Powder Mountain, UT 1/8 - 1/11/11

Well, I'll start with saying it has been less than spectacular. Seeing we got a foot back home isn't really helping either. Yesterday was pretty warm and bluebird, so the snow really got baked on. Last night it crusted up a bit, and it hasn't snowed in about two weeks. Unfortunately, the weather isn't really looking in our favor.

Wind chills are around -10, and we're looking at 3-7" in the next 36 hours.


High Res. Map

We did have a nice condo! The Lay-Z-Boy was awesomely comfortable.


Today was pretty warm, right around 30. The snow quality all depended on which direction the peak was facing. The worst stuff we skied was facing southeast, the best was northwest facing. If you look at the map Cobabe Canyon and the ridge below the Paradise lift had the best snow. Cobabe was the least skied, but it was pretty inconvenient to get to. If you wanted to lap it, you take a long green cruiser to the Paradise lift, ski down to the Hidden Lake lift (we took Quick Shot to get between the two lifts the first run, but it was AWFUL. The second time we took Gateway.), Take the poma lift up, and then hike maybe 10 mins to a flat traverse.

The snow in Cobabe wasn't very deep, maybe 8 inches of lighter stuff that had the consistency of sugar. Still, it was quite a bit of fun. It was all pretty low angle stuff, so it was hard to keep your speed up.

There was pretty dense fog in the morning, but it burned off around 11. It was bluebird for a bit, but then the clouds and cold moved in. The lighting was horribly flat.

We were pretty excited to ski Powder Country, but they had it closed. It's in-bounds backcountry stuff that doesn't get skied much. It takes your down to the road where a bus will pick you up. We figured it was just closed in the morning, but it didn't open all day.

Powder had a cat-skiing service (far right on the map) which looks like the majority of the mountain's steep terrain. Cat rides are $15 each, but the face is positioned the exact same direction as Quick Shot, so we're guessing it's going to be some really firm crust again.

We are here for another 3 days and we have pre-paid non-refundable lift tickets. I wish we left at least one day open to check out Snowbasin, but I was overruled on that. Hopefully we get the better side of 3-7".

There is a North facing section with some trees where the cat drops you off that may hold some decent snow



Or if you work you way down the ridge(the line in the 2nd pic) from where the cat drops you there are some chutes that held decent snow when we were there. You may have scramble over some rocks at the top to get into them



This video is the bottom section of one of those chutes

This is where the touring gear comes in handy. Your first pic shows James Peak. From where the cat drops you it's a short skin to the top. There is a N facing backside bowl with trees

Oh and your 1st pic shows part of the chutes. Center of the picture just above the tree tops. You come down that ridge line shown from left to right. Or you can dump off the other side of that ridge into those N facing trees

Didn't think of that, thanks!
Mountain got 3" today, It's bluebird and 15.

I think We're going to try the cat skiing today.

the 3" helped, but still wasn't enough to make the entire mountain amazing. Dust on Crust. The morning was real chilly, but we got down to the lifts and had some fresh stuff that wasn't too crusty. We never ended up taking a cat skiing run, but most likely will tomorrow. I got a PM on TGR saying that the NW facing stuff still had some good snow.

Our first run we were trying to figure out how to get to a chute we saw from the lift. I think the hardest part of skiing the mountain is figuring out how to get to places you see. We never made it to the chute we were looking for and ended up on a sketchy traverse on the back side of the ridge. It was pretty much untracked with a decent layer of snow on some crust. It skied pretty well, though.


We took the lift back up and made our way to another run which was a bit easier to access. It was in the sun and had some nice snow on it.





We looked around the map a bit more and tried to find how to get to the peak towards the right side. It took a bit to get there, but when we found it, it was completely worth it. The snow was real creamy and very few tracks on a moderate pitch. The biggest problem with getting there is it takes so much time. You have to take 2 quads and a poma, and it's a flat green trail to get there.

The face between the two lifts had some good snow on it. Some weren't hit as hard by the sun so they weren't horribly crusty.



On our second run, we skied off to skiers left of the ridge rather than going down the right side. Yahtzee! Definitely the best snow on the mountain is hidden over there. They reported 3", we found up to 10" in some spots, not windblown. I wish I had some good pictures of it in there because it was just awesome. Maybe tomorrow. Mike has a few POV shots from it, I'll make a quick edit later.

We ran into the lodge and bought lunch. We had a few sandwiches in the car, but the lodge we ate at was right at the top of the lift. It would have taken 1/2 hour out of our day just to ski to the car and back to where we were. It was good timing - I needed some energy, my feet were frozen solid, and I really had to poo. right before going in for lunch it started snowing nicely. When we went back out it was still coming down.



We took a few more runs out in our newfound pow stash and called it a day. The snow was starting to clear up (unfortunately), but it made for some cool shots!

<p>Powder Mountain 1-9-11 from Ted Battesh on Vimeo.</p>

You booked and paid for several days at PM in advance? Isn't PM a place for which you traditionally wait until the last minute when you get a favorable snow report? It's the only Utah ski area I've never visited, not due to a lack of desire, but every time I want to go, I turn left into Snowbasin instead of continuing to PM.

