7 Summits Presentation

Published on May 16, 2012 by a ok.

Check out a compelling story at Black Diamond’s Salt Lake City based retail store Thursday night, May 17th, at 7 p.m. as Johnny Collinson recounts his successful efforts to summit the highest point on each continent. Not just another hardman or hardwoman ‘7 Summits’ presentation, this story will present the journey through the eyes of a kid. See, Johnny started very young, and nabbed the last of the 7 summits by the age of 17. Surely there will be something to be learned about achieving a higher level of determination and focus than average.

As for backstory, the Collinson family has been based out of Snowbird, Utah where Johnny’s dad has been on the Snowbird patrol and helping lead snow safety efforts since the 80’s. When the snow melted, the family headed out in a van to climb on distant peaks. Summer and winter, these folks were in the mountains..

In an age where electronics just might be keeping average kids from experiencing any sort of deep relationship with the outdoors personally – other than through YouTube videos – it’s bound to be a more inspiring story than average.

Admission is free. Shopping at Black Diamond is not.

Located in 11 Perspective, 12 Random and Wasatch 0 Comments Tags: , .

Pinball Alley (and Friends)

Published on May 14, 2012 by a ok.

Pinball Alley. Not a very wide alley.

Landed a decent photo of Pinball Alley when I was on Cardiff Peak with J-Bo last week, and it looked continuous upon inspection. Why wait? The days aren’t getting any shorter or colder. I proferred ski options during the invite process. Jason offered his own, suggesting ‘continuous pow.’ Hmm. Presuming that he preferred to avoid using the lengthy shoelaces for a descent, we agreed easily upon Mount Superior’s Pinball. It was a good choice, even if it didn’t offer either of his chosen descriptors.

We met up at the Park n Ride at 7am, and, following a quick drive up the canyon, were quickly in position to ascend. We agreed that booting looked favorable, and left skins in the auto. Some mixed walking – snow, then talus, then snow again – found us at the base of the couloir in short order. We donned crampons, pulled out ice axes, and began to ascend. Because there are shadows cast on the looker’s left half of the line, we found that snow to be quite firm. The snow on the right half was soft corn. Sticking Continue reading ‘Pinball Alley (and Friends)’

Located in 03 Adventures, Going Light(er) Fast(er) Far(ther) and Wasatch 6 Comments Tags: , , , , , .

Sugarloaf East Face

Published on May 14, 2012 by a ok.

Sugarloaf's East face.

Ever since a very snow-sparse adventure ski outing with Andy early in the 2010/2011 ski season, in which we both looked down Sugarloaf’s East face from the summit and wondered if the line were continuous, I’ve had my eye on returning to ski it. (Fortunately, we correctly guessed that it was not continuous, an obvious fact to Alta regulars) Once we skied around to a different vantage point, the sweetness of the line was a little more apparent, as was the need for a little ropework.

It’s been over a year and a half, but the stars finally aligned to enable a descent. It might not have taken so long, but Continue reading ‘Sugarloaf East Face’

Located in 03 Adventures and Wasatch 2 Comments Tags: , , , , , .

North Face Cardiff Peak

Published on May 10, 2012 by a ok.

Virtually every backcountry skier in the Wasatch passes across the north face of Cardiff Peak at one point or another. It’s the most direct route to Wasatch gems such as Mt. Superior, the Cardiac Ridge, Monte Cristo, and a host of other prime real estate. However, with substantial cliffs bisecting the upper face from the lower, most users don’t travel down the northern fall line from the summit.

Chute the Moon? Whoops, that's the name of a Jackson Hole ski descent...

Since I subscribe to the deeply religious philosophy of, ‘let not that slope go unskied which can be joined by a rope,’ it seemed high time to visit the terrain. The text to Jason Borro read: Short, sweet, steep, with a rappel. 45 min approach. Rarely done if ever. Tomorrow a.m. You in? Some time later I received a three letter, one word answer, rather than a paragraph of demurring explanations. That’s just what I hoped for. It was Continue reading ‘North Face Cardiff Peak’

Located in 03 Adventures and Wasatch 2 Comments Tags: , , , , , , , .

The Parallel Trail

Published on May 9, 2012 by a ok.

The text read something like, ‘You just skied the Middle so I’m not too worried about pushing your limits (on the Parallel Trail).’ Despite the prior day’s skiing, I was a bit apprehensive about taking up Michelle Good’s offer to join in on getting my blazing downhill on. I barely rode a mountain bike last ‘season,’ partly because I was skiing into August, partly for other reasons.

Still, a Spring visit to Jackson offers outdoor opportunity aplenty in every mountain discipline, so who am I to turn down a downhilling invite? As we’d discussed the wee possibility that I might possibly maybe consider almost thinking about joining in before I left SLC, I’d packed a box full of beetle style armor.

What could I be thinking? There's snow in the mountains. Right there. At this point, I was probably thinking about the incredible mix of bikes on the truck. It's not often that one sees a freestyle bike, a hard tail 29'er, and a full-on DH bike on the same rack.

As we nailed down the final plans, I looked at the diminutive Continue reading ‘The Parallel Trail’

Located in 03 Adventures and Tetons 0 Comments Tags: , , , , .

Southwest Couloir Middle Teton

Published on May 8, 2012 by a ok.

Yogg on the Middle Teton summit, with a view of Disappointment Peak below and the Large Teton behind.

After going zero for four on interesting ski descent attempts in the Wasatch in recent weeks, going somewhere else seemed like a no-brainer. Deciding to head to the Tetons took about .5 seconds. Deciding what to ski took longer; any ski mountaineer who has visited the Teton Range knows that there is a lifetime of interesting, challenging, and engaging ski descents to choose from in this single range.

As it’s late in the season in a lackluster snow year, going up high made the most sense. Topping out at 12,804 feet, the Middle Teton offers altitude. I hoped it also offered decent snow. With light snow having fallen in recent days, Continue reading ‘Southwest Couloir Middle Teton’

Located in 03 Adventures and Tetons 4 Comments Tags: , , , , .