with love from utah

 Closing out 2025 with Christmas in Moab and ushering in 2026 with skiing (or, "skiing").  Posts forthcoming!  Until then, 

updated snowfall update

It's snowing in northern Utah!  People are skiing!  People are driving badly and getting into accidents!  There's already avalanches! All hail the 2025-2026 ski season.  

Ski area opening dates (revised):

Alta - December 5, 2025

Beaver Mountain - TBD

Brian Head - Open!

Brighton - December 2

Cherry Peak - TBD

Deer Valley - TBD

Eagle Point - December 19

Nordic Valley - December 12

Park City - TBD

Powder Mountain - December 12

Snowbasin - TBD

Snowbird - TBD

Solitude - Open (with one lift and like one trail)

Sundance - TBD

Woodward Park City - TBD

Like I said, it's snowing a bit.  Not much, but it's a start.

sixteen years

Happy moveiversary to us: we moved to Utah SIXTEEN YEARS AGO!!!  On every moveiversary, I like to do a year-end summary post; like last year and the year before, this year has also seemed a little diminished.  H again preferred to focus on his trail running, so we hardly did any hiking together.  I didn't get a ski pass this year and, to be honest, didn't miss it all that much.  We are very lucky people, we know this.  And despite getting older and set in our ways, we are lucky to be able to continue to be as active as we are.  Here's what this past year - we count our "years" from October through September, given when we arrived in Utah - looked like.

October - We always start our "year" with a vacation week (ten days, really) in Moab, with hiking and MTBing and H's really successful trail marathon, plus a coyote sighting on Pipe Dream, hanging with our neighbor and cheering on the Moab 240; bought a new washing machine.

November - First snowflakes in Moab and SLC; A doesn't get a ski pass but H does get to sublet the ski locker again; new bar (to us): The Midway; A starts baking in earnest; Thanksgiving in Moab; Alta opens with a 21" base.

December - Friendsgiving with E and K; the ski bus starts; skiing for H (cold and not much snow); A's college friend and her family are in town; Christmas in Moab (porcupine tracks in Mill Canyon).

January - H takes the week between Christmas and New Year's off to ski (crazy long lines); A makes a vegan Wellington for NYE dinner; snow; coyote sighting in Dimple Dell; H has a 3.5+ hour ski bus ride home one stormy ski day; MLK Jr. long weekend in Moab (hiking and it's cold).Fe

February - Skiing and long lift lines; A gets a new library card; M enjoys going to work with H; President's Day weekend in Moab (6.5 hours and hellish driving to get there); Alta finally gets some snow; skiing.

March - A goes to Maine for a week and H and M go to Moab, missing her terribly; we do our first Sandy garage tailgate (and get chilled); turning to spring in Moab; storms at Alta; skiing.

April - Days of unhealthy air in SLC; successful foccacia baking (!); spring skiing; Easter Jeep Safari in Moab; trees in bloom in SLC; wildflowers beginning in Moab; Utah Royals game; Alta closing weekend and 534 season inches at closing.

May - Traditional spring break week in Moab (flowers, hiking, cycling, seeing N and L when they're in town for a wedding, Moonflower Co-op and renew Sand Flats annual pass); backcountry/snowshoing day at Alta; Memorial Day weekend in Moab (cookout with C and F); Dimple Dell walks for A and H; H trail-runs and cycles.

June - Yardwork begins (overdue); Pride party at E and K's; Dimple Dell walks; starting to get hot; we make our hike list hahahaha; Juneteenth in Moab (M catches a ground squirrel); H trail-runs/cycles.

July - A hikes at Alta and Snowbird; CSA starts; July 4 holiday in Moab (hiking - including return to Gold Knob - and cycling, cooler than normal); H trail-runs/cycles; Pioneer Day holiday weekend in Moab (wildfires, bowling alley beers, cookout with C and F).

August - A goes to Maine for a week and H and M go to Moab, missing her terribly; Dimple Dell walks with M; A and H get summer colds; wildflowers in the Wasatch; A hikes at Alta (including ridge run); H trail-runs/cycles.

September - Labor Day weekend in Moab (hiking, cycling, yard work); A finds new trails to hike at Alta; backyard hangout with E and K; more time in Moab; Dimple Dell walks with M; A bakes strawberry jam bars; H trail-runs/cycles.

