Winter 2017 has been one to remember.  From record snow for the month of December and great skiing all around.  Having been able to take trips to Jackson Hole and just skiing around the Wasatch has been amazing.

I started off the season with a badly sprained ankle and hadn’t been able to do much for the previous three months.  Despite this I was able to ski opening day up at Alta, which had some pretty good snow.  Thankfully my PT cleared me to ski the next day.  I was only able to ski 2 or 3 more times before I headed back home to Michigan for Christmas.

Leaving Michigan, some friends and I headed out to Jackson Hole for new years.  We made the 24 hour drive and got in at 5 am on December 30th.  Then next day we hiked headwall for some good snow and fresh lines.  New years in Jackson is always a riot, from loosing a few of our group on the way into town to being one of a probably 100 people trying to get a cab home that night, puking in a bar bathroom and rallying afterward, it was an overall memorable night.  No skiing was done on January 1st, but we ended up playing hockey on the outdoor rink in Wilson for about 3 or 4 hours instead (me in my figure skates of course).

We spent two more days in Jackson, hiked headwall again, some people skied Corbets, and we got fresh snow each night making the days of skiing amazing.  I then heard of a storm hitting Salt Lake and the Cottonwoods over the next few days.  So we packed up and headed down to Utah to follow the storm.

We skied two days at Snowbird, were some of the 1st ten people let into mineral basin when patrol opened it up, and got to ski over 20 inches of fresh, untracked powder.  We were also able to sneak into the hot tub at Snowbird after skiing which was a perk!

I also decided to take a class this semester, called Snow Dynamics and Avalanches, that involves learning all about snow science, avalanches, and ski touring almost every Friday!  Later on in January another storm hit the Wasatch and I got to ski a weekend with knee deep fresh snow, and was getting face shots on most turns (which I guess isn’t that hard as I am only a little over 5 feet tall!).

After a few weekend of skiing Alta, I headed back to Jackson Hole to ski with my family over Prez weekend.  I ended up getting in around 11pm, because of my snow and avy class earlier that day and it was snowing all night up in Jackson!  We skied almost all day Saturday, with runs through the Alta Chutes, Bivouac woods, Central Chutes, and of course Rendezvous Bowl.  We went slightly easier Saturday, as my mom, brother, and I were being taken backcountry Sunday!  Sunday morning, we got to the tram line around 8:45am and there was already a 2-3 tram wait.  Once we finally made it up the tram, we went through the first avalanche control gate, and down into cardiac drainage.  The first run was almost too good to be true!  And the next few runs were just as incredible!  Fresh lines, getting a workout skinning back up, then fresh lines again.  There was good, about boot to knee depth powder, and snow of the best snow I have ever skied!  We ended the day skiing down and out through Rock Springs and getting a couple pitchers of beer at Nick Wilson’s (not a bad way to end the day!).  Despite being sore and tired, we got up and skied the next day.  The snow, even inbounds, was great.  Alta 1 was great, Rendezvous bowl was great, all runs that day were amazing!

I also accomplished a life goal of mine: ski over 1 million vertical feet at Jackson.  And I achieved my goal in this trip over Prez day!  I finally hit a million vertical feet, actually over a million, as I now have 1,335,721 vertical feet at Jackson!

This now brings us to spring break, and it was very much spring skiing!  I skied most of the days, and it was 50 degrees out, sunny, and the snow was mashed potatoes! I skied Alf’s High Rustler for the first time in a while and I hit a new personal speed record: 75.3mph.  I also skied in my Red Wings jersey a few of the days because it was so nice out!  This was also week 10 at Snowbird, where my uncle knows a lot of old time Snowbird skiers.  I got to meet some really awesome skiers and people in general and had some pretty awesome home cooked meals.  One even got me to try and like a lot of different white wines, even one from Austria!

Our last field day for Snow Dynamics and Avalanches was this past Friday.  We went on a ski tour up Big Cottonwood Canyon, my first time skiing backcountry in BCC.  We worked on route planning and how to safely travel in avalanche terrain.  It also helps that we got to ski some pretty awesome snow on the way back down!

