Powder Paradise
Utah tends to deliver good snow consistently and this year has been no exception. Storm patterns tend to come in strong, dousing the Wasatch with light dry powder for several days in a row, then like clockwork clouds part and brilliant blue sky burst out. This combo of regular snow followed by nice light is one of the things that makes filming in Utah so productive.
Last week during the storm cycle Alta and Snowbird resorts were buried in snow making the storm riding unbelievable. Skiing in a storm is one of my favorite experiences. The mountain becomes dark, feathery flakes pour down making each run slightly deeper than the last. Last week it was snowing so hard at times that the canyon road closed for avalanche control. People who were already skiing reaped the benefits of a “country club” morning. This rare treat allows a limited few to have access to the mountain while others wait at the bottom of the canyon for hours.
After a healthy dose of freeriding the weather forecasted three days of sun. We decided to spend the upcoming days hitting some of the local backcountry spots using our snowmobiles. Just as predicted, an early morning start revealed bluebird skies. As we arrived at the zone, my excitement began to grow. Pillow lines, corniced ridges, cliff bands and rollers were all blanketed in deep fresh snow.
Often when we go out filming it is efficient to have several athletes skiing, but on this day I was solo, which kept me motivated to keep hiking, and hitting lines. The day turned into a super fun, productive session that ended after hitting 12 lines including a very large step down gap as the last rays of light flickered on the jumps lip.
self portrait in front of in-run
Photo by Pete O’Brien
Photo by Pete O’Brien
Photo by Pete O’Brien
The following day Wiley Miller, another TGR athlete, joined us as we prepared a large natural gap in a different sled zone. This gap jump is unique because it is created by a big knob of land in the middle of a north facing bowl. The terrain creates a perfect in-run hill that leads right into a natural take off ramp, over a wind ridge, and onto a landing.
After a build day we arrived on the scene early Saturday morning to begin jumping. we weren’t the only ones… hoards of sledneckers eager to eat up some of the recent powder were pulling into the parking lot like it was a grateful dead concert. We headed up the trail, roped off our in-run and landing so that collisions wouldn’t occur, and began launching. The air was big, and lofty, sending us 20-25 feet off the deck and about 80 feet to the gaps landing. We had several crashes caused from launching too far over the landing but both of us got good tricks on film. Including a double back flip Japan from Wiley, and I landed a nice cork seven-twenty tail grab.
Riding out down the long trail paved in woop-dee-doo bumps of snow I reflected back on the week of shredding. Storm skiing sessions, turning into bluebird days, pillows, cliffs, and Jumps… Perfect Utah good times!
