By Andrew McLean
At long last, the Wasatch Mountains are open for backcountry skiing! The high country has had traces of snow for a while, but without the snowpack filling in down low (to 7,500') it means very limited options and lots of rocks. We finally got a couple of big storms in the last few weeks which filled in the mid elevations and made skiing less of a base-ripping, edge tearing experience and much more fun. The storms came in with a lot of wind and moisture, which meant that the powder isn't quite as fluffy as desired, but it will pack out to a good base.
Penn Newhard was in Salt Lake City for a sales meeting and motivated Brad Barlage and me to get out for a pre-dawn lap on Argenta. Argenta is one of the bigger avalanche paths in Big Cottonwood Canyon and when conditions are safe, it makes a good Dawn Patrol outing as it is right by the side of the road so you don’t waste a lot of precious/dark hours doing long approaches.
The skiing was "sponge cake" powder, which is kind of soft, but not very fluffy. Still, it had a fun rebound to it and a nice speedy surface.
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