]]> http://spreadstoke.com/snow/skiing-1-million-vertical-feet-jackson-hole-wyoming/feed/ 0 http://spreadstoke.com/snow/2016-snowboarding-snowbird-brighton-utah-backcountry/ http://spreadstoke.com/snow/2016-snowboarding-snowbird-brighton-utah-backcountry/#comments Tue, 12 Jan 2016 18:04:40 +0000 http://spreadstoke.com/?p=5830 For perspective we are only at about 95% of average for snowfall so far this season.  These powder shots are just “average” or even slightly “below average” for Utah.   I’n the past month I’ve  done lots of resort riding, splitboarding and even some pow surfing.  I have been so lucky to ride so much with my family and friends.  It’s nice for a  41 year old weekend warrior like me to have the storms line up with my holiday vacations.  Let’s just say I took advantage of my time off! RESORT RIDING They call this zone “Hokkaido” at Brighton. Obviously named after pow zones of Japan. My teenage son throwing up pow plumes at Snowbird. Snowbird can be frustrating with closures, crowds, angry tourists and locals, but sometimes you will have the run of your life that keeps you going back! My wife rips Snowbird! Give it up to the mom shredders out there! Avalanche danger had many frustrating closures at Snowbird and I wasn’t about to venture out in the backcountry either. The catwalks made for some fun jumps at Snowbird! Snowbird Brighton Brighton   POW SURFING, NO BINDINGS About to drop without bindings.  Yes my heart is pounding.  You really have to think about your line.  It is not like you can come to an instant stop like you can on your snowboard.  You really have to surf the mountain, think ahead even more than usual.  It is super addicting. You can see my line in the center.  Not to brag but I think it is so much more fluid than the ski and snowboard tracks to my skiers left and right. Deep powder turns on a board without bindings might be the ultimate high in powder snowboarding and skiing. Self portrait SPLITBOARDING Always grateful to get a shot of me.  I invested in an airbag this season.  Float 22 BCA.  Good day pack, but pack light.  the Float 32 might be better for those that like to pack a bit more than the essentials.  ]]>

For perspective we are only at about 95% of average for snowfall so far this season.  These powder shots are just “average” or even slightly “below average” for Utah.   I’n the past month I’ve  done lots of resort riding, splitboarding and even some pow surfing.  I have been so lucky to ride so much with my family and friends.  It’s nice for a  41 year old weekend warrior like me to have the storms line up with my holiday vacations.  Let’s just say I took advantage of my time off!

RESORT RIDING

They call this zone “Hokkaido” at Brighton. Obviously named after pow zones of Japan.

My teenage son throwing up pow plumes at Snowbird.

Snowbird can be frustrating with closures, crowds, angry tourists and locals, but sometimes you will have the run of your life that keeps you going back!

My wife rips Snowbird! Give it up to the mom shredders out there!

Avalanche danger had many frustrating closures at Snowbird and I wasn’t about to venture out in the backcountry either.

The catwalks made for some fun jumps at Snowbird!

Snowbird

Brighton

Brighton

POW SURFING, NO BINDINGS

About to drop without bindings.  Yes my heart is pounding.  You really have to think about your line.  It is not like you can come to an instant stop like you can on your snowboard.  You really have to surf the mountain, think ahead even more than usual.  It is super addicting.

You can see my line in the center.  Not to brag but I think it is so much more fluid than the ski and snowboard tracks to my skiers left and right.

Deep powder turns on a board without bindings might be the ultimate high in powder snowboarding and skiing.

Self portrait

SPLITBOARDING

Always grateful to get a shot of me.  I invested in an airbag this season.  Float 22 BCA.  Good day pack, but pack light.  the Float 32 might be better for those that like to pack a bit more than the essentials.

Despite low snow conditions around the Western US, I had a great season traveling to 2- and 4-star Freeride World Qualifier events, freeskiing at my home resorts of Alta and Crested Butte and touring in the Wasatch, Uintas and Crested Butte backcountry!

Flylow Gear, Ramp, Flyin Ryan, Soul Poles, Pit Viper

Here’s a winter teaser shot at Snowbird over the last few seasons. Cheers to praying for a big winter this year! We all DESERVE it!! Don’t forget to get training to be the best on the mountain!;)

The Kitten Factory team got out and around Utah during a less than stellar winter, taking full advantage of the few good days we had. Filmed in and around the Wasatach range and of course some fun spring days at Snowbird and Alta!

Thanks to Evan Heath, Hennie VJ, Jack Atkins, Jeremiah Paquette, Mike Blatt, Joe Fusare and Garrett Jurach for additional footage. Head to kfskis.com to check out the new skis.

By the end of the lift service season, we were sitting on the least snowy winter in history here in Utah.  But, with this not so snowy winter, we still got out there and shredded and had loads of fun with all the homies up on Party Mountain!  Here are some photos from Spring shredding and my 2014/2015 season edit.

After two weeks of dry weather and fast groomers, the snow has returned to the Wasatch, Monday, as I was working up at the Bird, I watched the snow accumulate up to 4 inches per hour at times!! It’s the fastest Ive ever seen it!! And then for Tuesday, the video will explain that. Enjoy!

Three major storms in 2 weeks brought about “Powder Panic” in Utah’s Wasatch Mountains.  The first storm was so serious that half of Snowbird Resort remained closed for 3 days!

The next storm would roll in a couple days later.

After the storm cleared it was time to enjoy the fresh snow and sun on the splitboards.

