Archive for the '14 Pictorials' Category

Cold Fusion

Published on April 15, 2012 by a ok.

Mount Timpanogos's Cold Fusion couloir (the continuous line of snow extending from the summit down to the looker's right) occupies a fine spot on a beautiful piece of real estate.

Well, we didn’t ski it from the top (a perfect excuse to return!), but we did ski it in positively blower Utah conditions. This was no less than a snorkel meter 2 event, for the record. Timpanogos’ Cold Fusion was as close to heaven as Utah offered up on Saturday. With a text from Jim Knight the evening before, I knew only that a few people had signed on, and where and when to meet (Pine Hollow, 6 am). Arriving a full hour late intending to catch up to the group, I pulled in to see several folks milling about. I might have recognized Jim’s van if my head weren’t in the clouds. As it was, at the Continue reading ‘Cold Fusion’

Located in 03 Adventures, 14 Pictorials and Wasatch 8 Comments Tags: , , , , .

A Few Scenes From the Day

Published on April 5, 2012 by a ok.

Drank in some excellent scenery today whilst traveling solo. I’ll post up a few pics before I write about what was on my mind throughout the day (in coming days). As for the turns? Teeth chatteringly bulletproof on every aspect I visited (every one?). Except that I didn’t get any tooth chatter because I was doing my best impression of a mouth breathing valley girl during each descent. Beautiful.

Waterfalls mean it's hot out there. Pretty nonetheless.

Balancing summit.

This tree was something else. It had grown around this large rock, and sometime along the way, presumably got struck by lightning. It's really thin at the burned out section, but still supporting the weight of the full tree above.

Anyone know the name of this peak? (I don't, either)

And then the sun was setting, lighting up the space beneath those grey clouds...

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Drowning in Powder

Published on February 29, 2012 by a ok.

Get inside the powder cloud with Swain. Yes.

Yesterday was one of those days where it felt good to be an integral part of the much maligned 5%. You know, Occupy Wall Street, the 1%, the 99%, all that? Except here in Utah, the labeling generally includes a slightly wider swath. Such that we’ve got what’s known as the 5%.

5% water content snow. For those who haven’t tasted this particular flavor of champagne Continue reading ‘Drowning in Powder’

Located in 03 Adventures, 14 Pictorials and Wasatch 0 Comments Tags: , , , .

The Environs of Box Elder

Published on February 27, 2012 by a ok.

Oh Box Elder. If only you were this good to us today...

Super variable conditions out there today. Doesn’t matter. I’ve had my week of luscious powder, now I’m (mostly) just happy there’s snow on the ground.

Funny thing happened today. Headed out with Swain and Borro. Miles into the approach, I said nonchalantly to Swain, ‘this is a prime example of Wasatch crowding.’ No tracks, no one around for miles except the three of us. He laughed, we moved Continue reading ‘The Environs of Box Elder’

Located in 03 Adventures, 14 Pictorials and Wasatch 0 Comments Tags: , , , , , .

Taking a Look at Ski Innards

Published on February 17, 2012 by a ok.

If you’ve ever wondered what the latest breed of lightweight skis looks like on the inside, your curiosity can now be satiated. With a variety of manufacturers offering their incarnations on the lightweight theme, different terms have popped up to describe the interior construction methodologies at play.

One company may refer to it as a multilayer, Woodcore Superlight ski, another might refer to stringers, whilst another can choose a term such as Air Channels to describe the guts of a pair of planks. Ultimately – the variety of terms ignored – the lighter a pair of skis, the less material there is to absorb your skiing abuse. So much so that the interior might just have some hollow bits, and be arranged to take advantage of I-beam style construction.

Like skiing on a half dozen skinny I-beams made of light wood, plus two 'squares' on the outer edges.

The tip and tail sections merge down into solid, albeit thin, wood.

A lot of dried adhesive is visible; this holds the ski base material in place.

Since I’ve never peeled off Continue reading ‘Taking a Look at Ski Innards’

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Mad Pow Disease

Published on February 16, 2012 by a ok.

When the bounty lands, someone has got to get out there and make sure it’s as bountiful as all that. I twisted Jason Borro’s arm until my idea of fresh, untracked powder, zero crowds, and occasional sunshine sunk in as being far better than arm twisting. An empty trailhead, a few bridge crossings, and a few miles of trail-makin’ put us in position to take the temperature on our mad pow disease. About a million untouched acres surrounded us. The big decision of the day was who would go first on each descent. Not a tough choice..

J-Bo throwing in a change of direction.

The cure for mad pow disease = plenty of snow. We found some forest that was up to par.

Cold, light, untracked gunsmoke. We became sensationally Continue reading ‘Mad Pow Disease’

Located in 03 Adventures, 14 Pictorials and Wasatch 2 Comments Tags: , , , , , .