Here's one of my better days there: LINK

Jamesdeluxe wrote

You booked and paid for several days at PM in advance? Isn't PM a place for which you traditionally wait until the last minute when you get a favorable snow report?

That should be the case for any ski trip

I went with a friend and his dad. I suggested leaving two days open (buying tickets online are $15 cheaper), but they didn't want to.

I also suggested Big Sky and Baker, but his dad wouldn't even consider them. Pretty much the reason we're here is because his car mechanic said it was a good place to ski. The mechanic likes to ski blue groomers...

Today's Weather: A 20 percent chance of snow showers. Mostly cloudy and cold, with a temperature rising to near 5 by noon, then falling to around -4 during the remainder of the day. Wind chill values as low as -18. West wind between 5 and 7 mph.

Mad River Glen picked up another foot last night.

Hi Fuj.  Thanks for the updates.  I am heading to SLC on Thursday night and my crew was planning on hitting PM on Friday.  Sounds like we may want to rethink that plan of attack.  Have you heard anything about Snowbasin?  We are staying in downtown SLC so we may stick with the wasatch areas since it seems they have been getting hammered with snow.

Have you been able to get to the bus serviced slackcountry at all or has it been closed the whole time?  How bout the cat skiing?

Good luck man hope you get at least one sweet day.

D

More snow today. Seems like we've been getting maybe 2-3" per day.
We hit the cat skiing today (we grabbed a guide to take us there for $25, not a bad deal at all). There was some Awesome snow, but I think we found some more that beats it. Everything Northeast facing was sheltered from the sun and 38 degree weather on Friday so the snow in there is still amazing.

Powder country hasn't been open the whole time we were there. The guide told us that it was 40 degrees in the shade over there so it got REAL crusty.

I heard Snowbasin is a lot better than PM. I was getting real nervous that what we found on day 1 was the best that it was going to get. Day 2 we found some better stuff, and today we ventured off even more. There were probably 60-80 cars in he parking lot all day. We would probably only see 3 people per run, so if you're looking for no crowds and small lift lines head over to PM (Small lift lines could also have to do with temps around 0 and crusty snow).

I say if you get good snow while you're out here, stay at Snowbasin because the terrain is a little better. Once it starts to get beat up, head over to PM and ski Powder Country because it will have good snow on it for probably a week.

There is some good terrain at PM, but it takes a bit of work to get to. I'd say the hike to Cobabe Canyon from the top of the Sunrise poma isn't really worth it. If you wanna find some good, untracked snow (and Powder Country isn't open), Head over to Sanctuary, follow the ski tracks down the ridge, and take it just about as far down as you can. off to the right side there is some really steep terrain that fairly quickly mellows out a bit, but that's where the snow was best for us. It's probably a whole different ball game once the entire mountain hasn't been baking in the sun.

TR to come after dinner (Not many pics), POV edit will be uploaded in the morning as per usual.

Tomorrow is gonna be hectic. We have to be in SLC by 6 to return the demoed skis, with traffic that's going to take around 2 hours. We have to be out of the Condo by 11:00 AM, so no coming back here to shower after skiing. Our flight doesn't leave until 12:50 am, we have a 3 hour layover in Atlanta, then we fly into the Nor'easter in Albany, given our flight doesn't get cancelled.

Jamesdeluxe wrote

You booked and paid for several days at PM in advance? Isn't PM a place for which you traditionally wait until the last minute when you get a favorable snow report? It's the only Utah ski area I've never visited, not due to a lack of desire, but every time I want to go, I turn left into Snowbasin instead of continuing to PM.

I <3 Pow Mow, but I wouldn't spend a whole Utah trip there. The terrain and quantity of snow at the Cottonwood resorts is the main attraction for me. But when the crowds of Alta, and Snowbird have tracked out all the fresh snow, you can usually find fresh snow at Powder Mountain. The elevation is lower than most of the other Utah resorts so snow quality could suffer after some time. There is so much terrain there to explore. Cobabe Canyon is a haul, but usually worth it for fresh snow because of this. Powder Mountain is one of those places you go to when you have a full week in Utah and want a change of scenery and more fresh snow with a totally different kind of terrain thank you'll find at any of the other resorts, though I think it most resembles Solitude, only much more acreage.

So, we didn't bother getting up and out too early  today. The weather said it was going to be nice and cold, with some breeze.

We got up to the mountain around 9:45, got suited up, and headed over to the yurt to inquire about the snow cat tours. While we were in there, one of the guides talked to us a bit about where to go off the cat to find good snow. Another guide overheard and agreed that he would take us on a single run tour to show us the goods, priced at $25. Normally it was $25/person, but it was a slow day. He was trying to sell full day tours and wasn't getting any bites. He told us to take a short run and come back in. We got to the bottom and he was waiting for us.