Another storm was right on the heels!  The resorts in both of Utah’s Cottonwood Canyons were firing for days!

With Snowbird getting tracked out, it was time to go back out on the splitboards.  All of the terrain shown in this post of us splitboarding is threatened by One Wasatch and the Alta expansion.  Not only will this terrain be lost to backcountry use, but snowboarding will be banned with Alta’s expansion.  Sad day when more of the Wasatch will be shut down to snowboarding!

Nothing like waking up to find out it’s snowing outside when the forecast you read the night before says “20% chance of little or no snow accumulation”. Then heading up the canyon to find out it’s nuking super dry Utah blower and then getting these photos… Enjoy

The forecast was saying the storm was going to split, and if we were lucky we might see 6 inches. Over a foot later, no one was complaining. A Northwest flow had set up over Little Cottonwood Canyon delivering  a sneaky storm that many did not get out of bed for. It was an amazing day at Snowbird with my youngest son.

My 15 yr old son Sam enjoys the fluff at Snowbird!

Sam sends it!

Sam enjoys the whiteroom.

No line at 9:25 am for some incredible runs!

Snowbird had early trams and donuts for season pass holders!

Though we haven’t had much snow lately and have had record warm temperatures, it hasn’t kept us from getting out and enjoying the mountains. Pray for snow!

Super fun day with my son up at Snowbird. Season is finally off to a proper start!

First day at Snowbird 2014, with lots of pictures of Little Cottonwood Canyon snow

Who else is ready for ski season?

Only 28 more days!

An original video from Jacky Hallett. Check out Spread Stoke for more!

My buddies and I shredding the last few seasons! Here’s a winter teaser! Get Stoked! Pray4Snow!!!

Tram laps in the Summer? Dreams do come true! Snowbird Resort in Little Cottonwood Canyon dropped a stoke bomb on mountain bike fiends this week announcing the grand opening of their brand-spankin-new Big Mountain Trail. Needless to say, we’re aching to get to Snowbird ASAP to do some laps on what will certainly be a premier must-do trail when visiting the Wasatch.

According to the Ski Utah video (see below), the trail is approx. 3000 vertical feet, 7.5 miles long, and takes about 1 – 2 hours to ride depending upon rider experience. So that means it’s a <10 min. ride up the tram for a massive descent back to the tram deck. CAN.NOT.WAIT! From the video, it looks like there are lots of smooth berms to rail, a few wood features, and a mix of high alpine and aspen single track to give even the most spoiled of riders a mega-fix of downhill fun.

Here’s some beta directly from Snowbird.com about the trail:

• Hours: 11 a.m. to 6:30 p.m.
• Access: Hidden Peak (Tram MTB ticket required), Down-traffic ONLY after 11 a.m.
• *Trail Rating: Blue (intermediate)
• Distance: 7.5 miles from Hidden Peak to the Snowbird Center via Dick Bass Highway.
• Trail drops 2,900 vertical feet with an 8 percent average grade. Wide-open straightaways, tight forested turns, small earthen tabletops, wooden bridges and amazing down-canyon views. Very little pedaling required. Helmets required.

• Adult $19 Half-Day, $29 All-Day
• Child $16 Half-Day, $24 All-Day
• Snowbird season passholders (winter 2013/14 and 2014/15) $10 All-Day

For more information about Snowbird’s mountain bike trails, hours, and ticket prices, visit Snowbird.com.

I had one of the funnest seasons of my life this year. I had plenty of time to get my feet wet in the Wasatch and ride the bird. I also had a killer trip back home to Targhee to breathe that fresh Wyoming air. I loved every second of this season in Utah (except the inversion smog).

Related Post: 

• DAMN! JONNIE MERRILL GETTING ROWDY AT SNOWBIRD

Last week, the Cottonwoods got hammered by a delicious spring storm that gifted the Wasatch with a few feet of snow. Needless to say, it looks like Jonnie Merrill took full advantage of the amazeballs conditions at Snowbird and hucked his meat off every feature and cliff we know. And with some serious style! Without further ado, here is his edit from those 2 days…

This weekend reminded me of how truly amazing life is and just how fulfilling it is to spread stoke to those around you. There is simply nothing more warming to the soul than sharing life-lifting moments with family, friends, and even strangers who you instantly connect with after exposing them to a unique experience. It’s been an overwhelming privilege to be able to share the last few weeks with so many fantastic friends, family, and random strangers that drift in and out of this bizarre thing called my life.

While the last few weeks have been amazing to say the least ( there has been a huge amount of skiing, lots of après-ing, partying, dancing, giggling and a serious lack of time dedicated to laundry), the last 72 hours have been pretty fucking epic, specifically. There are fewer things that make me happier than being able to ski fresh snow (many first tracks off the tram) and then bust out my bike to conquer new single track all in the same weekend. Multi-sport season has arrived, and safe to say, life is gooooood!

