on repeat

 The next two days just got better and better, warmer, lots of sunshine, slight breezes.  We wanted to take advantage of that.  There's been so much snow in northern Utah that H's early season cycling has been non-existent.  He's been itching to get on a bike outside so both days we went up to Moab Brand Trails where he could MTB and Milton and I could hike.  

Swimming!

As mentioned before, we've turned the corner into high season, which was evident by the number of vehicles in the parking lot both days.  High season is also heralded by the reappearance of the trail ambassadors at their little green tables, handing out water, dog cookies and information about the area with aplomb.  We were gratified to see lots of tourists checking in with them - hopefully this will help preserve the trails from poor usage.

First paintbrush of the season

Both days we did our respective usual routes - a couple locations along the singletrack were muddy from the recent rains but quickly drying out; Milton had multiple swimming holes from which to choose - and both days we were surprised at the lack of people out on the trails.  We were sure that the trails would be crowded with so many vehicles in the parking lot but no, for whatever reason, we just didn't have to contend with that many people.  Milton would have like to have met more, actually, but he made up for it by introducing himself to the people parked next to us after our hike/ride.

Full potholes

All too soon the weekend ended and we returned north to the land of snow.  Surely spring will reach SLC at some point?

passing showers

We woke up to the sound of pouring rain on the roof.  Milton had to be convinced to go out for a walk; we had to be convinced to take him out for a walk.  But after a couple of hours, the rain started to let up and we decided to drive along the Colorado River, looking for ephemeral waterfalls.  We first stopped at the boat launch on the far side of Route 128 and took a photo as evidence of the river level.  Hopefully that will rise as the mountain snow melts.

Not too high yet

Next, as the clouds were breaking up, we went down the Potash Road, which is usually a good spot to find waterfalls.  We were a little late and only found a couple still spilling over the cliffs.  H then had the idea to go see what the culvert across from the Gold Bar Campground looked like.  This is the culvert you have to walk through to get to the Jeep Arch hike.  We would not be walking through there today: there was a lot of water coursing out of the canyon and it was coming out fast.  There were three people from Colorado milling around disconsolately, having hoped to check out that hike; lucky for them, the Corona Arch trailhead was within shouting distance so they had options.

Culvert in action

As far as our options went, we decided to go up to Sand Flats and tromp around on the Slickrock Trail, figuring that there'd be plenty of rainwater for Milton to drink, plus we wouldn't get too wet or muddy with most of the trail being on rock.  Busy season has definitely begun in Moab - Easter Jeep Safari usually kicks that off - and there were lots of vehicles in the Slickrock parking lot, lots of MTBs and dirt bikes on the trail and lots of Jeeps and 4x4s on the adjacent Hell's Revenge trail.

I really like this tree

Although this meant that the winter's peace and quiet was shattered, it also meant that there was plenty of entertainment for us to watch, as the vehicles, both man- and motor-powered - crept up and down the sandstone domes.  There were a couple of trail runners out there too but for the most part, we were the only ones afoot.

Taking in the views

Both out on the trails and back at the parking lot, people were happy and friendly, glad to finally be breaking free of the long winter.  Us too.  I mean, we love winter but there has been a LOT of it this year.

Hike stats:  5.01 miles; 1:53 hours / 2.7 m.p.h. moving and 2:23 / 2.1 overall; 940' of elevation

as;lfjls;d 

slight break in the action

 Oops ... that week got away from me.  (Seems like I say that a lot.)  We got shorted two days of skiing with the canyon being closed but we did go back to Moab last weekend.  We did some stuff - nothing groundbreaking but I'll posted about it soon.  And then Alta's closing weekend is coming right up! 

no, seriously, it's really nice to see the sun

Saturday was even nicer.  Once it warmed up, we put H's MTB in the Subaru (sure would be easier if I would just get a hitch put on there so we could use the bike rack) and drove out to Moab Brand Trails, Milton unhappily sitting on my lap.  It was busy - well over forty vehicles - and the Moab Trail Ambassadors had their table set up, ready to educate the masses about Leave No Trace and trail etiquette.  We were pleased to see that there were folks talking with them, taking advantage of their local knowledge.

Milton's swimming pool was open

While H did his MTB route, Milt and I headed out onto our usual loop: up and over the cutoff from the parking lot to Bar M, right on Bar M to Circle O, left on Circle O back to Bar M, left on Bar M back to the parking lot cut off.  I don't know where all the people from all those vehicles were: we saw one trail runner with dog and one MTBer on Bar M, and while we heard voices when we were out on the rock, we had Circle O all to ourselves.  

