tags:
tim durtschi |spring slush |spring skiing |snowbird ski resort |skiing |powder skiing |little cottonwood canyon |hypodermic needle |closing day |bagel boy |atomic skis |apres skiing |alta ski area
Winter can feel short, especially this year when snow levels were low in Utah early season. Utah got a fair share of snow in March, just enough to make spring skiing go off this season. I made it my goal to try and ski every day until closing at Alta and Snowbird. Snowbird has the longest season in Utah, and unfortunately they closed earlier than usual this season on May 13th. Still it was a good goal to have and I logged 30+ days in Little Cottonwood Canyon starting in mid-April.
The view of Little Cottonwood Canyon.
Spring skiing in Utah is exciting because it can actually still snow and be a powder day. the last day of April it dumped over a foot. The best part of a spring dump is that the sun usually comes out immediately and although this can change the temp of the snow instantly it is motivation to ski every run during the storm knowing that on the next run the snow could turn back into sticky spring slush. I was surprised by the amount of fresh snow we got in April and May, the tram lines get a little longer when it snows but compared to peak season you still have the resort to yourself.
Powder Photos by Rocko Menzyk
Walk on trams are my favorite part of skiing this time of the year. Timing the tram is takes some expert timing and there are a lot of die hard skiers that have the tram schedules down to a science. It takes about 8 minutes for the ride up and if your able to get down the 2900 Vertical feet in less than 8 minutes (add a minute or two for loading) than you can keep riding the same car until you're exhausted. My record time down the mountain was 2:53 granted that was on freshly groomed corduroy and making very few turns.
The Snowbird tram is the best tram for spring laps.
Skiing everyday in spring can be tough, with sunburns and dehydration always out to get you, waking up for first tram can be a struggle a lot of the time. I will be honest I made a few first trams, but I was never disappointed by a late afternoon schuss. The last tram is at 2:59:59 and if you know some of the veteran tram attendants you are likely to get a 30 second grace period if you act like you wanna make that tram and jog in your ski boots through the lift line.
- Pipeline at Snowbird Photo: Jay Dash
The day in day out slog of spring skiing is not for everyone, and can get a little monotinous. That is why events like Jortski, Frank, and obviously closing days at each resort turn into full blown parties with cookouts, chairlift brews and outrageous attire. For local die-hards like Adam Ferh AKA BagelBoy getting 100+ days in a year is warm-up for these end of the year mountain-wide parties. Adam is always prepared with Smirnoff Ice, a flabongo and blue and pink zinc. These are essential Spring skiing items, and if you need to know what else is important click here.
If you see Bagelboy with the Flabongo watch out.
Couple of selfies from Frank 2018
It is also time to get serious though, and this spring we went for a full day objective and climbed the Hypodermic Needle. The Needle is a long narrow Couloir near the Pfeifferhorn and takes 4000 feet of touring and boot packing to get to the top of. It was a nice way to spend the day in the Canyon without riding a chairlift. I have always wanted to get this line and when I met up with Owen Leeper and Sasha Motivala on the tram the day before it became an instant plan.
Hiking up the Needle with Owen Leeper
Hopping into the Needle!
There is also some filming to be done this time of the year, with most serious and lengthy ski film trips out of the way, these spring shoots are more laid back and usually consist of a few runs with a photographer or a couple of Gopro follow cams. Linking up with Mitchell Brower this year was super fun and productive, it takes some guts to do the close up follow cams and a lot of skill to get a good shot a high speeds and variable snow. Through trial and error though we were able to get some unique shots and manage not to collide in air or on the snow.
Follow cam by Mitchell Photo: @phil.Photo
Huge thanks to Snowbird Ski Resort and Alta Ski Area for making the best spring season out there! Thanks to Ski Utah for inspiring me to ski the second season! If you got one day in this spring you are lucky, if you skied every day, hungover or sunburned your a legend! Until next season!