Mid-January Utah Tours

General Cornwallis on the Mill B - Monte Cristo Variation of Little Superior (Jan. 9)

Kid Buffalo Suffering through Some Awful Dust on Crust in Silver Fork (Jan. 15)

More Dust on Crust: Alexi on Mountain Wilson Peak (Jan. 16)

Tushar Rendezvous Team Photo

(click for higher res and to download)

The skier boyz favorite thing to see a powder turd getting rejected due bad visibility. Go park that thing and earn your turns.

Adventures in Mill B South

Mill B South has been a sought after area for some boyz this early season. I have been up there on four different occasions looking to ski something new and exciting each trip. I have accessed the upper reaches of this ridge via Broads fork, White Pine chute and directly up Mill B South (recomended). The main runs up here include Bonkers in the sky, off Dromedary shoulder and Your Crazy (see center of photo below). After multiple days of exploration Stefan and I found a couple of other notable shots I would like to share with y'all.

Upper Mill B- We skied off this ridge twice in two days. Your Crazy (center) and Your Psycho (left of center), both excellent runs with over two thousand vert.

Dromedary Peak and Bonkers in the Sky.

Your Psycho was in good powder conditions while resort skiers where complaining about not getting any freshies. Boo-hoo-ha!Top of Your Crazy.
I'm crazier than you!
This line is off the peak behind the Sundial. It was about a thousand foot shot lined with beautiful orange walls and a steep upper section.
Stefan skiing through some cool rock formations.
After skiing our second couloir of the day we ventured above the Sundial probing for a chute through. A short side hill and this is what we dropped into. Saweet Jah!
Good and steep and a new line.
Zipping out the bottom of the once hidden chute. Boyz, was that a good day!

-JF Buffalo

Unkle

Would you like some kraut on yer chilli?

the skier boyz headed south to fishlake nf to ski the tushar range to avoid wasatch rain crust .I think we did a good job of keeping our president touring almost the whole time even though he brought a little bit of alaska with him to our high desert alpine playground. Here are some pics from the trip. mt holly 12001

summit of mt holly looking at the tushar backcountry

looking north north east from mt holly

puffer lake

tushar trees

skier boyz x-treme comp venue

the berkshire division of skier boyz on the mower

roy herbason nursing a broken dynafit to the bottom of the mower he must of toured those binders into the ground again
sometimes I wonder how many board feet of of trees where consumed by this slide path over the years

scogs inspecting at a glide fracture lower on the mower

Amanda sking the mower for the first time and learning the kick-turn

Scogs above the glide fractue laying down turns with out rocker.

The massachusetts division of the skier boyz went out this morning expecting a normal tour upon arrival to the mower we ran into the last sterbender on his 2400 snowbile he even offered to put custom rocker on all our skis unfortunately he got my skis everyone else got away . Now i got rocker everywhere and can't even tell whats the tip and tail they both look the same. I guess I should have listened to tightass on the whole wasatch being closed to day.

Suicide: January 9

There's been a lot of talk of dawn-patrol lately. I found myself participating in the storied ritual early Sunday morning. My reasons were simple: free ride up the canyon with a promise of breakfast.

Cornwallis and I geared up in the covered entry in the shadow of Hellgate. The snow was beginning to let up and stars and planets peered through the last remnants of a weak system. The skinner began at the road in 2 angry inches. Trail breaking was easy and we were at the base of the chute in short order.

Cornwallis put it in 4 low and took off in a fury. I would not see his face again until the top. The higher we got, the deeper it got. It became obvious that we were in for a treat. Wind and snow had conspired together in our favor.

The cornice was bigger than usual and required some low 5th class moves. True to form, Cornwallis strong-armed it. I elected to pass my pack up.

From our perch, we shouted obscenities at Snowbird and Alta for longer than was necessary. Eventual we clicked in. We didn't say much because of hoarse throats from our recent hollering. The snow was excellent and the skiing effortless. 10" of low density scattered as we silently plummeted towards the 210.

Cornwallis Cam

We rounded the bend and passed from shadow into the sweet sunshine. Lower down there was only 4" and the turns were getting loud. Trenches from skiers earlier in the week were frozen solid. We worked right to a smoother area and let 'em run until it got quiet again.

I've always wanted to "ride that shit switch into the road," but the reality of a 4' drop to flat convinced me otherwise. It was still early and my stomach reminded me of the pre-arranged breakfast. Free-ride, free food: maybe there is something to this dawn patrol fad.

- U.K.

Coalpit 4 & Bell's Cleaver: January 7

J-Wow and the PA Prince had sent the booter up "The Cuatro" two days prior. We used our phone-a-friend to get the inside line on the creek crossing since the bridge at the power house is out. Shred-Hound quickly found the class 5 skinner through the brush and on to the booter. The Prophet and Powers took turns leading the charge while Cornwallis and I lurked in the back.

Up Coalpit 4

3,200' later we topped out on Perla's Ridge and the Cleaver came into view. There was some debate whether to ski down into Bell's or to conserve vertical.

