Brighton uphill policy - The sequel

In the Wasatch Brighton was one of the early adopters of an Uphill Policy. That is a policy authorizing and regulating uphill travel on skins for ski tourers. Brighton allows ski tourers up on two different routes: One is up to Catherine's Pass, the other one up to Twin Lakes Pass, for the full policy, click here. In 2015 I posted about the first half of that policy. Only four years later (I don't skin in resort all that often) here is the sequel i.e. the second half of the policy.


From the bottom of the Millicent lift base, looker's far-right, follow the resort slopes up to the Twin Lakes Dam. To do that you keep to the right of the farthest right slopes until you are just below the dam at which point you are asked to take a sharp left. This has you cross to the other side of the lake under the dam. You then make your "escape" from the resort on looker's left of the dam. This is where you want to start your hike towards the Twin Lakes Pass as the right side would make you skin under eminently avalanche-prone terrain.

Here are the pictures (click to enlarge):

Since 2015 the resort has added good signage to keep the confusion down...

...including arrows and groomed sections!

You are now out of the resort and skinning looker's left of the lake. Twin
Lakes Pass in the center and Black Bess to the right.

Having not skied this area in years I was surprised to see Solitude's claim
to the Backcountry!

On an otherwise very overcast morning, a short opening in the clouds
 allowed me this shot of Mt Superior from just below Patsy Marey.

Snow hare

This little guy heard Loki and I coming and ever so carefully walked in under a spruce and decided to stay perfectly still hoping to avoid detection. Lucky for me that gave me the time to get my pack off, unzip (slowly), get the camera out, and take a bunch of shots. Lucky for him the uptrack was a couple of feet deep so I was able to just keep Loki laying down where he couldn't even see what was going on.

Here is a couple of pictures (click to enlarge):

This an enlargement so not as sharp as the two others.

Update on Loki's recovery

So, Loki is now one week into his recovery from surgery for a severed Achilles tendon. For more on that see the last post here. He is having a boring existence: no touring, no horseplay, no running, no jumping, basically there goes his whole social life. But just because you're wounded, doesn't mean you can't relax...

Loki making sure he is not straining himself too much...

A bad day in a ski dog's life

Loki is a VERY enthusiastic skier. How do I know this? Every time I am done transitioning and down to getting my gloves back on, he starts bouncing around, repeatedly jumping up at me, and squeals! I take that as a sign. Then, I start skiing and he still aims at jumping up at me while I am skiing and most of the time manages to get right in front of my tips. I have strategies for that, like faking a left turn while executing a hard right or simply speeding away in the powder. All these strategies experience uneven degrees of success. With the occasional abysmal failure. Like yesterday.

Yesterday, I was just starting my ski down from Summit Park Peak when he must have caught up to me from behind. I didn't see him, took a left turn, felt something slight and undefined on the outer edge of the back of my left ski and saw Loki not actually on my ski but close enough. I continued down and suddenly noticed him limping. His hind left leg was limp and when I checked on him, it was bleeding, not a lot but still. I figured another ski cut so off to the vet for another 4 - 5 stitches (had already happened to my other dog Skadi).

The vet diagnosed and the verdict was a fully severed Achilles tendon! She said it takes the bad luck of having the "perfect" angle on the leg and really sharp edges (I was using new skis...). So today he went under the knife in Layton (only available surgeon this Sunday) and I just heard he did great, is out of anesthesia, and is breathing on his own. All is well that ends well! except, he will be missing six weeks of the best season in a very long time...

For those of you that don't know Loki the superhero, here is a before video (see him fly through the powder). a before picture, and today's "after" picture:

Kinda majestic...

...kinda hard to look at...

Wasatch Bluebird

Today was one of those spectacular Wasatch days with lots of sun, blue skies, and no wind to speak of on the ridgelines or summits. This season started with a decent storm but ever since that we've been nickeled and dimed with a couple of inches here and there but little by little it starts looking a lot like winter...

Here are some pictures (click to enlarge):

Mt Raymond and Gobbler's Knob.

In the center Mt Superior, Cardiac Bowl, Cardiac Ridge, and the Ivories.

Looking at the West Face of Jupiter Peak with the East Face to the left.

From left to right: Mt Baldy (if you enlarge you'll also see the Great Baldy
Chute), Hidden Peak in Snowbird, and American Fork Twin Peaks.

To the left in the background, Dromedary. center foreground,
Little Water Peak.

The Uintas in the distance with Park City in the foreground.

Loki posing for his summit picture on top of Murdock Peak.

November 11 - Stolen Winter Day

Went out looking for snow at Empire in Deer Valley and found all of a couple of inches. The skin up was OK, However, due to the ridiculously thin snow "cover", what was then planned to be a skin down became a ski carry and walk down all but the flattest spots. Although always happy to steal a winter day, this one required enough extra work to make one think one may not be that talented a thief after all... In any way with temps of 18 F at the parking lot and both wind and Dynafit bindings freezing on top of McConkey's it felt like a somewhat legit snow day. Here are the pictures:

Jupiter Peak still needing a few more storms...

Loki in the foreground and Guardsman's Pass in the center-right behind him. 

Sundog is always a good snow trap, you can even see some turns in the lower
part, likely from after the October storm.

View down McConkey's bowl.

Clayton Peak (in Brighton ski resort aka Majestic), elevation 10,721.

Clomping around Guardsman's Pass - The Return

A few days ago we went out with for our objective the Hidden Canyon Saddle (between Clayton Peak 10,721 and Peak 10,420) on the Guardsman's Pass to Clayton Peak ridgeline. That day we didn’t make it all the way mainly because of our route being just enough off that we missed our objective. So, we went back there today and nailed it!

We started the tour with a skin from Empire Lodge up Orion slope and from there crossed over to Bonanza Flats where the Old State Route 152 and Pine Canyon Rd meet. From there we aimed square for Bloods Lake at about 9,500’. After that, we followed the summer trail towards Lake Lackawaxen and about halfway into the trail we took a hard left (west) towards the headwall under the pass, then skinned it up, et voila!

For the return we contoured, on skins, 10,420’ on the Big Cottonwood side and so skinned through part of Hidden Valley, then onto Sunny Glades and into Promised Land which holds amazing ski lines. Once we made it back to the Guardsman's Pass ridgeline it was skis on the back (not enough snow to ski down) down to Guardsman's Pass. After that, still walking, it was down Old State Route 152. Then it was a skin back up a service road to Deer Valley and down Ontario back to the Empire Lodge.

This does not qualify for a glamorous Wasatch bluebird powder day. However, it’s was still beautiful and it’s always fun to figure out the terrain and approach when you make up your own tour!

Here are the pictures (click to enlarge):

The ridgeline.

Mike, Loki, and Skadi at a frozen Bloods Lake.

On top Peak 10,420 dominating Bloods Lake.

The white field in the center is the slope just under Hidden Valley Pass.

View of upper Big Cottonwood Canyon while contouring the "backside"
of Peak 10,420. In the Center is Mount Wolverine with, to its right,
Mount Millicent, and to its left Mount Tuscarora,

Beyond and above Twin Lakes Pass (center) is
Mount Superior in Little Cottonwood Canyon.

Mike walking down the ridgeline to Guardsman's
Pass. This was a skin up, skin down, climb, hike up
and down with your skis on your back. Anything
but actual skiing! Time for more snow!