And now, October 3rd, happy new year!

opening days (anticipated)

On Saturday (11/11/23), H and I went up to Alta to pick up our 2023/2024 ski passes: full-on season pass for H, ten-pack for me.  It was a pretty day for the end-of-early November: partly cloudy, pretty clear air, temperatures ranging from high 30s to low 50s across northern Utah.  We drove up the canyon a little after 11:30 a.m.; the various climbing and hiking trailheads were busy with folks taking advantage of the mild winter.  As we went past Snowbird, we shook our heads - the snow is thin at best.  But when we turned into Wildcat base at Alta, we were surprised to see 100+ cars in the lot and all sorts of folks milling around, layering up and putting skins on their skis.  We went into Skier Services to pick up our passes, noting the ropes across the Collins lift area and the CLOSED signs.  Ten minutes later, as we walked out, the ropes and the sign were gone and backcountry skiers were skinning up Corkscrew.  

Twenty minutes later, as we were sitting at the bar at the Hog Wallow, toasting the impending start of the ski season, three 20-somethings wearing ski pants came in.  They'd been up at Solitude, which was open (!!), standing in line for 30 minutes to do one bunny-slope run.  "We ripped up that seven inches!" one girl laughed.  And so it begins.

Here are the purported opening dates per Ski Utah (subject to change, of course):

fourteen years

 Happy moveiversary to us!  We moved to SLC from Maine FOURTEEN years ago.  Holy frickin' moly.  It's so interesting (to me) to write these year-end posts - we count our year, at least for blog purposes, starting in October and ending in September - to see how our activities ebb and flow.  This blog was started so as to keep the folks back east up to date on our adventures (hi, Perry!).  And when we first moved out here we never stopped doing things.  Everything was new, we were fourteen years younger, and the trails weren't so crowded.  This year has seemed a little diminished to me.  Skiing was a challenge due to crowding and also the fact that it snowed over 900 inches (and my wish came true, apparently) and you just couldn't get up the dang canyon.  Then, in the spring, when hiking was supposed to start, I went and sprained my ankle and it has surprised me how long it has taken to recover from that (see above re: fourteen years older).  Still, we've tried to get out after it as best we can.  Here's a summary of what our year looked like:

October - Our week's vacation in Moab; crazy thunderstorms; wrapping up our terrific CSA season; hiking at Grandstaff Canyon, Hidden Valley, Moab Rim, Murphy's Hogback, Pritchett Canyon.

November - It gets cool enough to bake (chai-spiced breakfast cookies, adventure bread, cornbread-pumpkin muffins); hiking at Poison Spider Mesa; ski season begins at Alta, with the new Sunnyside 6-seater chairlift still being installed, and H getting on his telemark set-up on day 3; Thanksgiving in Moab with a hike to Tusher Tunnel, the Slickrock trail and watching World Cup soccer.

December - Ski season begins in earnest with a couple of big storms early in the month, a 71+ inch storm mid-month and reduced ski bus service; more home cooking (mapo tofu, soups, chocolate chip cookies, gingerbread cake, peanut butter dog biscuits); an entire long weekend in Moab spent watching World Cup soccer with our neighbors, but also a fun spontaneous party; and Christmas in Moab with hikes to Jeep Arch, Slickrock Practice loop and our new traditional bloody Mary recipe.

January - H skis the week between Christmas and New Year's, but with storms and traffic doesn't actualy get to ski that much (the snow is fabulous, though); a quick visit from my cousin Bess; interlodges at Alta with big storms (433" on the season at Alta by mid-month, which is nuts); MTBing and hiking at MOAB Brand Trails and Amasa Back; Devil's Castle opens at month end for the first time all season.

February - A gets heated socks which are a GAME CHANGER for skiing; the Sunnyside 6-pack chair finally opens and no one can figure out how to load it; snow snow snow (including one storm that dropped 20" at our house (unnecessary!); home cooking (chickpea flour bread, Hatch green chile stew, plum sauce, muffins, cookies); A goes to Maine for a week and it is -20 F; President's Day long weekend in Moab.

