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Salt Lake City next week anyone? (longish)



 
 
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Old January 9th 04, 05:11 PM
Chris Cline
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Default Salt Lake City next week anyone? (longish)

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Hi Ken-
Sorry I will miss you and Sharon. I will be going to that OTHER nordic mecca (Sun Valley) for the MLK weekend (and the week before, too). I'll be staying in a yurt at Galena Lodge, and alternating long, rolling skis on impeccable track with forays into the backcountry above Galena Pass. Not that I'm excited about it or anything...

We are entering into a high pressure cycle here in SLC that is looking like it will last for the next 10 days or so. This translates into sunny days and 40 degree temps at the higher elevation resorts, and really dismal dense fog in SLC. There will probably be a pretty good haze layer going in Park City and Mountain Dell, too, but the sun will be around enough to get a good melt-freeze transition going on the tracks. So, you are definitely going to want to leave your soft-snow track skis at home. You may be able to seek out some old settled powder in pockets at the resorts, but Sharon should count on big turns on the groomers and bumps on the off-piste. It will definitely be one of those times where, if I were going to be in town, I would have no trouble shunning the steeps in favor of long cruises on packed tracks.

For backcountry, I would suggest some of the spots on the Big Cottonwood-MillCreek Ridgeline. You will definitely want to look for north-facing shady spots, and the powder (which will be settled and recrystallized by next weekend) seems to last longest in the trees. We have a TON of snow (about 123% of average for the year, but the longer it goes dry, the more that number will constrict). Anyway, not enough sun or time for the south slopes to corn up, so you should expect slush or shin-breaker crust depending on the time of day.

Mountain Dell is a good call for skating, but timing will be everything. I think that sometime between 11 - 3 would be the best. Before, it will be rock hard, and after, it will either be slushy or starting the freeze-up process. Pretty much the same timing applies for Park City (White Pine).

One thing you might want to consider if you'll be in Park City on Sunday is that John Aalberg is teaching a series of clinics through White Pine for the next couple of Sundays. I'm pretty sure that he will be teaching a skate clinic on the sunday of MLK weekend-- contact White Pine to sign up. The clinics are at 2:00 PM, and cost $40 on a per-clinic basis. Given where you are with cleaning up your skating, this might be a golden opportunity to a) watch John do it right, and b) get some on-snow feedback on what you're doing.

Finally- the outback that Dave Hanscom has talked about: The two best options are Daniels Summit, which is groomed daily for snowmobiles, and the Strawberry River road. Daniels is pretty hard skiing for a flatlander-- you ski uphill for about 4-5 miles before getting up onto a high, rolling (cold, beautiful) ridge, then downhill thru a twisting canyon, and across a seemingly endless "flat" (which sometimes seems anything but), which can be REALLY endless if you run out of food. You will have snowmobiles passing by you, so if you're dogmatic about that sort of thing, that might detract. BUT, they groom it EVERY day-- hard to beat. Strawberry River road is a little farther out I-40 from Daniels Summit (maybe 5-8 miles past the Daniels Summit lodge), and basically starts out at a snowmobiling parking lot adjacent to the road. This road rolls gently uphill for about 5-6 miles before starting to climb up into the hills east of Strawberry Reservoir, so you can go out-and-bac!
k as far
as you wish. Quality depends on the grooming schedule and when you hit it: can be freshly groomed, or whoop-de-dooed all to hell by the 'biles. The folks at Daniels Summit Lodge probably know the grooming schedule; White Pine probably does also.

So that's it on the SLC Beta-- I wish I were going to be in town to meet you and Sharon. Wait- no I really don't ('cause I'll be in Sun Valley).

Have fun and stay safe in the backcountry!
Chris Cline
SLC UT

Ken Roberts wrote:
Sharon and I managed to get some extra days off over with the Martin Luther
King holiday, and Sharon insists that she get the chance to make some great
lift-served and backcountry downhill turns already this early in the season.
So I'm getting dragged away from my beloved northeastern trails of
Minnewaska and Mohonk and Van Hoevenberg -- to Utah.

Should I bring my soft-snow skis? Or will the tracks be pretty well packed?

It would be fun to meet some of you there in Salt Lake. Send me email, and
I'll send you phone numbers and places where we'll be staying so we can
figure out how to connect. We'll have a rental car, so we can get to
different ski centers and backcountry trailheads.

I will be expected to accompany Sharon on most of her downhill and
backcountry turning escapades, but there will be some other days when I'll
get to enjoy some fun skating on groomed tracks. I figure it'll take me at
least a couple of days to get used to the altitude, so I'm going to be
looking for lower-elevation ski center at first. Like my current best guess
is that I'll try skating at Mountain Dell on Monday afternoon.

Sharon likes White Pine for its gentle trails, so I'll probably be skating
there one day at least. Beyond that I'm pretty open. Something I'd love to
try is skating some routes outside the normal ski centers -- like I sorta
remember some reports by Dave Hanscom.

