Sunday, June 9, 2019

Last Virgin Line in the Wasatch

I love reading trip reports of first known descents. This one is the ‘cliffs notes’ version from the Spring 2019 Utah Adventure Journal of a much more detailed account of the first known descent of Coalpit Headwall way back in 1975. Some folks don’t understand the joyful feeling of discovery that comes from skiing a line that has never been skied before, and that sentiment is pretty much an impossibility today in the Wasatch. Just know this, somebody skied your favorite line, probably decades ago. Somebody explored the access, explored various descents and the best regress, and someone explored the optimal line that now gets mogulled out a day after a storm. Those explorations probably took years and possibly decades, but once found a gold rush followed. Everyone wants a piece of the wealth.
That said, I know of one huge line (3,000+ foot vert) in the Wasatch that hasn’t yet been skied. If it has been skied it is not listed on any maps, guides or blogs that I can find. It is easily seen from Sandy and has serious ‘fall and you die’ consequences, which is probably why it hasn’t yet been skied. That said, on some level I’d be surprised if it hasn’t been skied because I know of a few folks who love the adventure without any expectation of attention. To do this line safely, multiple belay anchors (10 or more) are required due to a dual fall-line over hundred+ foot drops. Installing these anchors would be a major undertaking on its own.
I flirted with plans to set the anchors and ski the route over a decade ago, but life and age are beginning to pass me by. Maybe I can still pull it off but this has been a rough year on my 57 year old body. I hope someone skis it soon and does it safely. If you want some beta, send me the ‘secret password’ and I’ll tell you what I know.

1 comment:

  1. I think you make a good point about possibly skiing something no one has ever skied before, and then not caring about bringing it to anyone's attention. Those are pure motives, stripped of any pride.

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