March - In like a lion with snow snow snow (multiple canyon closures and one 2.5 hour one-way ski bus ride up the canyon), amazing conditions and people still can't load the Sunnyside lift correctly, plus it officially becomes the snowiest season on record for Utah with one month to go; home cooking (chili, muffins, cookies, maple oat bars, lentil "sausage patties" and "egg" squares for breakfast sandwiches, Cajun spiced beans, lentil tamale pie); hiking in Moab (Middle Earth, Moab Rim).

April - End of an amazing ski season, with Alta continuing to get huge storms throughout the month (80" in a week), crazy avalanches in Little Cottonwood Canyon and 903 inches snowfall total at Alta for the 2022/2023 season; Moab hiking and it's just nice to see some sunshine.

May - Week's vacation in Moab with wildflowers, hiking (Pipe Dream, Falcon Flow, Jackson's/Amasa Back, Day Canyon), MTBing and cruising on town bikes, plus the Colorado River is super high with the snowmelt; Memorial Day weekend with H's folks, a Moab Jett tour and a great hike with the locals wherein A sprains her ankle quite badly with one mile to go; H commences bike commuting.

June - A's ankle is still a mess so short Moab hikes (it's still far too snowy to hike on the Wasatch Front anyway) and town cruiser bike rides; H puts lots of miles in on his road bike.

July - CSA season starts with terrific local produce (but too many beets and squashes, if I'm honest); A's ankle improving slowly; Moab hikes in Mill Creek Canyon with very high water, town cruiser bike rides and July 4th dinner at the Trailhead with neighbors; lots of road rides for H and Dimple Dell walks for A and M; Noho gets a new roof (shout-out to Big Horn Roofing) and M gets to go to work with H; wildflower hike at Alta but the flowers are way behind due to all the snow.

August - Northern Utah hikes at Alta, Snowbird and Millcreek Canyon; southern Utah hikes at Mill Creek Canyon and Mary Jane Canyon; frozen watermelon margaritas; doorstep zucchini and continuing excellent CSA boxes; lots of road rides for H and town cruiser rides for both of us; our 22nd anniversary; A's ankle better but still not great.

September - Southern Utah hikes, town cruiser bike rides, Dimple Dell walks for A and M, road rides for H; sunflower season along the Wasatch Front; A's ankle feels pretty good (but still not 100%); A finds a used road bike (stay tuned for that ...).

And another year begins!  Here's hoping for fewer canyon closures and ankle injuries (and more watermelon margaritas)!

csa summer 2023: week 10

Trying to get caught up here ... the tenth CSA box had tons of fruit! Two kinds of peaches, nectarines, two kinds of plums, a couple of pears, tomatoes, onions, leeks (!), colorful "snacking" peppers and corn on the cob.

As always, the corn was eaten immediately; amazingly, it's still pretty good for how late in the season it is.  The leeks and some peppers went into a tofu scramble - leeks are a LOT of work to get all the dirt out - and more peppers were in a stir fry.  I tried to make a ginger-peach refrigerator jam but it didn't thicken up, so I ended up with ginger-peach compote for oatmeal.  More peaches, plus a serano pepper from an earlier box, went into a green smoothie.  And since there are still more peaches, I've got my eye on a spicy peach BBQ sauce recipe that will also use up some of those hot peppers.

csa summer 2023: week 9

I don't know about H, but I look forward to Wednesday every week because that's when we pick up our CSA box.  For the ninth installment, we got peaches, tomatoes, cucumber, green beans, two ears of corn, a zucchini and lots and lots of peppers: anaheim, shishito, serano and jalapeno.

We ate the corn and beans right away.  The peaches were eaten through the week as they ripened, and I had tomatoes and cucumbers for multiple lunches.  The zucchini, all the anaheims and shishitos, and several of the spicy peppers - plus some tomatillos I picked up - went into a chile verde for the freezer.

csa summer 2023: week 3

 Our third CSA box was quite good: Swiss chard, broccoli, cantaloupe, cherries, small onions, apricots, zucchini (of course), beets (golden and regular) and carrots.  Swiss chard is a new favorite of ours, after we got some that was incredible at the Moab farmers' market a few weeks ago.  And broccoli is probably our favorite vegetable: the farm stand said that for some reason, this spring was particularly good for broccoli - they've never been able to offer it as a CSA item before.

