PHOTO RECAP: The 2009 You-Just-Got-Wasatched Trip!

Day 1: Things were looking mighty sunny when we arrived in SLC. But that didn't deter Kirk, Erica and I from gettin' out the first day on "God's Lawn Mower" to warm up the BC Legs:

Another typical one-eyed aspen monster of the Wasatch Range:

Erica makes the best out of a 10 day high pressure system and zipper crust. Still a good start to the week!

The BC ski ended in a stream crossing....a narrow log. I went first... Kirk successfully makes it!

Erica lines up for the crossing, being the last to cross the stream!

And takes a cold dunk in the frigid winter waters :)

Day 2: Greeny and Erik arrived on Wednesday night and the energy began to build. We decided to head for Wolverine Cirque, land of the steep chutes! We still had good stability and visibility in the BC, so steep coolies seemed like a good idea. We all warmed up on "Granny Couloir", a mellow 38 degree chute, wide and cruisy! Hils warms up the legs by gettin' low in Granny!

Erik comes out hot, first day on Teles!

Greeny Machs out of Granny....

Greeny contemplates another tasty couloir!

Seth boots up Granny, gearing up for "Bombay", a steeper, more technical pitch with Greeny and I:

Seth precariously slides into "Bombay", trying not to fall and cascade off the 60 foot cliff bands below. We all make it unscathed....

Day 3: Natkin, Lisa, Matt, & Liz arrive the previous evening. 12 visitors are now staying at Seth and Hils place. It is on! Alta reports 7 inches on Friday morning so we head to the resort and enjoy some really good skiing on sierra type pow. The crew reunites in the parking lot where beers are enjoyed and Escalades pimped by Greeny:


Day 4: We all head out to Big Cottonwood Canyon for the Super Sierra Tour. It's hovering around 32 degrees and pounding all day. Regardless, the skiing was great, and the crew hung tough. The congo-line of skinners was a sight in itself:


Natkin pulled out all the stops and was raging some nice looking Tele-turns!


Matty, Kirk, & Seth were all getting some deep shots up top!



We all got a little loose for Hilary's birthday! Most of the ski crew were fairly useless at the party....we were damaged goods from 4 days of getting Wasatched! In addition, it was hammering at Alta, and there was more skiing to be done on Sunday!

Day 5: The Last day in Utah would not disappoint! In the 4 days from Thur-Sunday, Alta received 4", 6", 16", & 19" of new snow respectively! We were in for a treat! The canyon traffic was a junk show, but we all arrived early enough to enjoy freshies. The morning was great and we sessioned the High-T and hit Supreme just right before it closed. We all headed in for lunch around 1pm as Collins had shut down due to a power loss. We were bummed. After lunch, Erik barfed up his coffee drink and we all took care of our "intestinal" issues. While walking out of the lodge, we noticed the wheels beginning to spin on the Collins lift! It had probably snowed another 3-4 inches while were eating lunch, so we knew it would be a good afternoon. Plus, most folks had headed down at 3pm because the canyon was closing and Collins had shut down. But Collins reopened! We hammered the High-T for the rest of the afternoon and received some of the deepest Pow shots of the ski season. WARNING: The following images from the afternoon of January 25th may cause dizziness, erections, and willingness to ditch work to go skiing this week:

Greeny was the Starlet of the afternoon, getting the best photo shots of the group and finishing his last run in Utah with a beefy 30 foot drop (I egged him on to air it out for the camera). Greeny is still a pleasure to ski with, and impressive considering he has Cooper and another bun in the oven!:



Erica puts the throttle down!

Balsbaugh rocks some East Coast style at Alta!


Kirk, throwin' down all week long despite the fact he had a cracked rib, spends all day working on boats, and has skied little since leaving Jackson:



All in all, one of the best ski trips I have taken in a while. It was great to reunite with everyone and ski it up! Seth and Hilary were amazing hosts considering we pretty much dominated their house for 5 days. Hope we can do this again next year!! Cheers, TK!

A Nice Welcome Home Present!

No, not the giant poo that Cooper had waiting for me early this morning...no, no this is of the white variety. 8-16" of white stuff suppose to fall from the sky between midnight tonight and midnight tomorrow night. The snow gods are finally being nice to me!!

Thanks for the pics Hils and a big thanks to both you and Seth for hosting and putting up with us taking over your house for a week. Psyched we could make it work...next year I think it will be the Keatings call where we head (so long as it is extremely budget conscious).

So much fun!

