Solitude Opening Day

So I was up at Brighton, getting my instructing job back because Snowbird hasn't gotten back to me yet, and I get a call from my buddy Brandon. I had heard a few days ago about Solitude opening a run just for Halloween, but it looked like it was for passholders only, so I forgot about it. After getting all of my stuff at Brighton, I headed down to Solitude, signed the pass, and got a couple runs in for the first lift accessed skiing of the season. It was a trail that was about 200-300 yards long, but it was sweet. Brighton will be opening this week, and Solitude is opening next Friday for good. Super excited. Maybe Snowbird will get back to me eventually....

Happy Halloween!!

Blahh

No word as of yet about the Snowbird Trail Crew position. I needed to go for a drive this afternoon for a couple of hours to get the anxiety off of my mind, and the snow had turned to mush up at the base of Alta. Temps were right at 32 degrees, and everything was socked in. I was hoping to go for a short tour and get some turns in, but I figured it would just be a waste of time, so I turned around and drove back. I hope Snowbird gets back to me sometime...

On a better note, Mountain Films is having an event tonight at Brewvies, 7pm. Ed Viesturs will be there, and they will be playing two mountaineering films.

Sunset Peak skiing

Headed up into the mountains today for a nice long dawn patrol. Woke up at 5:30 am, ready and out by 6, and hiking by 7:15. We parked at the top of Alta, the Grizzly Gulch parking area, and skinned up the Alta summer road to Catherine's Pass. Skinning the estimated 3-4 miles took an hour and a half, and the views were incredible. We stopped at the top, where you have views overlooking Timpanogos and Superior. The temperature was definitely in the low single digits up there. After admiring the views for a few minutes, we headed down this little shot, which was actually the first thing I skied for the 08-09 season last year. There was a base that covered most everything, and so there was really no worry about underlying logs or rocks. I'm getting very stoked on the winter ski season to get here, and Solitude Mountain Resort is kind of opening on Halloween for one day, with their bunny slope. Kind of counts. Hope to get some more touring in this weekend, and hope to find out about the Snowbird job tomorrow. I'm getting nervous.

This picture on the was my buddy Charlie dropping in on the shot we skied. Not mid-winter chest deep snow, but we had a blast anyways.

I heard a rumor that Snowbird might open for the season on Halloween as well. We will see...

Snow in the Valley

So it's just after noon on October 27, and we have just had the second snowfall in the valley. The mountains are getting about 5-10", with hopefully more as snow is forecasted through the end of the week. For the first time this season the canyon is currently restricted to 4x4/Chains, which stinks because I was going to head up around noon. Maybe the restriction will be lifted soon.

This picture is pretty cool, just showing some cool viscous deformation and glide off of the umbrella. Gotta love snow science.

From what I've heard, Snowbird and Brighton are both blowing snow, which is amazing, and temps are going to remain very cold for a few days. On an unrelated note, Saturday November 7 is the USAW, Utah Snow and Avalanche Workshop, which started last year, and was fantastic. If you want to hear about the happenings within the last year, learn a few things about avalanches, and support our local Utah Avalanche Center, which provides us with our Backcountry and Mountain Weather Advisories!

One last thing, I should find out about the Snowbird Ski Patrol/Trail Crew position within the next few days. I'm very anxious and really hope I get the job. I guess if I don't get hired I'll be working at Brighton as an instructor and Alaska Mountain Guides out of Alta as a guide when they need help this winter.

First Avalanche advisory was issued today, surprisingly the Western Uintas and Oquirrh's are receiving most of the snow. Maybe I'll have to head to the Oquirrh's Thursday

-Brian Muller