Thanks for a great season! April 12th, and still snowing in the Wasatch

From all the guides here at the Backtracks Program, thanks to all for a great season!  We had some great skiing this winter, and we are already looking forward to next year.  Have a great summer!

We finally got the stars to align for the first descent into Wolverine Cirque of the season.  For those who don’t know the Cirque is the mythical land of Warren Miller and TGR lore located in the Solitude backcountry.  The stability was good, the group was solid, and the skiing was epic!

The group makes its way up to Wolverine Cirque

Lief lays into a turn in the Granny Chute

The group ascends into the clouds on Patsey Marley peak

We have had excellent skiing condions the last week or so, and have had several great tours.  We are finally into the mid-winter season, where the skiing is awesome and the snow stability and weather are good.  We are beginning to venture into the bigger terrain, and have found some awesome turns.

Great turns down the upper bowl of Patsey Marley

Caleb went out today and took Dave up Fantasy Ridge and out to Silverfork. Congrats to Dave for his first climb up Fantasy, and our first Fantasy ascent of the season. They found decent skiing in Silverfork, and ended the day with another circut out in the Twin Lakes drainage. Caleb reported excellent skiing on Figure 8 hill, which was low enough to miss our last wind event and stay soft and creamy. Looks like our high pressure is finally going to break down by the end of the week, and the door should be open to get some storms.

Knowledge is safety. This statement has never rang more true than when it is applied to avalanche awareness. Heading outside of ski resort boundaries and into the backcountry without proper avalanche training and/or education is like playing football without a helmet – it just isn’t safe.

So how do you acquire this knowledge? And how do you prepare yourself for the risks that are associated with the epic rewards of the backcountry? The very simple and introductory answer is to know before you go.

Back Track’s Avalanche Awareness Course serves as the perfect way to know before you go. Taught by members of Solitude’s Professional Ski Patrol, the Avalanche Awareness Course teaches you how to travel safely and responsibly outside resort boundaries.

Subjects discussed and put into practice include avalanche rescue skills, identifying avalanche terrain, analyzing snow and weather factors and managing group dynamics. Not to mention you get to make turns in the world-renowned backcountry of the Wasatch Mountains!

Here’s a quick test to see if you should take the Avalanche Awareness Course. If you cannot correctly and completely answer each one of these questions, consider yourself in need of some avalanche knowledge.

-Between what angles of slope do the majority of avalanches occur?

-What avalanche safety gear should every backcountry enthusiast carry with them?

-What kind of weather is the most common cause of avalanches?

-What are three warnings signs of avalanches?

-How long do you have to locate and dig out your companion before their chance of survival drastically decreases?

Knowledge is power. And in the case of avalanches, power is the difference between life and death. Give yourself the upper hand by taking the Avalanche Awareness Course.

We  had several great trips over the last week, with great powder skiing from the New Year’s storm.  Looks like nice sunny weather this week, stability is improving and we are getting into the bigger terrain.  Here are a few pictures from a New Year’s eve powder day last week.

The group discusses avalanche terrain looking into the Solitude Backcountry

We had a great time at our first ever Avalanche Awareness course last weekend.  Don, Rick, Joe, Sheryl, and Phillip joined Caleb and I for two days of avalanche education and ski touring.  On Saturday I gave a powerpoint presentation about the basics of avalanches and then it was off up the mountain to practice rescue techniques and dig a few profiles to see the current layering of the mountain snowpack.  On Sunday we went for a tour to discuss decision making and put our new skills to practice.  We even got to the top of Patsy Marley peak and found some great turns back to Twin Lakes.  All in all a great course, and thanks to all our participants.  Keep in mind we still have some spaces available for our next avalanche course January 23-24.

Looking at the maps and daily forecast to plan our tour

Under sunny skies the group hikes under Mt. Superior

Walker rips it up on the West face of Honeycomb Canyon

We just ran our first trip of the year and Morgan, Walker, Jonah from NY enjoyed a couple days of powder skiing with Adam.  This last storm total of 53″ has set us up with great coverage and skiing in our terrain.  Looks like more snow is on the way early next week, so we are looking forward to the holiday season.

The Wasatch is finally producing its magic!  This storm looks solid and should add up to 2-3 feet up in the higher terrain.  Powder skiing is back on!

Ian in the knee deep off the PH lift

Mike finds some smooth settled pow in the upper Honeycomb

November has been a bit high and dry here in the Wasatch, but we have been ski touring the range monitoring our snowpack for the season.  We have also found some pretty good powder skiing in a few spots!  The Weather Service guys are pretty confident a pattern change is on the way, so the Wasatch should be producing its magic soon.

We still have spaces available in our first avalanche awareness course December 19-20.  A dry fall will make for an interesting snowpack for the course.  Ever wonder what a facet really looks like?

A view to the highway gate November 25th, Pray for Snow!

Quick message to all the single-plankers out there…Backtracks offers snowshoes and poles for boarders who would like to join us on a trip. Of course, if you own a split-board you are welcome to use that on a tour as well. We get this question often, so I figured I would address it here. Boarders can access the same great terrain as skiers on a Backtracks Tour – please join us!