We took the cat up, maybe a 10 minute ride, and quickly headed for the traverse. It wasn't too long, but the guide was moving pretty quick. The stuff we skied had some great snow that was sheltered from the sun, and was probably the pitch of Lies. There wasn't a whole lot of vertical before we traversed over again, which for some reason, killed our legs. The second pitch was just as good, if not better than the first. On the map, we skied Lumber Yard but hooked over to the open face between that and Hook Left.

The face that Skimore posted. Here's the line we took with the guide.





On the lift ride up, the guide pointed out a few spots where the snow tends to be sheltered. Most of which we have looked at but never actually skied. We lapped one of them (Powder Chamber) and it was pretty crusty.

The Pitch between Paradise Lift and the Hidden Lake Lift had some decent snow on the upper part, maybe 8" of fresh, and then got crusty towards the bottom.

 We headed down to the lodge around noon for a long lunch by the fire then headed back out towards Sanctuary, dropped in low and skied Proving Grounds again. It was still really nice, but I though way too much vertical was lost by traversing. I looked uphill and saw some nice, untracked snow.

At that point, it started nuking snow. I was pretty happy. It was still coming down hard when we left the mountain, but it looks like it has cleared up a bit. Oh well.


We lapped back over there, but hiked the traverse pretty much to the end of the ridge. Luckily the snow was firm enough to bootpack it. Keeping the skis on was getting tiring. Over here we found the steepest/best snow that we didn't have to take a cat to. The wind cornice was probably a 45ish degree pitch at the top with easily two feet of soft snow. It emptied out into some moderate-low pitch stuff but it still had amazing snow.









We tried to catch it again for our last run, but patrol was waiting by a closed sign for the run into Cobabe canyon, and said they were sweeping it. The trail maps say the paradise lift closes at 4:00, but Patrol said it was 3:30. We took a groomer to the Hidden Lake lift, took that up and rode a nice cold cruiser to the lodge.

The road back home was pretty slippery. The people at enterprise insisted we would be fine without snows, but we sure could have used them today. Hopefully we'll be good to go up in the morning. If not, you can park down in the Town of Eden and ride the Shuttle up.

Combined POV edit from today and tomorrow will be up either tomorrow night or Weds morning. WAY too tired to do it now and I still have to pack. Maybe I'll sleep now and pack later.

fujative wrote

 The stuff we skied had some great snow that was sheltered from the sun, and was probably the pitch of Lies. There wasn't a whole lot of vertical before we traversed over again, which for some reason, killed our legs. The second pitch was just as good, if not better than the first. On the map, we skied Lumber Yard but hooked over to the open face between that and Hook Left.

You didn't need the guide. That google map had you right there

Danzilla wrote

I am heading to SLC on Thursday night and my crew was planning on hitting PM on Friday.  Sounds like we may want to rethink that plan of attack.  Have you heard anything about Snowbasin?  We are staying in downtown SLC so we may stick with the wasatch areas since it seems they have been getting hammered with snow.

Danzilla ... and anyone planning on skiing the Wasatch soon ... keep your eyes on the FTO Western Forum:

http://www.firsttracksonline.com/boards/viewforum.php?f=3

It is the go to source for Utah ski information.

Here's yesterday's report from Snowbasin:

http://www.firsttracksonline.com/boards/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=9335

Got to say to Fuje and anyone else who skies out west and post pictures and TR here ... really appreciate it.  

I will eventually get to Utah, and I'm learning a lot. Others may be as well.

skimore wrote

You didn't need the guide. That google map had you right there

I knew the general area we were going, but I would have completely missed the traverse and probably skied the whole way down.

number one lesson..rent a car!!!
unless you are at Whistler where there are no other options  , one needs the ability to be flexible...

I have 7 more years before most places will rent me a car.
And no money!

TR and POV edit postponed again. I need sleep, and I won't be in my bed, or one at all for that matter, for another 13 hours. Really hoping that my flight doesn't get cancelled/delayed.

**EDIT
Yup, delayed. It was supposed to leave 10 mins ago, now our next guaranteed flight is 9:05 tomorrow night. This BLOWS.

you should hope you can make it back...could be some epic skiing

ANOTHER UPDATE MAINLY TO INCREASE AMOUNTS ACROSS EASTERN PORTIONS
OF GREATER CAPITAL DISTRICT...TACONICS...WESTERN NEW ENGLAND AND
ALL OF DUTCHESS COUNTY. IN THESE AREAS EXPECT TOTAL SNOWFALL
ACCUMULATIONS OF 10 TO 30 INCHES WITH THE HIGHEST ACCUMULATIONS
FROM WINDHAM COUNTY VERMONT SOUTH THROUGH THE
BERKSHIRES...LITCHFIELD HILLS AND SOUTHERN AND CENTRAL TACONICS.
THESE AREAS CAN EXPECT AT LEAST ANOTHER FEW HOURS OF 3 INCH PER
HOUR TO PERHAPS 4 INCH AN HOUR AMOUNTS.