First skin of the season!

Mike and I, just barely made a first outing in October this year on a very thin layer of very fluffy snow. You may have noticed that the title doesn't say "first ski". That's because that would have constituted gross overreach... Although there were a couple of turns involved the descent was 98%+ on the skins doing some form of impure Nordic skiing. In any case, it was great being out there, getting the gear out and getting into the skinning rhythm. With 29 F at the Collins base and less higher up it felt like winter. These October outings makes you feel like you are getting away with something like "stealing a winter day". In short: a fantastic first outing of the 2015/2016 season! 

Here are the pictures (click to enlarge):

A sprinkle on Superior with Moon on top...

...better view of the Moon over Superior

Mike's and my up-tracks...

Mike measuring a solid third of a pole handle!

Is Great Baldy Chute going to be ready for consumption
before Alta opens for the season?

Better late than never!

Finally a forecast that looks a little promising. These are not the first flakes of the year but they may be the first skiable ones on very limited expanses of highly privileged terrain? Right now hoping is everything...

Today's forecast 2 Miles ENE Brighton UT (in LCC) 40.61°N 111.53°W at Elev. 9406 ft

Sprinkle over American Fork twin peaks (taken a couple of days ago)

Sprinkle over Timpanogos (also taken a couple of days ago)

Jupiter, Pine Cone and the Quicksilver Gondola mid station

Last Sunday I took the dogs out on a tour from my home in Old Town Park City, up to Jupiter Peak, then the no name 10,006 peak between Jupiter top lift station and Guardsman’s Pass from there to Scotts Pass and then the ridge line all the way to the Iron Mountain trail head. Count about 4,000+ feet elevation gain and a bunch of miles (not sure how many). In any case, this got me a close up view of the progress at the Quicksilver Gondola. From the looks of it seems that although there is a little work left they have a good shot at having everything up and running on time.

Here are the pictures (click to enlarge):

He is still there! See a couple of posts ago,
this guy is my new permanent neighbor...

...and almost a close-up, he checked us out carefully as we started out.

Quicksilver Gondola mid-station view one towards the Canyons...

...and view 2 towards PCMR

View of the pylones all the way to the PCMR
Quicksilver base and the new lodge...

...and the pylones down towards Iron Mountain and the
Canyons lift system.

The Mountain Patrol hut is almost done...

Quote of the day

One of my favorite, quotes used a lot, but worth repeating:

“Thousands of tired, 

nerve-shaken, 

over-civilized people 

are beginning to find out 

that going to the mountains 

is going home.” 

John Muir , 1901

It was true then and even more today. You want proof? Just take a look at the year on year sales figures for AT equipment and travel.

Dog hydration on the mountain: Tricks and Tips

I carry the water for my dog in a Nalgene bottle as these are the only bottles I use in the back country. Mainly because with its wide mouth I never have it freeze over in the winter. So I bring a couple of Nalgenes (a litre each) on big summer hikes because she (Skadi) drinks a fair amount when it's hot. To dispense it I bring a cup that will take half a litre. However on a long 8 hour effort a few weeks ago, in a cruel twist of fate, I forgot to pack the cup! When disaster strikes it's time to get into full on MacGyver mode and produce the most sophisticated and clever high-tech solution thinkable to your problem. So after much deep pondering and deliberation this is what you do:

1) Find five rocks each with one equal(ish) flat side
2) Arrange rocks in circle(ish) arrangement on a flat surface
3) Drop your rain jacket in the circle(ish) rock arrangement
4) Drop the water in the jacket-lined "pool"

Et voila! Doggy is served! Toldya it was both sophisticated and high-tech!

Here are the pictures of this breath taking patent pending invention (click to enlarge):

At the core of this innovation is this remarkable rock arrangement

Insert jacket - Pour water...

Happy K9!

Properly decorated Nalgene with insane amounts of
cool BC ski stickers that: 1) Demonstrates your BC ski 
bonafides, and 2) makes it impossible for your ski buddies, 
as they walk away with it, to claim that 
they mistook it for theirs...

Item who's absence allowed above genius solution to spark.

Moose on King and some PCMR Pictures

Today I took the dogs out to Jupiter from the house. As soon as I started walking up King and they went around the switchback both Skadi and Loki began barking somewhat frantically. As I get around the bend, I see this not too small Moose walking down the middle of King rd.

I get my dogs out of there, they're just not big enough to measure up. The Moose then walks up the hillside. On this picture he is about a 100 feet up from the road:

I also got a couple of pictures of the new stuff that Vail Resorts has been spending a good chunk of those $50,000,000.
What you see below is the base of Silverload minus the old lodge (I think it was called the Silver Lodge) plus the new one, plus the new Quick Silver Gondola that will, drop you off at Iron Mountain and so let you ski what used to be "The Canyons" and that is now just PCMR. Click to enlarge:

Somewhat closer view of the new Quick Silver gondola with thre
Silverload base station at left.

About half the new lodge anything right of the yellow aspen
is mostly hidden.

In Loki Skadi gets a brother

For those of you who need a refresher Skadi was introduced on this blog some years ago. She now has a brand new brother. His name is Loki Norse god of mischief. The name is not accidental. At 10 weeks he has endless energy to get himself into all sorts of trouble and it doesn't look like a passing phase either. In any case Skadi now has a hiking buddy, here are some pictures of Loki "summiting" Jupiter and hiking with Skadi (click to enlarge):

Loki at Jupiter

...and a close up

Skadi and Loki hiking together

...hiking a lot together...

...and hanging out...

...taking in the view.

This is unrelated but as we were still up on the mountain at sundown I got to
witness the sun going down over the Uintas. It hit me then that the Unitas
being East of us and the sun setting West, we (the Wasatch) provide the shade
for the Uinta sunset. That is what this picture shows, the dark at the foothills
of the Uintas that you can see above is our shadow cast on the Uintas.