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Utah Little Cottonwood Canyon 2018-2019, Reports, Pics, and Banter

Jim Kenney

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Snowbird 3/14/19, afternoon. I guess I got there after the visibility deteriorated. It was tough going high on the Gad Valley side. But I found some fun in various places. The snow is super deep all over. I've been told this is the biggest snow year in Utah since 2011.
There's about a foot of new snow on that light pole at parknride at base of LCC at noon.

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Sportin' my new Pret Cirque X helmet on the Gadzoom lift. Now I need new goggles. Any suggestions on some that are compatible with Pret?
Pea soup conditions behind me.
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Tried my son's Volkl Two skis today, 186cm long, 124mm wide. I had a tough time with them on bumpy groomers, but they were nice in deep snow.
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I tested them at Baby Thunder area :) but the snow was deep there, 2.5' deep in many places. DSCN9779.jpg View from mid-gad chair looking up at Big Emma.
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Guy in yellow is doing a 6-8' huck beside mid-gad chair.
DSCN9787.jpg Took the lower Baldy traverse from the Peruvian Chair, great snow in there, this is looking up at Cirque.
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Saw my first Utah porcupine (big fat guy) near the observation deck beside race hill above Creekside base.
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He was in the area in the center of this photo.
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Meanwhile down in Salt Lake City it was a beautiful sunny afternoon. This was taken about 4 PM. I used UTA for the first time. It was packed and I was last guy on at Creekside for trip down. DSCN9810.jpg Lot of snow in Utah right now, even down here in this view from Cottonwood Heights. Downtown SLC is to left, far background.
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Wasatchman

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I am going to try to take the bus up LCC and ski Bird this PM.
Blackke and Tony, u guys are tuff mudders.

@blackke17 and @Tony are tough mudders indeed!

Yesterday, Brighton wasn't nearly as fun as I thought it would be. High winds and what was underneath the 5 or 6 inches of fresh was a nasty refrozen layer. The low angle stuff in the morning was fun, but hitting bottom on the higher angle stuff was not that fun for me. I encountered that refrozen bottom even in the trees. Add in the cold, high winds and I decided to call it a day at lunchtime when my neck gaiter was frozen stiff even though the fun low angle runs were starting to refill.
 
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jmills115

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@blackke17 and @Tony are tough mudders indeed!

Yesterday, Brighton wasn't nearly as fun as I thought it would be. High winds and what was underneath the 5 or 6 inches of fresh was a nasty refrozen layer. The low angle stuff in the morning was fun, but hitting bottom on the higher angle stuff was not that fun for me. I encountered that refrozen bottom even in the trees. Add in the cold, high winds and I decided to call it a day at lunchtime when my neck gaiter was frozen stiff even though the fun low angle runs were starting to refill.

It was challenging yesterday with a run being soft fluff to frozen and back to soft within 7-8 turns.
 

Johnny V.

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Yesterday, Brighton wasn't nearly as fun as I thought it would be. High winds and what was underneath the 5 or 6 inches of fresh was a nasty refrozen layer. The low angle stuff in the morning was fun, but hitting bottom on the higher angle stuff was not that fun for me. I encountered that refrozen bottom even in the trees. Add in the cold, high winds and I decided to call it a day at lunchtime when my neck gaiter was frozen stiff even though the fun low angle runs were starting to refill.

Like I said in my post I stuck it out until 2:30 or so. Fortunately the wind was at my back going up the chair but as soon as you got off you got blasted. I probably won't see snow like that again until next year, so it was worth it hang in.
 

Daniel

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Lot of snow in Utah right now, even down here in this view from Cottonwood Heights. Downtown SLC is to left, far background.
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Wow, we must be neighbors! It looks like that photo may have been taken from just below and west of the Enchanted Hills neighborhood.
 

Tony

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I think I have to agree with LCC restaurant employee I rode Gadzoom with in early PM (and who had to spend last night there) that today may have been best day of the year there with deep and dry snow and all lifts spinning by 1 PM. Even my SUV was smiling.
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I told Tony Crocker early that if I could get 10 runs like our first Little Cloud lap, I would be happy. I ended up with 12, including getting a lot of face shots in Great Scott not long after Cirque ropes dropped, then had 4 laps on Peruvian, which surprisingly after recent history opened early although visibility nearly everywhere was bad by mid-morning.