Shake it off

We've done it enough that Milton knows the route. He loves it out there, especially on Circle O, where he ran and ran and ran (and swam) and covered a lot of ground.  I think I did around five miles (give or take) and he easily doubled my distance.  H caught back up with us as we were heading back to the parking lot cutoff; the dog promptly abandoned me to run back with the bike.  Back at the car, he was pretty tired - but not so tired as to be unable to introduce himself to the kids parked next to us as they unloaded their MTBs.

All kinds of Jeeps in town for Safari

Sunday was even nicer, one of those unicorn days in southern Utah where it's warm in the sun but not at all hot.  I was strangely feeling the need to pull some weeds so while I did that, H and Milton went back to Moab Brand Trails with H's MTB.  Milt gave it his best shot but he had clearly overdone it the day before: he managed to trot along with the bike for seven miles but with two miles to go, he'd just had it.  They were on the downhill portion of Lazy-EZ and H said that they were getting passed by little girls on pink bikes and little tiny dogs.  How embarrassing!  

oh wow there's the sun

 As I mentioned, before the Giant April Storm inundated the northern part of Utah, we went down to Moab for the weekend.  Having had such a snowy winter meant that we really didn't get any valley inversion/pollution in SLC - which was frickin' fantastic - but it also meant that we've barely seen the sun.  Almost all of my [admittedly very few] ski days have been overcast.  I don't think either of us has seasonal affective disorder but, man, we really wanted to have some sunshine.

Heading down the wash

We didn't get any sun on the drive down: rain and spitting snow and some road slush, not enough to be too sketchy for driving but more than enough to coat the Subaru with salt and dirt.  And our neighbor Amelia said that Moab had gotten some hard rain over the last couple of day - the ground was quite soft, perfect for pulling weeds (sigh).

 

View through the wash and across 

the Colorado River to Potash Road

Friday was quite nice, however, with just a few clouds in a nice, blue sky.  It was warmer than we'd been in weeks, although with the breeze, it was cool if the sun went behind a cloud.  Milton and I had convinced H to go for a hike with us and I didn't want to get wet, so we went over to the Moab Rim trailhead to scramble around on the rocks.

Mini arch (about golf ball size)

There were just a few cars in the lot when we got there, but we knew the trail would see some action as this was the first weekend of Moab's April Jeep Safari.  We powered on up the Stairmaster hiking trail, pausing to de-layer about halfway up.  At the top, we continued out along the 4x4 trail and before we got to the Tire Test Hill climb, we veered off into a wash.  We'd seen people with climbinb gear heading out there in seasons past and had wanted to check it out.  Before long, the wash was full of water so we had to climb up onto the sandstone domes in order to keep going.

A desert pond!  Complete with pond weed!

When Milton made moves like he was going to chase a squirrel, he got relegated to being on leash, at least while we were near the cliff edge.  We were up above the Kane Creek road, looking across the river at Wall Street; below us, the wash we'd been in ended in a dramatic pour-over.  I'm guessing that's where climbers go but no one was there at that time so we couldn't confirm.  As we were climbing the sandstone, H exclaimed, "It's a lake!"  And true enough, hidden in a pothole on top of those cliffs was a tiny, ephemeral pond.  It was full of water, ostensibly from the recent rains but judging from the water weeds, it must hold onto its water pretty well. 

Determined tuft

We continued on away from the cliff's edge - allowing Milton off-leash again - and made our way across the rock back to the 4X4 road.  There are more washes that I want to explore out there but we saved them for another day, heading back on the road.  As we descended the steep rock ramps of the Moab Rim 4x4 trail, we passed a couple of Jeeps on their way down.  Back in the parking lot, they stopped to chat with us for a bit: they were in town (from Missouri and Texas) for the Safari.  They were also very charmed with Milton, who was just glad to have parking lot people to meet again.

Hike stats: 5.68 miles; 2:12 hours / 2.6 m.p.h. moving average; 2;16 / 2.3 overall average; 1,600' elevation gain

unprecedented

 I don't so much post real-time here.  For example, since the last post, we've spent a weekend in Moab (which I'll share in a little bit) and then we had a monster snowstorm in northern Utah.  Right now, as of the date I'm both writing and posting, Alta has gotten 877 inches and the Little Cottonwood Canyon road just opened for a couple hours after having been closed since Monday.  Alta and Snowbird are running out of food (and beer!) and employees haven't been home for days, much less the tourists who couldn't catch their flights.

