Date: April 14, 2012
Resort: Snowbird, Utah
Conditions: P (100" base). 25" of new snow since Wednesday, 4/11.
Weather: 30's with partly cloudy skies.
2012 Trip Report #: 27
Report: Another week and another weather blunder. If you read last week's report you saw that the forecasters called for a smidgeon of snow and we got 13-15". Well, we had a repeat in a big way. Wednesday's night sharp cold front was to bring only 1-3" at most. It dumped 15" and the same system continued off and on for 48 more hours, dropping at least another 10".
Seeing that there was new snow in the forecast, I made arrangements for babysitters on both Saturday and Sunday (at the suggestion of my wonderful wife, who was working both days at the hospital). I figured a few hours of skiing would be nice. But another deep powder day? A welcome surprise!
The Tram was packed at 9am thanks to the fact that Peruvian is closed...for now. It took two Trams to clear the line ahead of me, but there was still lots to ski at the top thanks to the fact that most folks were here for the North Face Competition and the ski patrol had kept the ropes pulled on Powder Paradise, Bookends, and Road to Provo. This originally made me bummed since I only had a few hours, but the avi work was done pretty quickly.
First run was into Mineral Basin since most were just going down Regulator or heading to the comp. The fog was pretty thick and the light was flat on the first run down Lupine Loop. I did jump off near the Peruvian Tunnel and found some really deep dense snow on a wet snow base. I knew it was going to be good...assuming it cleared. And clear it did. The next run down Schmutz's to Lupine Loop and 49er Gully was delightful. The clouds lifted about 1/3 down Mineral Basin. It was pretty much only me and lots of snow.
In the Parking Lot:
49er Gully:
I followed it down to Trellis Chutes which were pretty nice, but damp underneath. As I rode up the Mineral Basin Express, I noticed that skiers and riders were going further and further over the Path to Paradise. From my vantage point I could see folks just starting to enter Powder Paradise, so I made a run for it. Good choice. This whole side had just opened and it was all there for the taking. The snow was deep....about 10" of denser snow on top of a deeper, slightly wetter base. Not quite powder, but still pretty damn nice.
I did three quick laps down Powder Paradise, enjoying uncrowded and largely untracked lines. Turns out they dropped the ropes on Road to Provo and I watched in between one of my runs as the crowds descended Shireen and Mark Malu. But nobody, for whatever reason, was coming to Mineral Basin. No complaints mind you....
On one of the runs I decided to enter into the gates below the Bookends Traverse and followed a nice line down to the top of the Flora Cliffs. I wasn't planning on ending up on top of the Cliffs, but it happens. I managed to find a narrow chute to drop into and straight lined it down into the deeper snow drifts underneath.
Seeing that the further out I went the better the snow was and the less folks there were, I decided to make my first trip out to the Bookends. Unlike Alta, a lot of the open bowls are lift accessible. There are still some delicious areas that require a hike, but overall, the hikes are much shorter. Bookends Traverse required a two-minute climb, enough to deter the masses, before you either hiked up the ridge and peered over the Sunday Saddle into Mary Ellen Gulch, or took the gravity traverse that took you far over to the Sunday Cliffs area. I opted for the latter, based on time and energy. I did not regret my visit. The first run was down Richie's Run, which is pretty much dead-center of the
Bookends Area:
The upper area was a wide bowl area that funneled into Richie's Run, which was a chute in between the trees. The snow was lighter, drier, less tracked out, and purely delightful. The crowds were sparse.
Richie's proper:
Resort: Snowbird, Utah
Conditions: P (100" base). 25" of new snow since Wednesday, 4/11.
Weather: 30's with partly cloudy skies.
2012 Trip Report #: 27
Report: Another week and another weather blunder. If you read last week's report you saw that the forecasters called for a smidgeon of snow and we got 13-15". Well, we had a repeat in a big way. Wednesday's night sharp cold front was to bring only 1-3" at most. It dumped 15" and the same system continued off and on for 48 more hours, dropping at least another 10".
Seeing that there was new snow in the forecast, I made arrangements for babysitters on both Saturday and Sunday (at the suggestion of my wonderful wife, who was working both days at the hospital). I figured a few hours of skiing would be nice. But another deep powder day? A welcome surprise!
The Tram was packed at 9am thanks to the fact that Peruvian is closed...for now. It took two Trams to clear the line ahead of me, but there was still lots to ski at the top thanks to the fact that most folks were here for the North Face Competition and the ski patrol had kept the ropes pulled on Powder Paradise, Bookends, and Road to Provo. This originally made me bummed since I only had a few hours, but the avi work was done pretty quickly.
First run was into Mineral Basin since most were just going down Regulator or heading to the comp. The fog was pretty thick and the light was flat on the first run down Lupine Loop. I did jump off near the Peruvian Tunnel and found some really deep dense snow on a wet snow base. I knew it was going to be good...assuming it cleared. And clear it did. The next run down Schmutz's to Lupine Loop and 49er Gully was delightful. The clouds lifted about 1/3 down Mineral Basin. It was pretty much only me and lots of snow.
In the Parking Lot:
49er Gully:
I followed it down to Trellis Chutes which were pretty nice, but damp underneath. As I rode up the Mineral Basin Express, I noticed that skiers and riders were going further and further over the Path to Paradise. From my vantage point I could see folks just starting to enter Powder Paradise, so I made a run for it. Good choice. This whole side had just opened and it was all there for the taking. The snow was deep....about 10" of denser snow on top of a deeper, slightly wetter base. Not quite powder, but still pretty damn nice.
I did three quick laps down Powder Paradise, enjoying uncrowded and largely untracked lines. Turns out they dropped the ropes on Road to Provo and I watched in between one of my runs as the crowds descended Shireen and Mark Malu. But nobody, for whatever reason, was coming to Mineral Basin. No complaints mind you....
On one of the runs I decided to enter into the gates below the Bookends Traverse and followed a nice line down to the top of the Flora Cliffs. I wasn't planning on ending up on top of the Cliffs, but it happens. I managed to find a narrow chute to drop into and straight lined it down into the deeper snow drifts underneath.
Seeing that the further out I went the better the snow was and the less folks there were, I decided to make my first trip out to the Bookends. Unlike Alta, a lot of the open bowls are lift accessible. There are still some delicious areas that require a hike, but overall, the hikes are much shorter. Bookends Traverse required a two-minute climb, enough to deter the masses, before you either hiked up the ridge and peered over the Sunday Saddle into Mary Ellen Gulch, or took the gravity traverse that took you far over to the Sunday Cliffs area. I opted for the latter, based on time and energy. I did not regret my visit. The first run was down Richie's Run, which is pretty much dead-center of the
Bookends Area:
The upper area was a wide bowl area that funneled into Richie's Run, which was a chute in between the trees. The snow was lighter, drier, less tracked out, and purely delightful. The crowds were sparse.
Richie's proper:
Last edited:
:flame::smash::smash:
. Clip it! 