Shred-Hound Visualizing Lake Bonneville

We made some turns but mostly trascended across the south facing slope. There was a rapidly warning crust and frozen roller-balls, but the going was fast and we were skinning towards the Cleaver. The closer we got the worse the snow looked. A prior wind event had the team worried about snow quality up high. We were 800' below the summit looking up at the NW face of the Cleaver. The dream was over; it was not to be. The consensus was the snow was garbage and Powers starting skinning to a mini-pass east of the Cleaver. But Power's must have been suffering from vertigo. He kept going up where he should have switched back. He was above the pass. Now another kick step and another. The distance to the summit was halved and the Prophet took the lead. The distance was halved again and we regrouped on the ridge about 200' below the summit and there was no choice despite the rock, ice, snow route above.

Leading the Charge

The last 200' took 45 nerve-racking minutes. At last the summit yielded. High fives all around. Powers had obviously won the uphill portion of the tour and was offered 1st tracks, which he graciously accepted. The spine started in the high 40's and and mellowed to a reasonable 41 for the run-out. Snow quality defied expectations: it was creamy goodness and the coverage was excellent.

Cornwallis on the Run

NW Face of the Cleaver (click photo for better view)

(click here for helmet cam of Cornwallis)

The day was far from over. The 3,200' Coalpit 4 waited patiently for her 5 lovers to return. Passion reigned as her tender slope fell away. Light gave way to dark. Snow to rock. Love to exhaustion. Exhaustion to hunger and back to love. What a great day!

This upper schuss is not in the Chuting Gallery so we were at a loss for a name. I felt empty knowing that I would not get to check anything off in the back of the Wasatch Primer. The shot deserved a name. Meat Cleaver? Leave it to Cleaver? Maybe NW Face of Bell's Cleaver should stand instead of some "Cleaver Play on Words."

Groan......

Sorry.

- U.K.

Tanner's: January 5

The only crust in Tanners was right here for about 500 feet. no more switch hitting please, I was well into the chute by the time the call came through.

Hale-Bopp: December 24, 2010

I'm somewhat embarrassed posting a drama free tour. Sure it was cold. Yeah it was an aesthetic line. Hall-Bopp is one of the Summit 49ers. All good things, but compared to the excitement down in Utah: my line was a yawner. Up here, nobody took a ride in a potentially deadly slide. There are no threads on tele-tips discussing the ramifications of my run. No one hopped a train out of Elko. No signs were stolen. There were no stare-downs with anti-personel artillery. Just another gorgeous run in a spectacular location.

Sorry for the let down.

In the Summit Lake area, there are a disproportionate number of peaks that are 49xx' tall. Obviously, I hope to collect the whole set. Hale-Bopp (4970') is between Upper and Lower Summit Lake. I parked at the pull-out on the North side of Lower Summit Lake and followed the skinner across the bridge and past the cabins. The skinner continued towards Raven Ridge, but I was interested Butch Ridge. Click for the map. I veered left and set the skinner/booter up Butch passing not one, but two Wolverine Cirques in the Sky. I continued over Nancy Peak and made the final push to the top of Hale-Bopp.

Today was day 23 without snow. It was 15 below at the lake and the temp hasn't cracked +10 in weeks. The snow structure is garbage. The entire snowpack would be facets if not for the Thanksgiving Rain Crust (TRC). Thankfully, the TRC (12" down) is supportable. Without it schussers would be punching through to the tundra on each turn. The sugar sloughs are running fast and long on top of the TRC.

The hoar on the South Face of Hale-Bopp sparkles in the sun. Its 2,500' to Butcher Creek. The pitch is perfect for boot deep effortless skiing. The weak bonds in the snow shatter with each turn. The crust announces itself on the steep roll-overs. My tracks cannot hold from and collapse into themselves. All vertical micro-features cave in. It's like trying to build a sand castle well above the high tide line.

Sure, the ski today was nice, but I see chairlifts in my future.

-Adam Lang

Washed Out Turns

Spirit Walker: Another Kenai 49er

North Bowl, Eagle River: December 20

The longest night of the year was upon us, and as if to make a point, the cosmos conspired to take the moon away. This was too much. A protest was in order. I organized a demonstration to prove that the dark could not crush our spirit.

The entire Alaska Skier Boyz Precinct gathered along with a couple of Marks for a protest march in the Chugach. Skies were clear and the moon was on our side, but old Cosmo was attempting to strong-arm our celestial brother. By the summit the moon had been completely subdued. To honor our fallen comrade, we skied the dark moonless night for 1,500' vert of knee deep blower.

Hubert and The Noodler led the protest march back up the bowl for a second helping. Cosmo's grip began to loosen and our old dear friend was beginning to light the way. The battled silently raged on. Cosmo had made a statement but our compatriot was intent on taking back the night.

At last it was over and the moon was victorious. Our loyalty was rewarded with a perfectly lit second run in North Bowl and for a third run back to where our protest had begun.

Taking away the moon on the longest night of the year was bullshit. Sitting idly on the couch is what Cosmo wanted, but we refused to give that cold bastard the satisfaction. Rise up! Do not ignore the injustices in the heavens! Take to the hills! Let the canyons echo with your protest chants as you plummet down sheer faces and cramped couloirs! Now is the time! Rise up! Rise up! Injustice will not stand!

-Fast Eddie

Another Inexplicable Fashion Trend from the World of Nordic Skiing