The avalanche danger from this unprecedented amount of snow is off the charts.  They opened the road for a couple of hours this morning, downhill traffic only, to allow people to get out of the canyon.  Then they closed it all day, since the sun is out and the warming temperatures are causing slides like the one pictured below.  Tomorrow, Saturday, they will open the road from 5-7 a.m., downhill only, then 7-9 a.m. both directions.  The road will close until 7 p.m. when it reopens to allow people out - no exceptions, so if you want to go up to ski, you'll be there all damn day.  Unprecedented for sure.

The avalanche came off lower Superior, crossed the

canyon road and spilled onto Chickadee at Snowbird.

Luckily, no people were caught in it.  This happened

Thursday, April 6, midday.

record-breaking

 Little Cottonwood Canyon did not get enough new snow overnight to merit a canyon closure for Sunday - it was points north that got pounded, with Snowbasin receiving nearly a foot of fluff while people slept - so the early bus ride went smoothly and relatively quickly.  

Catherine's Area, full to the brim

It was mostly cloudy as the latest storm system lingered a bit, and dang cold: 18F, with a wicked bite to the windchill.  The light was very flat, except for a couple of brief breaks in the clouds in the afternoon when the sun popped out, but the snow was terrific.  It had stiffened up a bit since Saturday - I overheard one woman described off-piste as "thick" - and when H did a run in Catherine's Area, he reported back that I wouldn't have liked it, as it was very deep and very heavy.  On the last pitch before the cat track out, he just straight-lined it and the depth and weight of the snow kept his speed way down.

It's only a matter of when we get to 800 inches

Surprisingly, for it being a weekend and how terrific the snow was, it wasn't very crowded.  H and I got to ride the lifts together more often than not, and we scarcely had to wait in line.  It's probably because everyone was drinking hot chocolate in the lodges.  We even went in for a while so H's feet could warm up (my battery-heated socks were heroic).  There was a point midday, however, when ski patrol dropped the rope into Supreme Bowl.  We were on the chairlift at that time and it looked like ants swarming, there were so many people poaching fresh pow in there.  H scored a couple of runs in there himself and reported that it was very, very good.

This is at the Nordic Center in Big Cottonwood Canyon

Even given perspective, the snow is up to the second floor

PC: not us - thank you, internet stranger, great photo

A year ago, it hit 78F on this date in SLC.  That's clearly too warm but what a difference a year makes.  This one is for the record books for sure.  The Diving Board (a natural cliff jump below the Supreme chair) has less than a two foot drop now.  There is so much snow.  There has been so much snow, all winter, but this week has been impressive in particular (see 7-day snow totals below).

snowiest

 As of this writing (some time before posting, tbh), it is officially the snowiest season since Utah started keeping records in 1952: Alta has had 749 inches of snowfall and it's still snowing (it will never stop snowing, apparently).  Since the first snow on October 22, they've averaged 4.9" per day.  For those of you who aren't math fans, 749 inches is 62.4 feet.  It's settled, of course, and Alta's base depth is 210 inches, which is still 17.5 feet.  We'd better hope for a cool, slow spring because if we get 90s in May like we have had in recent years, we're all going to need a snorkel.

The latest storm brought Alta 51" of fresh snow over a period of just a few days and so there were multiple interlodge events, multiple canyon road closures and massive avalanches, both intentionally triggered and natural.  On Friday, they lifted the afternoon interlodge long enough to let the 1,500+ people who were crammed into the base area buildings out of the canyon and then re-closed the road at 10 p.m.  H went to bed that night hoping to be able to get up there but not particularly confident about it.

In the morning, UDOT said the Little Cottonwood Canyon road would open at 8:30.  By 6:42 a.m. H had a seat on the bus but they were being held at the park-and-ride.  At 7:17, the bus got a police escort to the base of the canyon, ahead of all the private vehicles already lined up.  At 7:30, they pushed the canyon opening back to 9:30.  By 9, both Brighton and Solitude reported that their parking lots were full.  At 9:18, they opened LCC and the bus started up, getting H to Albion Base around 10.  Alta then reported they were delaying their opening until 10:45 and H had a small panic when he overheard an employee say she'd heard they might not open at all.  But by 10:35, the "delayed opening" banner was off the Alta website and it was GAME ON.