We put all the chard into a tofu scramble, with black beans, scallions and jalapenos.  A curry encompassed lots of veggies: with broccoli, carrots, zucchini and onions.  I quick-pickled the beets since the first batch turned out so well,  The melon and cherries just got eaten and I put the apricots in morning oatmeal.

happy holidays

 All who wander are not lost - happy holidays to all y'all!

big snow

All the northern Utah skiers just got a fantastic early Christmas present: a storm that totally over-delivered.  It started snowing Sunday evening 12/11/22 and literally - literally - did not stop snowing until Thursday afternoon 12/15.  We got about a foot total at our house; since this was spread out over 4.5 days, the commutes weren't too terrible, with Thursday being the worst for me (Monday was worse for folks who take I-15 and who were coming down from Davis County, I heard).

Wednesday, in the valley

The mountains did very, very well for themselves out of this storm.  Alta ended up with 71+ inches storm-total, 225 inches season to-date and a base of 83 inches.  That's fantastic and puts them in good shape for the upcoming circus that is Christmas vacation week.  And statewide, the snowpack is looking pretty healthy in general.  If we don't get a long dry spell (which seems to happen mid-winters of late), we might not have such a water deficit come springtime.  I mean, we won't be out of the drought but we'll be in better shape for sure.

From Thursday: the stoke was high

thirteen years

 Happy moveiversary to us!  We moved from Maine to SLC on October 3, 2009, and yet I can't believe another year has gone by so quickly.  Because of that, we count our year as running from October to September.  This is our third thin year in a row: we had big plans for lots of summer hiking that just didn't materialize (so frickin' hot), and we haven't yet MTBed in Park City in 2022 (so frickin' hot PLUS stupid high gas prices).  We did go to Moab a lot but this summer saw us sticking with hikes we do on a regular basis (so frickin' hot and need water for Milton); hopefully our new year will have cooler temperatures soon so we can try some new stuff further afield.  In any event, here's a quick recap of our year.

October - Hiking in Moab (Hidden Valley and Amasa Back); early stoke for skiing; getting back into baking; our week's vacation in Moab.

November - Hiking and MTBing (and searching for our favorite bartender) in Moab; revisiting the hike up Mt. Olympus; turkey trot; Thanksgiving in Moab.

December - Ski season begins (and I get back on the slopes after 21 months away); Moab weekends are getting colder so when H MTBs, A and M hike; Christmas in Moab.

January - Home-cooking: fougasse, muffins, brownies, cookies, stews, soups, perfecting our Bloody Mary recipe; skiing (lots of bluebird days); new hikes: Determination Tower, Little Arch on the Poison Spider Mesa.

February - Spring skiing in the winter (no snow for a month); H worked with Milton on his MTBing; home-cooking: kardemummabullar, apricot galette, olive bread; new hike: Capt. Ahab; catching up with friends at Piper Down.

March - Some new snow and storm skiing (finally); home-cooking: cookies, bread, soup, chili, tofu schwarma; hikes at Monitor and Merrimac buttes, the Slickrock trail, Echo Canyon and the Abyss; MTBing; H gets recognition for having the best mustache at Alta.

April - Spring-ish skiing, plus ski season ends; hikes at Steelbender, Rodeo trail (Horsethief system), Moab Rim; Moab visit with A's brother, sister-in-law and niece.

May  - A week in Moab with MTBing and hiking (Sylvester trail, along Kane Creek); the flowers started popping in the desert; H started getting serious about road riding again. 

June - H's parents came to visit; H had to travel some for work and A went back to Maine to see family; exploring around Millcreek in the Steelbender area; screech owl and baby goats; Utah gas prices $5.19/gallon (or higher).

July - Our CSA boxes begin (sooooo much zucchini to come); wildflowers at Alta and Snowbird; H gets his RadWagon cargo bike and Milton refuses to ride in the cargo bucket; Moab hikes in Mary Jane Canyon, upper Grandstaff Canyon and foolishly following a BASE jumper trail above the Colorado River.

August - Massive floods in Moab; more CSA produce; visitors from back East; A gets new hiking boots; Millcreek Canyon (SLC) hikes at Grandeur Peak, Pipeline/Elbow Fork/Terraces and Big Water trail; return to hike Kane Creek (Moab) to find no water in it; frickin' HOT.

September - More visitors, this time H's aunt and uncle; hiking up at Alta; MTBing and hiking in Moab; more CSA produce (seriously, so much squash).

