Snowbasin, UT 1/22/08 (with video)

[FirstTracks]

Day 26: One of my best runs ever.

No, that's not deceptive exaggeration, or even hyperbole. I've been skiing for nearly 38 years now, and on Tuesday I had one of my best lift-served runs ever out in a place Bob Dangerous calls Fat City, beyond the boundary ropeline on No Name Peak. It's the first video scene in the day's movie:

http://link.brightcove.com/services/...ctid1378323437

That video documents 22 untracked inches of pixie dust that fell yesterday on top of what was a big storm in the Ogden-area mountains last Thursday, on top of...on top of... Honestly, it was waist deep in spots. I've never before experienced a 20-second continuous face shot. There was more snow surrounding Snowbasin than I've ever seen, and the roadside snowbanks are positively massive even as UDOT knocks the banks back following each storm.

The Kid and I ventured north as Outdoor Retailer opened with Backcontry Basecamp at Snowbasin today, and Bob D was my tour guide. He's been bugging me to join him up there when conditions are right for three years now, and they don't get any more right than they were on Tuesday. Now, I was fortunate to have Bob around, for No Name Peak and its sidecountry is littered with massive cliff bands and a convoluted topography that makes it hard to figure out just where you are and where you're going. I never would've found my way into some of the spots we visited Tuesday, even though they're clearly visible from Earl's Lodge, and in the treed areas it would be oh-so-easy to get cliffed out atop a 60-footer.

We were still scoring untracked at 3 pm right smack dab in the center of the in-bounds ski area, too. Groomers were spongy packed powder. A late trip out the traverse into Mt. Ogden Bowl yielded vast expanses of above-treeline untracked, but only after a slough tumbled off the cliffs above, stopping me in my tracks until everything stopped moving in front of me.

It's stuff like this that makes me understand why I was so "uninspired" by Sunday's conditions.

Photos --

Atop the Needles Gondola:



untracked:



Strawberry:



Strawberry:



Bob Dangerous:



The Kid:



No Name Peak:



In-bounds portions of No Name were "already tracked out":



The Mt. Allen Tram:



The Mt. Allen Tram:



Downtown Ogden:



View across the Great Salt Lake from Mt. Allen:



Bob Dangerous:



Sun glistens off rime-encrusted tree branches:



Rime on the snow's surface:

[CarpeyBiggs]

you guys are freakin' sick. absolutely fantastic stuff. thanks.

[Sombeech]

You are the man. Thanks for sharing your pics and videos.

[accadacca]

Excellent report!

[stefan]

looks like y'all had a good day

[FirstTracks]

looks like y'all had a good day

Eh, it didn't suck.

[offpiste]

looked to be an "ok" day





VERY JEALOUS!!! keep giving us reports