Wednesday, December 29, 2010

Box Elder

Tuesday Jason and I traded Tom for Zack and continued the Utah Valley theme. We made use of the good snow stability and the fleeting weather window to get up on Box Elder. It is the shortest drive of all the Grand UC peaks and happened to be one that Jason and Zach had yet to stand on. We got a late 10:30ish start but that played into our favor as an earlier party was able t0 put a skinner in most of the way up. In the UC breaking trail is the norm. We got lucky.

Up the red, down the green. We skied the North Cirque first in some nice variable chalky windblown. No sign of the sticky wind pockets we found on Timp. Skied right to the skin track for another ascent up the ridge so we could enjoy a run down a barrel of the shotgun chutes. Fast settled Wasatch powder skiing and not another track to be seen. Exit out Dry Creek was also kind of fun if your into survival type skiing.



First time I have ever been able to skin right from the Dry Creek trail head.


Timp always inspires,!Where was that visibility yesterday up there?


ER doc, tele skier, and a rad mustache!

Now for another storm...

4 Comments:

Blogger Rick Sunderlage said...

Box Elder is such a great mountain. Nice one.

9:34 AM

 
Anonymous dug said...

i remember last time you did this you went up the west ridge and then skied the cirque.

which way is better? east because of shotgun access? or is it sixes?

i need to get back up there. that's one of my favorite summits and cirques.

you have a lot more confidence in your snow stability assessment skills than i do in mine. i'm such a pussy.

1:56 PM

 
Blogger Grizzly Adam said...

You are crushing the UC!

1:58 PM

 
Blogger Bart G said...

Dug- West ridge is faster and I like it better if the snow is baked. Less low angle trail skinning. A skin track is normally in the other way which is tough to pull off of in deep soft snow. Lapping the chutes is also nice.

Hopefully it's not overconfidence...

I need to get out with you guys again.

9:33 PM

 

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