And now we start our new year!  There will be time spent in Moab (uh, no kidding) but I'm hoping we can get over to Park City to MTB at least a couple of times before the snow flies.  Oh, and I'm really hoping that a lot of snow flies this year!

happy holidays

May we all enjoy the outside as much as possible in 2022!

 

red sky at night

We did go to Moab last weekend, and I'll soon have a little post up about what we did (spoiler alert: it's pretty much going to just be photos of Milton).  As we drove down Thursday evening, the sunset was positively lurid from all the blown-in California wildfire smoke.  It's a blurry photo because it was taken with my phone on I-70 but it still gives you an idea of how dang dramatic it was.

Practically apocalyptic

More later!

good ride

Two days before the Juniper Mesa day (which would have been Saturday), we did a morning MTB ride up at Dead Horse Point State Park.  We got up there early-ish - because it's the dog days of summer in southern Utah and DANG it's hot - but with the added elevation, temperatures weren't forecast to get above the high 80s, which was a treat.  There were a fair number of cars in the main parking lot: only a handful of MTBers but it looked like there were more folks hiking.  

We did our usual Dead Horse route of  the Big Chief loop, to Crossroads (which crosses the park road, get it?), to Whiptail and Twisted Tree, then doubling back to Crossroads and taking Raven Roll back to the truck.  For some reason, this day turned out to be my best MTB ride of the year (so far).  My legs felt strong, no doubt in part due to the pleasanting we did the weekend prior; I got my nutrition right; I was thirsty but not dehydrated; and, best of all, I was riding calmly.  The mindset helped, even when I got to sections on which I was less confident.

Out on Whiptail, I think

There were parking lot beers and then back to town, where it was much, much hotter.  We had lunch, then hunkered down indoors (there may have been napping) until the patio was shaded enough to bring our books and our beers outside.

highlight reel, part 4

And here's the last couple of years:

October 2016 through September 2017.  Houseguests in October and April.  Trips to Moab in November and May.  The Summer of Cycling with H doing the Porcupine Hill Climb (podium!), the Crusher in the Tushar and the Tour of Utah's Ultimate Challenge.  A quick tour of Bryce Canyon and Capitol Reef National Parks with H's folks.

October 2017 through September 2018.  Fruita (Colorado) and Moab trip in October.  H racked up 1.1 million vertical feet skiing.  Another trip to Moab in May, this time with a jeep rental.  The Year of Hiking, leading up to the big hike at Bryce Canyon NP.  Volunteering at the Crusher.  A trip to Great Basin National Park, including a hike up Wheeler Peak (13,063 feet above sea level). Our friend P has an extended Utah stay in August and September.

highlight reel, part 3

And more memories from the past ten years:

October 2014 through September 2015.  A's parents come for a visit in October.  H's parents came for a Thanksgiving visit.  We said goodbye to our Becky.  There was, you know, skiing.  We tried Moab in the spring for the first time.  Our friend R visited in the summer.

October 2015 through September 2016.  We went to both Bryce Canyon National Park and Moab in October.  H went full-time telemark and also skied Baldy's Main Chute.  We went to Moab in May, including camping in the Needles district.  We did a 54+ mile MTB on an old rail trail.  H's parents visited in August.  We took an anniversary trip to New Mexico, including the amazing Chaco Canyon.

highlight reel, part 1

Since I'm getting all nostalgic with our tenth move-iversary, I thought I'd do some quick looks back on those first nine years.

October 2009 through September 2010.  We spent the year exploring, checking out canyons and skiing around (before deciding on what would be our mountain).  We hiked Timpanogos for the first time, via the Timpanooeke trail.  We saw our first Utah mountain goats on Ben Lomond.

October 2010 through September 2011.  We got a record 723.5 inches of snow and put our first Alta season passes to good use.  We went to St. George and Zion National Park with H's folks.  We got MTBs.  We had lots of summer visitors.  We went to Trout Creek Guard Station for our tenth wedding anniversary.  We had our first fall trip to Moab.

rewind: jeepin'

We've finally got the camera issue sorted out, so let's go back to jeepin' with H's parents!  H and his dad picked up our reserved jeep from Twisted Jeep Rentals first thing Monday morning.  This time we went with a four-door model (for ease of ingress and egress) and kept those doors on (for less chance of falling out).  We started out easy, with a warm-up ride out the Sand Flats road, to the Porcupine Rim trailhead and back.