Thanks everyone for coming to Utah for the weekend! Seth and I had a blast, and were really happy to have you all at our home. Your gifts and presence were grately appreciated. We missed you, Quinn and Chrissy. Where are we going next year?

Post-skiing parking lot beers.Salt Lake City from Alta. Finally visible now that the snow cleared out the smog.

Skiing in Utah!

Hi guys-
So, just wanted to start getting excited wtih you all about this up-coming trip to our house in SLC. The snow has been deep, and Alta's base is almost up to 100", but the avy conditions are still pretty sketchy, so we'll have to work around that.

I would really like to know when each of you are coming in and leaving. Please provide flight numbers and arrival/departure times. Also, Tyler and I were talking the other day, and I think it would be good for everyone coming by plane to chip in and rent a 4 wheel drive car to get up the canyons. We just have the truck, which can uncomfortably seat 4-5, and then the Eurovan, which would be fine, but doesn't have 4 wheel drive. So, unless anyone is driving (is Matt or Tim?) I think it would be good to rent another vehicle.

We are in the process of redoing the room in the basement, so that should now sleep three people comfortably (and no mice now!) And then we have the sofabed in the living room, and the other bedroom upstairs. Start fighting amongst yourselves for sleeping arrangements!

Also, I think we are going to have a big old party on Saturday night, the 24th (as yours truly is turning 30 on that Monday). So, prepare yourselfs for some SLC debauchery.

Please be in touch with details of your plans. Also, can someone provide a complete list of who is coming?

-Hils

Blizzard of Ahhhhhs - 08-09 NorthWest/Jackson Trips

After recovering from a brutal cold, my buddy Adam and I loaded up the Subaru and hammered for Jackson. The early start proved critical as snow was moving into western Wyoming the afternoon of December 19th. The shabby base at J-hole was questionable at best when we arrived, but a series of storms pounded the region until our departure on December 25th. 6 days of getting my ass pounded by Jackson took its toll on my body, but there was more skiing to do on this break. Linked up with Matty Heyliger for some backcountry skiing on the pass, we weren't disappointed. In the end, it was difficult to drive out of town Christmas day with 18" on the ground and snowing hard. The worst of it came on I-80 on the way home when a 50+mph gust blew the ski box OFF THE SUBY!! I slammed the breaks and hucked myself onto the highway to retrieve poles, skis, and various sleeping gear. A near miss with a Semi and we were back on our way to Denver.
Got home, unpacked, repacked, and flew to Seattle on the morning of the 26th. Spent time with Erica and the Family for a couple days then rendezvoused with Pete Girard and Dave Riss....and the Northwest slay-fest commenced. Snow was being measured in feet in the Cascades last week, not inches. Avalanche danger was High to Extreme so very little BC skiing went down. Didn't matter, there was plenty of freshies to be had inbounds. Dave claimed he was washed up, but he didn't appeared to be phased by Med school, at all. Maybe because he was a Division I downhill racer?? We had a great time hanging out in Leavenworth, WA (Bavarian town by nature) at my buddy Jake's house, and I consumed a lot of coffee in Seattle, WA. Caught a 24" day at Crystal last Friday....some of the best skiing of the break!! The cliff dropping was amazing in the heavier snow...stompy!
Flew back on Sunday night, and after a four hour delay, got back to my house at 415am, took a nap, woke up at 6am and went to work.... 10 days of skiing, worked body, no sleep before my first day back.....Powda' skiing with friends, Priceless!!!

Here's a Photo Album of the Trip in Chronological Order, Enjoy!!

Welcome to Jackson after a 9 hour drive.....

Lovin' the Cowboy Powder on the Pass!

Nothing like some Natkin Tele-Steez:

Natkin and I rest on the uphill with the dogs:

Matty H. gettin' some on the Pass:

Jolly Tim on Christmas Eve in Jackson:

Another small air at Crystal:

Some Massachusetts style right here:

Hangin' with the ultimate Mogul Skier:

Pete getting smothered at Crystal:

This guy is extreme....

Riss, Scoping another steep Pillow Line:

You can ski steep stuff in the PNW without all the light snow sluffing off:

Dave gets Extreme at Steven's Pass:

Arriving at Crystal with 24" new...it's on!!!

Erica gets deep at Crystal!

Chair 6 opens and it's a free for all!! Check out the Sluff sldes...

Erica finishing the afternoon at Crystal with style:

Anybody up for some Dick Burgers???

Riss and Pete get fully Metro in Seattle: