Utah 'Boarding: Easy as 1-2-3

Arrival

Flying into the Salt Lake Valley is always an inspiring experience for me.  Lately, I have become less inclined to look out the window during flight due to the typical monotony and blandness of the topography on most flights.  Seeing the Wasatch jetting out from the expanse that was once the bed of Lake Bonneville is always a window-worthy event.

The peaks that I have scaled in the past stand firm with their majestic profiles watching over the residents below.  Lone Peak, Twin Peak, and Mount Olympus make the eastern skyline of Salt Lake City a memorable one.

This year's snowboarding expedition saw slope appearances by Clay, Cam, Keith, Gary, Camille, and Richie.  The weather was perfect, which made up for a bit less snow than we would have hoped, so all things considered the conditions were good.

Of course, no trip home would be complete without a rendezvous will all of my friends from Murray High School.  Tom & Ratty organized a gathering a The Point After to watch some UFC action and catch up on lost time.  It was great to see everyone, especially those I have only recently re-connected with.

February 1st: Snowbird

A 9:00am meeting at Mom's got us started on Super Bowl Sunday.  After some breakfast tacos and coffee, we loaded up the Durango and headed up Little Cottonwood Canyon.  For years, I have boasted about the proximity of Salt Lake to the ski resorts and that my Mom's place is only 20 minutes from Snowbird.  Even with Keith being late, we still made it on the lifts by 10am.  Thanks to Camille, we were able to hook up some extremely discounted passes and the day began perfectly.

Mineral Basin was tracked up and made for some choppy runs, but we still made a good day of it.  Most of the day was spent between Peruvian and Mineral Basin with one trip up the tram and a few runs beneath Gadzoom.

I wouldn't be doing the picture above justice if I didn't mention that Keith completely ate it about 2 seconds after this photo was snapped.  Trying to strike a pose, he lost his balance and fell over onto the concrete surrounding the conveyor belt that was taking us through the tunnel to Mineral Basin.  Of course, standing back up in a situation like this is nearly impossible.  Whether it was the tired quads or hysterical laughter, Keith couldn't seem to make it back onto his feet.  After narrowly escaping a certain ankle injury to either Keith or myself, he threw down a reverse ninja roll and hopped back onto the conveyor belt.  It will be impossible to ever ride through that tunnel again without a chuckle.

February 2nd: Powder Mountain

Of all of the times I have been on the slopes in Utah, There are still a few resorts I have never ascended: Snow Basin, Wolf Creek, Sundance, and Brian Head remain on the list but Powder Mountain is now a patch I can rightfully sew onto my backpack.

Richie was our guide as we sped around the mountain in perfect conditions.  Despite the lack of recent snow, the resort's name is definitely not a misnomer.  We were able to skiff through more of the gnar at PM than any other day of the trip.

Since a helicopter crashed earlier that morning, I recommended to Keith that we re-think our heli-boarding plans.  The sno-cats seemed a much better idea, and at $12 a run you can't beat it.  The power was phenomenal and well worth the wait to get on the cat.

Over a foot of lightly tracked powder was waiting to meet us on the north facing slope where the cat dropped us off.  Powder was found, and it was good.  After a good day on the slopes, it was off to Richie's for some home brew.  We stopped at Carlos & Harley's on the way out for some grub and to check out the local Eden speakeasy.

February 3rd: The Canyons

By the third day on the slopes, I was in shock that my legs were still holding up.  We leisurely made our way out of the NewPark Resort hotel and made our way over the The Canyons - largest ski field in Utah.  We were once again hindered by the lack of fresh snow, but were able to ski probably the most miles of any of the days on the slopes.  With just Cam, Clay, and I and no lift lines we were able to make some pretty good tracks around the mountain.

Once again, we were able to hook up some sweet ticket deals, paying less than $50 a person.  Due to the prevalence of flat areas at the Canyons, I became quite proficient at using one of Clay's ski poles to keep up my speed.

Final Thoughts

Luckily I have an awesome wife that lets me dedicate a few days to snowboarding while she holds down the fort at home.  As infrequently as I get to hit the slopes these days, it is very important for me to not lose touch entirely with the experience of snowboarding.  I do so love her for many reasons, and this is just another one.

Additionally, I am fortunate to be on the brink of a brand new era of snowsports as the kids are now getting old enough to enjoy the mountains and learn to ski.  Jackson and Emily are already excited about learning to ski - hopefully this Christmas!

Also, I am extremely lucky to have such a great Mom that took care of us from arrival to departure.  A guy couldn't hope for a better Mom, and I am so grateful for everything she did for us this trip, and for everything she has always done for me.

I am certain that this will be just the first in a number of boarding excursions, you in on the next one???

 

See a full album of pictures (with geo-location) here:

http://picasaweb.google.com/grant.coburn/Yewtaah?authkey=colyY_K_Vpc&feat=directlink#