L and P at Gemini Bridges

Next we went up the highway a bit to the Gemini Bridges road.  The first bit was as exciting as ever, as we met really the only traffic of the day on the one blind corner.  H's mom seemed glad that her side of the jeep was on the inside and not the falling-away cliff side.  We stopped at the popular Gemini Bridges area and walked out to the bridges.  There were a good number of people there, including one couple who were walking their tiny pet pig (!), Mycroft.  I got to pet Mycroft: she was very, very sweet and even wagged her tail like a dog; her people had to boost her up over some of the rocks because her legs were so short.

A motley crew

We continued on up to Route 313 where we turned left, then left again onto the Dead Horse Point road and then left once more onto the Long Canyon road.  Although we had done this route just last year, the road was much rougher, probably from all the precipitation Moab has had in 2019.  We didn't have to maneuver around any oncoming vehicles, however, and got through jostled but just fine.

Luxe lunch of PB&Js

At the bottom of Long Canyon, we turned right to continue out the Potash Road to the road to the Shafer Trail.  H's folks have seen that area a couple of times from the Dead Horse Point State Park pavilion; we wanted them to see it from down below.  After a quick snack at the national park's border, we drove out to the river overlook that is directly below the DHPSP pavilion.  We waved, in case anyone was watching us from up there.

Around 3:30 p.m., we'd all had enough so we retraced our steps, returned our faithful jeep and adjourned to the Moab Brewery to recap our day over beers.  Jeepin' is thirsty work, for sure.

state of the snowpack

We were in Moab this past weekend and I had hoped to post about that today.  I'm having a little difficulty downloading the photos, however, so we will have to make do with this quickie post about the excellent state of Utah's current snowpack.

As Evan Thayer from Wasatch Snow Forecast/Open Snow Utah* so eloquently states: "It's amazing!"  If it doesn't snow again - and that's not likely to happen with this winter (as it's currently snowing right this very minute) - we are still above average.  We are nearly DOUBLE our snowpack from last year.  That's great for the skiing and it's great for our water supply.

*  If you ski in this area and you're not following Evan, you're making a mistake.  He is so accurate, it's uncanny.

year of hiking

Before we get too deep into ski season, I wanted to recap all the hiking we did this past year.  The idea took hold back in September 2017 when, on our trip to Bryce Canyon National Park with H's parents, we first learned about the Under the Rim trail.  As we read more about it, we decided that we should do it all in one day.  Once that plan was made, we knew we'd need to train for it because walking 23 miles in a day isn't anything we do on a regular basis.

H came up with a training plan with hikes scheduled each weekend, increasing the miles as we moved through the early summer.  We didn't worry too much about elevation, even with the UtR's uphill finish; we just needed to get the miles on our feet.  Some of the trails were ones we'd done before (anything in Big or Little Cottonwood Canyons) and others were new to us (Naturalist Basin, Mid Mountain Trail).  We got rained out one weekend in May and were traveling one weekend in June but other than that we did the work, even when we had weekends away for the Crusher in the Tushar and Great Basin National Park.

The Big Hike was the first weekend in August and after that, we didn't want to slow our roll.  We kept hiking every weekend, and while we weren't quite as obsessive about high mileage, we did try to work in longer hikes because we were eyeing a new goal:  to reach 300 miles before the hiking season ended.  We didn't hit that goal - we got rained out one weekend, plus we needed/wanted to spend time with Milton - but we came close, logging 280.70 miles from the end of April through the mid November.  It doesn't sound like that much said like that but we were weekend-warrioring only for a total of 32 hikes, and we ended up with an average hike length of 8.77 miles / average climbing 2,066'.

I thought it was a fantastic hiking season.  Hiking is probably my favorite activity out of all we do - it's certainly what I'm best at (because it's just walking) - and I really loved getting out there so much, doing the longer trails.  And, with a couple months' distance and lessons learned, H and I think that we wouldn't mind taking another all-in-one-day shot at the Under the Rim trail - but this time in the fall when it's cooler (and with better/saltier foods). 

But that's in the future.  For now, I'm going to bask in our accomplishment from this year, our year of hiking.