Here’s some photos from the last week and inspiring snippets of wisdom:

All the art of living lies in a fine mingling of letting go and holding on. – Henry Ellis

Jupiter Peak at Park City Mountain Resort

When it comes to life the critical thing is, whether you take things for granted or take them with gratitude. – Gilbert Chesterton

Mineral Basin, Snowbird Utah

Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away. – Maya Angelou

View across valley, Snowbird Utah

 The aim of life is to live, and to live means to be aware, joyously, drunkenly, serenely, divinely aware. – Henry Miller

Lookinp up Jupiter Peak, Park City Mountain Resort

A man sooner or later discovers that he is the master-gardener of his soul, the director of his life. – James Allen

Tunnel to Mineral Basin, Snowbird Utah

Life becomes harder for us when we live for others, but it also becomes richer and happier. – Albert Schweitzer

Bonneville Shoreline Trails, Salt Lake City Utah

I have a simple philosophy: Fill what’s empty. Empty what’s full. Scratch where it itches. – Alice Roosevelt Longworth

Bonneville Shoreline Trails, Salt Lake City Utah

The aim of life is to live, and to live means to be aware, joyously, drunkenly, serenely, divinely aware. – Henry Miller

Bobsled Trail, Salt Lake City Utah

You’ve gotta dance like there’s nobody watching, Love like you’ll never be hurt, Sing like there’s nobody listening, And live like it’s heaven on earth. - William W. Purkey

Warning: Coronaritas always lead to dancing.

No joke, I think we’ve had almost 2 straight weeks of pure sunshine, cloudless skies, and lots of spring skiing conditions. Considering our low snow pack this year, we’re looking pretty damn good compared to most resorts West of Utah, so I’ve got no complaints. Putting the severe yearning for soft snow aside, the weather is truly beautiful and the last few days have been a blast. I’m slightly behind my 100 day goal for the season (hit day #30 yesterday), but confident that with lots of spring skiing, I’ll get there.

Yesterday Kevin, Matt, Tori and I cruised to Snowbird to meet up with some friends and spread some stoke in the lower gad parking lot. Before the party started, we warmed up with some groomer/bump skiing in Mineral Basin and then made our way to Baldy to check out what Kev calls “The Gauntlet”. I was planning to take it easy as I had tweaked my knee (possible sprained MCL?) the day before makin’ tele turns at PCMR, but shit happens and I didn’t want to be left out!

The Gauntlet’s official name is Center of Gravity which is located  near the Alta/Bird border and is a steepish couloir with shade protected snow. The last time I was in this area was a few years ago with much more snow, so getting into the couloir this year was a tad more difficult, but with enough poking around, we made it in. Safe to say, most of Baldy is sun-baked crust at this point, and certainly not the easiest to ski. But with good friends and sunshine-galore, it’s definitely worth the hike. The views from Baldy are insanely gorgeous on a clear day, displaying a perfect view of the SLC valley and the lower Little Cottonwood canyon.

After we worked our way down The Gauntlet (jump turning on a bum knee was probably not the best idea), we then met up with the rest of our crew and did a few mineral and gad laps prior to getting the Sunday parking lot party started. The day was a perfect combo of good friends, good turns, and lots of beer!

I’ll be taking a few days off to rest the knee and am hoping/wishing/praying/dancing that we get some more snow this week. Keep those digits crossed!!! And in the meantime, enjoy all this super fabulous sunshine and go get out there and ride!

When we started SpreadStoke.com a few months ago, we wanted to create more than just a website. We wanted to bring together our community of fellow athletes and share the experience and feeling of being stoked-out…all day, every day! Starting Spread Stoke has been an amazing experience so far and we’ve had so many awesome posts, videos, and photographs shared. We wanted to share that love back to our contributors, fellow stoke-birds, and our community by throwing down a Sunday Funday party at Snowbird.

Yesterday, we teamed up with our super amazing friends at Soul Poles, heated up some grills, and threw a Sunday Funday party at the lower Gad parking lot. Needless to say, lots of hot dogs, PBRs, and laughs were had. Soul Poles brought their tricked out van and some of their newest pole lines to check out, while House of Marley & Goal Zero provided the jams so we could party both in style and off the grid.

The afternoon was a hit and we met a ton of new people. Thanks to all our friends who helped us set-up, breakdown, and get the word out. Also, a massive shout-out to our friends at Soul Poles. Soul Poles is doing a 6 month mobile tour right now while traveling through 36 cities in 12 states. Visit https://www.soulpoles.com to find out more about their earth friendly poles and where their next stop will be. #plantyoursoul

We will be looking to do many more of these events throughout the rest of the year and will be announcing our next event on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram … so follow us and come join us at our next party. Cheers!