle Jumping competition.  Her oldest daughter Jessica had also flown in from NYC fresh off a trip to Switzerland where she and a friend had been skiing on and around the Matterhorn.  So we drove about an hour south and met up with them and had a very nice day poking around at Park City.  I particularly enjoyed Jupiter Bowl and the steep terrain and soft snow we found there as warm Utah snow beamed down.

After skiing all day and losing Rachel somewhere in the beckoning steep snow of the trees (don't worry-she resurfaced) we all met up for dinner at the Wasatch Brewery in Park City.  I tried to rack my brain how long it had been since I had seen Jessica.  I would guess at least 15 years and now she was graduated from college and working full time at Moody's.  With a similar explorers spirit and a great sense of humor I think we quickly re-connected and I hope we can meet up again soon and ski together. 

From there Elizabeth and I headed into Salt Lake City where we were booked to stay at the Hilton for the next 3 nights.  This would give us a central location from which to base ourselves and explore the ski areas located in Big and Little Cottonwood Canyons.

Monday was cold and overcast but we rallied and got ourselves headed up Big Cottonwood Canyon toward Brighton ski area after a rousing breakfast at the Denny's around the corner.  Ok, maybe we dragged a bit due the weather but by 10 am we were on our skis.  It took a bit of doing but eventually we found some soft untracked snow off the Crest Express, below Pioneer Ridge.  In fact, it was during one of those runs I answered my cell phone and accepted my new job working in the Swedish Medical Center Urgent Care in Redmond, WA.

Elizabeth was a real trooper as I dragged her down Scree Slope, a double black diamond off the Milly Express that led up towards Mt Millicent.  It turned out to be a lot more steep and scoured than it appeared from the lift but she made it down without a hitch despite having freeheel gear.  Her beautiful smile never let up for a minute and in spite of less than ideal conditions we had a great time and ended our day with a beer at Molly's, a cozy bar set in the upper floor of the old frame at the base area.

Back in SLC we hunted out a recommended restaurant called the Bayou on South State Street and not too far from the hotel.  The food and drink was excellent and we even got a little schooling about the 3.2% beer of Utah and the laws about brewing from the bar list that contained over 400 different beer options on order.

Tuesday dawned more promising.  Some high clouds drifted by but the sun was starting to light up the Oquirrh Mountains west of the city across the valley and we were hopeful that this day would be more promising.  We made good time reaching Little Cottonwood Canyon and as we ascended traces of fresh snow began to reveal themselves.  Perhaps they had picked up a few inches overnight we thought.  This was confirmed as we crested the rise and Snowbird Came in to view followed by Alta.

When we arrived folks were already lined up to load the Collins Chair though the rope had not yet been dropped.  After the initial surge made its way up the hill we too followed suit and ended up at the top of a high half-cirque with a dazzling amount of terrain unfolding before us.  We started off by following the Sugarloaf chair and picked some wonderful lines before working into Devil's Castle and then Catherine's.

Elizabeth peeled off after lunch to attend a 2 plus hour telemark class while I dropped into the backside and Greeley's before ending my day in the Ballroom followed by a straight line to the Gold Miners daughter and a cold beer.  I was impressed by how much her telemark skiing improved in that very short period of time, though truth be told she is an excellent Alpine Skier, so I shouldn't be surprised.

Wednesday was much of the same though the snow was a bit more tracked up but we managed to find soft pockets here and there and drier snow in less sun affected aspects.  Thankfully Alta has such a wide variety or terrain and aspects that we could always fine good snow.

After a long day we drove north back to Eden and Powder Mountain.  Wanting to give Elizabeth a little taste of the more difficult and wilder terrain Rick and I took her up Lightening Ridge via Snowcat before we skinned up James Peak, the tallest point at Powder Mtn. at 9,422 ft.  She seemed to really enjoy the skin though the snow was a little heavy in places as the temperatures were getting into the 40's and the sun was really softening things up. 

Friday was even warmer so the skiing was essentially restricted to inbounds skier packed slopes, otherwise either poles or skis would punch through the snow to what seemed like hollow layers below.  In the end though we made the best of it and to celebrate what had been a great week we went to the Shooting Star in Huntsville for a burger and beer.  Rumor has it is the oldest continuously functioning bar west of the Mississippi, running even through prohibition because supposedly the local sheriff owned it.
 

 Saturday meant that I had to put Elizabeth on a plane back to NH.  She had responsibilities and a job to return to while I would continue my ski journey for another month before heading back home.  It was a difficult goodbye and I miss her dearly but I am in such a better place at this point in my life vs just one year ago and this was something I needed to do for myself as I knew in the long run this would make our relationship healthier.