Lately

For those of you who don't know, Utah has had a crazy season so far. We're just a day out from February, and honesty, only the most arrogant and selfish shredders in the Wasatch have really had any legit turns in the backcountry. Those of you who know me understand that I seriously live for bottomless turns. In fact, it's really the only thing that'll get me off the couch for days on end–if the pow is good, I'll be up before the sun waiting in line for the LCC gates to go up, and I'll be running to the tram from my car. In fact, I'll probably get my boots and my goggles on while I'm still waiting in line in my car. This year, though, we haven't really had that option. We basically had a drought until two weeks ago, and then we suddenly received, in some places, as much as 80 inches of snow in a very short span, which drastically overloaded the weak pre-existing snowpack. Major avalanches have been occurring naturally, and as the result we haven't been able to go safely into the backcountry to session some of our most favorite terrain. So, instead, we've been doing this:

Now, don't get me wrong, I think urban snowboarding is seriously next-level. Nothing scares me more than a big street rail (except maybe a gnarly avalanche cycle), and the crew that I've been roaming around with has been killing it. Episode Two will definitely have some stuff that will turn heads, but it's just that time of year where I really would like to get some sweet nipple-deep turns on Cardiff or Flagstaff, or spend a night hiking in the Twin Lakes pass area so I can get some bottomless slashes at sunrise. I've included a few photos from the Utah Avalanche Center reporting just in case there's some crazy people out there who think they're smarter than MN (Mother Nature). She'll get ya if you don't have your guard up, and so the advice from me and the rest of the Wasatch boys, as well as the Utah Avalanche Center is to stay out of the backcountry. And that includes all you fools who think it's cool to hike up over Ninety-Nine 90 and go into Squaretop and various other aspects. Don't be a moron, and give it some time. That nipple-deep champaign is waiting for us, but for right now, we need to be patient. And in the meantime, enjoy some urban shots, and my little experiment from the GoPro.

Mary Ellen 1/28/2010 in American Fork Canyon

Rock Bowl and Big Cornice in Logan. Natural Avalanches.

West Monitor Bowl, triggered by a split boarder

That's how far the run-out was for the Monitor slide

Snowmobile track disappearing into a massive slide that left him in critical condition, but alive.

So, for those of you who need a blatant reminder, STAY OUT OF THE BACKCOUNTRY, at least for the time being. You're going to make yourself and your loved ones a lot happier, and you'll allow the current snowpack to settle down a bit and not exacerbate the situation. In the meantime, go ride the park, as shown in Episode One "Reestablishment" of Wasatch: The Official Production Podcast, or get creative and go make your own park, like we did in the video below:

GoPro Wide Angle SD Hero from Parker Alec Cross on Vimeo.
Derek and I were desperately trying to make the rhythm section work, and we kept failing. Just couldn't make the speed work after the first jump, and since I was totally idiotic and left my HD camera at home (shoot me now), we threw on his helmet cam for a quickie.