The Bombs Bursting in Air

Posted by on Apr 16, 2009 in Ski, Wasatch | 6 Comments

As the howitzer shells dropped onto the northern slopes of Little Cottonwood Canyon, we dropped powder shots on the south side. Dug, Mark, Aaron, Ben and Nate. Ben dropped a cornice into the chute atop Scotties Bowl. Which on its own is not that remarkable. The front flip he did off that cornice, skied out of and grinned about while we skinned up for another lap was, on the other hand, quite remarkable.

And speaking of remarkable, today is April 16th. And it turned out to be one of the great powder days of the season. April 16th! The crew at the CC Snow Factory were put back to work for one last, massive powder dump before the mountains melt and the singletrack is revealed underneath the 15 feet of winter accumulation.

The morning light was fantastic. The clouds came and went, revealing various slopes and peaks surrounding us. From Pfeifferhorn in the south, to the Twins on the north, the Wasatch spread out underneath our feet in a grand and beautiful, snowy dreamscape.


The Pfeifferhorn.

If it turns out that today is indeed the last powder day of the season, then what a great end to what has been an absolute feeding frenzy over the last 6 weeks it was. When I finally had my skis in hand, in late February, I was convinced that I was going to be doomed to a long and endless summer before I’d get a chance to really get out and use them.

And then March happened.

And I started seeing powder in my sleep.


Ben contemplates his line…

6 Comments

  1. Ski Bike Junkie
    April 16, 2009

    Back in February when we were trimming your skins, I was thinking “I really hope he gets a chance to use these this season.”

    Sounds kinda stupid in hindsight.

  2. Ski Bike Junkie
    April 16, 2009

    Oh and one more thing, “Ben dropped a cornice into the chute atop Scotties Bowl. Which on its own is not that remarkable.”

    You and I must define ‘remarkable’ differently. I would have been impressed without the front flip.

  3. Grizzly Adam
    April 16, 2009

    Oh I would have been as well. He really didn’t just “drop” the cornice, he launched it. I can’t believe how far he flew threw the air.

  4. dug
    April 16, 2009

    that’s not a picture of ben contemplating his line. ben doesn’t contemplate lines.

    he was peeing.

  5. Grizzly Adam
    April 16, 2009

    He was actually waiting for you to get out of the chute so he could drop that cliff. I think I heard him sigh “come ON dug…”

    But when I was editing the image, I thought ‘this sort of looks like he is peeing’

    And now Ben has been accused of peeing in a photo on both our blogs. Although your “Ben” was a cartoon.

    And with all of us blogging about his great skiing today, his ears have got to be burning. We must sound like a bunch of little groupies.

  6. Jill
    April 17, 2009

    Amazing photos! I’ve done a lot of hiking along that ridge, but I’ve never seen it from the “winter” perspective. I’ve forgotten how steep the Wasatch really is.

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