“A mixed bag of shit," as so expressively worded by a skier we met a the trailhead when asked about the ski conditions. This is the view south towards upper Mineral Fork, the sun just above the ski run “Room of Doom.” The photo pretty much supports the review of the skier we met at the start, everything tracked out, the snow mostly hard/crusted/grabby but with two-inches of light powder covering it all, which is not nearly enough to make it good.
We skied one run down Highline, a run on the west side of the Mineral Fork, topping out on the divide of Mineral Fork and Mill B South (aka Lake Blanche Drainage). Today was a classic ‘one-and-done' day because we couldn’t justify skinning back up for a "mixed bag of shit.” We got maybe 10 fun, powdery turns and 300 challenging, grabby turns, so I was fine doing one run, then getting the hell out. Besides, I was hungry and Clif Bars suck after two or three, and a cheese-burger at Silver Fork Lodge was sounding pretty damn good. |
I skied Brighton on the 2nd or 3rd, I think, whatever day it was that we got a bit of snow. They had about a quarter of an inch of powder atop pure concrete. The powder helped, but it was still very challenging. I didn't dare go do Milly Bowl, especially since they had a sign next to the gate which read "slide for life!" I did manage to ski just about everything off of the Snake lift, though, that I cared about: Snake Dike, Hard Coin, and Doyle's Dive. It was a bit sketchy, but not icy.
ReplyDeleteI somehow feel less intimidated by the backcountry up above Bountiful than of that in the Cottonwood canyons. The danger is still there above Bountiful, but maybe on a slightly smaller scale. Maybe bigger avalanches are safer, because you're more likely to die quickly in them.
I think the KSL weather lady said we might get a storm after Valentine's day, but it doesn't look too promising. Winter has just fizzled! A ridiculously resilient ridge (triple R) of high pressure is parked over the south western US and its just pushing all the storms up and over Utah. Maybe we need to repent?
I'm thinking of trying to go up to Rice bowl this next Saturday along Farmington Spine. I'm not sure if the spine will be in good-enough condition to ski, or if Rice bowl will be good, but I feel I have to try before everything melts.
I think you’re right Spencer, the South Davis County mountains seem to be a bit safer avalanche-wise than the central Wasatch, due to lower elevation, less snow (much of the early snows melt before rotting), and many of the runs are not on a north or east aspect. That said, there have been several avalanche deaths near Grandview and Bountiful Peaks.
DeleteAbout ten years ago I skied Mineral Fork a week or so after a massive slide came off the west ridge and the debris was awe-inspiring. Huge swaths of mature, 50-foot aspens were cut down like toothpicks, sticking out of the avy-snow like scattered tinker-toys. The slide was unsurvivable. I’ve never seen anything like that above Bountiful, but I have seen small slides that pile deep, and are certainly deadly if one were caught/buried. Sometimes the benign areas like Bountiful are the most deadly, folks tend to lower their shields and assume more risk.