There was a lot closed, of course, due to avalanche danger: Baldy, the Ballroom, Main Street, the Backside, the EBT, Devil's Castle, East Castle, Rock N' Roll, Supreme Bowl and Catherine's Area; the Supreme lift didn't open until the afternoon.  Even the rope tow was closed - they hadn't had a chance to dig out the rope - so it was a long, slow slog from Albion Basin to Wildcat base area.  You might ask, was it still worth it, with all the closures?  The answer, according to H, was a resounding yes.  He skied hard and everywhere was the same: ridiculous amounts of deep, soft snow.  Well worth the effort.

In non-skiing news, Milton and I took a long walk and I did a bunch of cooking again: blueberry muffins, chocolate chip cookies (which sadly did not turn out as I had expected), red lentil soup, spiced lentil tamale pie, InstantPot black beans and peach cobbler filling.  The laundry also got put away - all of it!  (Well worth the effort.)

ain't no spring here

 There has been no sign of spring in northern Utah - or even southern Utah, as St. George, which usually has around three days in the 70s in March, will not have seen a single day in the 70s in March this year - with cold temperatures and snow (so much snow) continuing to roll in.  

We were back up at Alta the weekend right before "spring" with both of us skiing Saturday and just H skiing Sunday.  We got up at 5:30, left the house at 6:30, got a seat on the second bus of the day and were up at Albion Base by 7:15.  (This time we didn't spring for an exorbitantly priced cup of coffee.)  There are still struggles with the new six-person Sunnyside chair: skiers, especially beginners, cannot successfully count to six, and the lifties have not figured out the best way to get people through the gates in the right numbers.  Still, we got on without waiting too long and then skied right onto the Supreme chair.

#iykyk

The snow is, as you might imagine, fantastic.  The cold temperatures have kept it soft and there's just so much of it - whole sheds and houses are buried and the trail signs are at hip-height.  We skied at Supreme for a number of runs, H venturing into the trees and popping back out with a grin on his face, until it got crowded.  We shifted to Sugarloaf, found it quite cold with the wind (as it often is) and moved to the front side to ski Collins.  Unsurprisingly, the snow was terrific there too - Corkscrew may have been the best its ever been - although high traffic areas were getting skied off just a bit.  We noticed lots of people taking the traverse all the way across Ballroom and skiing the chutes on Baldy Shoulder.

There are markers like this all over now

so the snowcats don't run over buried buildings

My legs are not in shape (that's not an excuse, it's a fact as I have not been good about doing squats this winter) and so I skied out to catch the 1:30 p.m. bus.  H skied an hour longer and when he got home, we took advantage of the marginally-warm temperatures - the sun was out! - to tailgate in the driveway.

Alf's is pretty much an igloo now

On Sunday, I did a long walk with Milton, started some seeds (hot peppers, Thai and regular basil and cilantro) and did a bunch of meal-prep cooking (pumpkin muffins, maple oat bars, lentil "sausage patties" and "egg" squares for breakfast sandwiches, cashew cream, cajun spiced beans and pureed butternut squash) while H skied.  It was a little colder and a little less sunny up at Alta so the snow had stiffened up a bit and wasn't quite as good off-piste.  It was a little colder and a little less sunny down in the valley too but that didn't stop us from bundling up and tailgating again. 

catching a break

 We did actually catch a bit of a break with the weather on Saturday.  It rained in the morning and it rained in the afternoon, but there was a window in the middle of the day where blue sky actually broke through.  Milton and I took advantage and went for a hike: the Moab Rim loop/lollipop. 

Pretty desert

We didn't break any new ground - up the steep Moab Stairmaster trail, out around the Moab Rim loop counterclockwise so that we went up Tire Test Hill and down Sand Hill, out through the wash and back down - but I did note a wash before Tire Test and a side canyon in the wash that I want to check out next time.  I'm sure Milton won't mind a little extra exploration.

Milton also likes the view

Because of the recent rain, there were plenty of potholes from which Milt could drink.  The sand of Sand Hill was also nice and compacted, easy to walk in, relatively speaking.

Follow the red sandy road

We pretty much had it to ourselves too.  There were several women finishing up an earlier morning Stairmaster circuit as we started; we saw three hikers out on the loop portion; and there were maybe five vehicles making their way up the steep part as we came down.  We also saw a very large desert cottontail - Milton gave it his best chase but that bunny was savvy enough to lose him without much trouble.  

"Where's that dang rabbit?"