Ken







---------------------------------
Do you Yahoo!?
Yahoo! Hotjobs: Enter the "Signing Bonus" Sweepstakes
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DIVHi Ken-/DIV
DIVSorry I will miss you and Sharon.  I will be going to that OTHER nordic mecca (Sun Valley) for the MLK weekend (and the week before, too).  I'll be staying in a yurt at Galena Lodge, and alternating long, rolling skis on impeccable track with forays into the backcountry above Galena Pass.  Not that I'm excited about it or anything.../DIV
DIV /DIV
DIVWe are entering into a high pressure cycle here in SLC that is looking like it will last for the next 10 days or so.  This translates into sunny days and 40 degree temps at the higher elevation resorts, and really dismal dense fog in SLC.  There will probably be a pretty good haze layer going in Park City and Mountain Dell, too, but the sun will be around enough to get a good melt-freeze transition going on the tracks.  So, you are definitely going to want to leave your soft-snow track skis at home.  You may be able to seek out some old settled powder in pockets at the resorts, but Sharon should count on big turns on the groomers and bumps on the off-piste.  It will definitely be one of those times where, if I were going to be in town, I would have no trouble shunning the steeps in favor of long cruises on packed tracks. /DIV
DIV /DIV
DIVFor backcountry, I would suggest some of the spots on the Big Cottonwood-MillCreek Ridgeline.  You will definitely want to look for north-facing shady spots, and the powder (which will be settled and recrystallized by next weekend) seems to last longest in the trees.  We have a TON of snow (about 123% of average for the year, but the longer it goes dry, the more that number will constrict).  Anyway, not enough sun or time for the south slopes to corn up, so you should expect slush or shin-breaker crust depending on the time of day./DIV
DIV /DIV
DIVMountain Dell is a good call for skating, but timing will be everything.  I think that sometime between 11 - 3 would be the best.  Before, it will be rock hard, and after, it will either be slushy or starting the freeze-up process.  Pretty much the same timing applies for Park City (White Pine)./DIV
DIV /DIV
DIVOne thing you might want to consider if you'll be in Park City on Sunday is that John Aalberg is teaching a series of clinics through White Pine for the next couple of Sundays.  I'm pretty sure that he will be teaching a skate clinic on the sunday of MLK weekend-- contact White Pine to sign up.  The clinics are at 2:00 PM, and cost $40 on a per-clinic basis.  Given where you are with cleaning up your skating, this might be a golden opportunity to a) watch John do it right, and b) get some on-snow feedback on what you're doing./DIV
DIV /DIV
DIVFinally- the outback that Dave Hanscom has talked about:  The two best options are Daniels Summit, which is groomed daily for snowmobiles, and the Strawberry River road.  Daniels is pretty hard skiing for a flatlander-- you ski uphill for about 4-5 miles before getting up onto a high, rolling (cold, beautiful) ridge, then downhill thru a twisting canyon, and across a seemingly endless "flat" (which sometimes seems anything but), which can be REALLY endless if you run out of food.  You will have snowmobiles passing by you, so if you're dogmatic about that sort of thing, that might detract.  BUT, they groom it EVERY day-- hard to beat.  Strawberry River road is a little farther out I-40 from Daniels Summit (maybe 5-8 miles past the Daniels Summit lodge), and basically starts out at a snowmobiling parking lot adjacent to the road.  This road rolls gently uphill for about 5-6 miles before starting to climb up into the hills east of Strawbe!
rry
Reservoir, so you can go out-and-back as far as you wish.  Quality depends on the grooming schedule and when you hit it:  can be freshly groomed, or whoop-de-dooed all to hell by the 'biles.  The folks at Daniels Summit Lodge probably know the grooming schedule; White Pine probably does also./DIV
DIV /DIV
DIVSo that's it on the SLC Beta-- I wish I were going to be in town to meet you and Sharon.  Wait- no I really don't ('cause I'll be in Sun Valley)./DIV
DIV /DIV
DIVHave fun and stay safe in the backcountry!/DIV
DIVChris Cline/DIV
DIVSLC UT/DIV
DIVBRBIKen Roberts >/I/B wrote:/DIV
BLOCKQUOTE class=replbq style="PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; BORDER-LEFT: #1010ff 2px solid"Sharon and I managed to get some extra days off over with the Martin LutherBRKing holiday, and Sharon insists that she get the chance to make some greatBRlift-served and backcountry downhill turns already this early in the season.BRSo I'm getting dragged away from my beloved northeastern trails ofBRMinnewaska and Mohonk and Van Hoevenberg -- to Utah.BRBRShould I bring my soft-snow skis? Or will the tracks be pretty well packed?BRBRIt would be fun to meet some of you there in Salt Lake. Send me email, andBRI'll send you phone numbers and places where we'll be staying so we canBRfigure out how to connect. We'll have a rental car, so we can get toBRdifferent ski centers and backcountry trailheads.BRBRI will be expected to accompany Sharon on most of her downhill andBRbackcountry turning escapades, but there will be some other days when I'llBRget to !
enjoy
some fun skating on groomed tracks. I figure it'll take me atBRleast a couple of days to get used to the altitude, so I'm going to beBRlooking for lower-elevation ski center at first. Like my current best guessBRis that I'll try skating at Mountain Dell on Monday afternoon.BRBRSharon likes White Pine for its gentle trails, so I'll probably be skatingBRthere one day at least. Beyond that I'm pretty open. Something I'd love toBRtry is skating some routes outside the normal ski centers -- like I sortaBRremember some reports by Dave Hanscom.BRBRKenBRBRBRBRBRBR/BLOCKQUOTEphr SIZE=1
Do you Yahoo!?br
Yahoo! Hotjobs: a href="http://pa.yahoo.com/*http://us.rd.yahoo.com/hotjobs/mail_footer_email/evt=21482/*http://hotjobs.sweepstakes.yahoo.com/signingbonus"Enter the "Signing Bonus" Sweepstakes/a
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