I quit with over 20K vertical at 1:30 and, after packing, loading and spending about 5 minutes clearing snow on, next to and behind SUV, I was on road at 2:30. I had big smile most of the way across NV. My SUV still had some snow in roof rack at Bonneville rest stop. I’m now in So Tahoe where I need to checkout cabin after all the snow and my nephew was here celebrating his birthday a couple of weeks ago.
 
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Jim Kenney

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3/15/19 Super beautiful day at Snowbird today. Saw more blue sky today than any other day in the last two weeks.
Got into Road to Provo area for some nice leftovers:
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The Book Ends area of Mineral Basin was closed in the PM due to some slides above the traverse.
DSCN1827.jpg Never seen Mineral Basin so empty on such a beautiful day.
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Looking down at the base of the Baldy Chair.
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Took a late day run down Great Scott with a bunch of snowboarders.
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Tomorrow should be more of the same, mild temps and gorgeous sunshine with plenty of snow laying around.
 

firebanex

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I've never been to Snowbird before and the wife and I will be there the first week of April for the NSP Powderfall event. We will be there from the 30th-6th to ski. what should we expect for conditions and got any suggestions on particular runs to ski? I am comfortable skiing pretty much anything and my wife is somewhere around an advanced intermediate "a 6 with the confidence of a 2" is how she describes herself this year. She would prefer mostly groomer laps with some experiments into off piste as long as getting back to the groomed isn't too far off.

I'll be bringing my Fischer Ranger 102s and she was planning on her Nordica Santa Ana 93s, we do have space for her Icelantic Maiden 111s if there is a chance for deeper snow. Opinions?
 

dbostedo

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...She would prefer mostly groomer laps with some experiments into off piste as long as getting back to the groomed isn't too far off...

As an intermediate myself, I can't recommend too much of the more difficult stuff. But if the off-piste is soft, your wife should LOVE Mineral Basin, especially off the Baldy chair. Easy to ski off-piste along, or between groomers and relatively low angle for most of it. The other side of mineral basin is similar, but with steeper pitches and less groomers. A great area.

I'd also recommend the groomers in the Gad 2 lift area. And I liked Mark Malu Fork and Regulator Johnson off Little Cloud. (Though some don't like Regulator, as it's just a big steep groomer that's often wind blown/scraped.)
 

RJS

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Yesterday might have been the most beautiful day of skiing in my life. Little Cottonwood Canyon is so majestic beneath clear blue skies. I don't know which have better views: Jackson Hole or Alta/Snowbird. They're all stunning!

From Snowbird, looking out towards the Valley.


Looking out over Mary Ellen Gulch towards Mount Timpanogos. Mount Timpanogos might just be the crown jewel of the Wasatch, what a thing of beauty. I had a couple of the best runs of my life in the far area of Bookends. I made the mistake of not getting in the line of people waiting to ski Road to Provo to ski the Bookends one more time, and just as I was on my way over Patrol closed it for the day for avalanche danger.


Getting leftovers off the Knucklehead Traverse. I went almost as far as you could go and I still got some fresh powder, but it was a very short shot for all of the traversing that I did, but that's fine. It's amazing how many people drop off the traverse before the good stuff!


Finally, the Devil's Castle area at Alta.


What a day! You folks who live near the Cottonwoods are very fortunate :cool:!
 

sbooker

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I've never been to Snowbird before and the wife and I will be there the first week of April for the NSP Powderfall event. We will be there from the 30th-6th to ski. what should we expect for conditions and got any suggestions on particular runs to ski? I am comfortable skiing pretty much anything and my wife is somewhere around an advanced intermediate "a 6 with the confidence of a 2" is how she describes herself this year. She would prefer mostly groomer laps with some experiments into off piste as long as getting back to the groomed isn't too far off.

I'll be bringing my Fischer Ranger 102s and she was planning on her Nordica Santa Ana 93s, we do have space for her Icelantic Maiden 111s if there is a chance for deeper snow. Opinions?

Can’t get a day or two in at Alta? It may suit your wife a little more and I’ll guarantee you’ll have a blast too.
 
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firebanex

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Can’t get a day or two in at Alta? It may suit your wife a little more and I’ll guarantee you’ll have a blast too.
We definitely thought about it, but the nature of the event we are attending and how everything was booked means that we already have tickets for Snowbird for every day we are there.

I appreciate the responses from you guys, it has helped! My wife is understandably more worried about being able to ski there than I am and giving her a list of places that she can ski definitely eases her stress level.
 

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