The Magic of the Cottonwood Canyons: Part 2 | Why Is Utah Weather So Good for Powder? This is the second article in a two-part series discussing what makes great powder and the reasons why it is found in the Cottonwood Canyons near Salt Lake City, Utah. Part 1 sets the stage and presents the facts for why Utah has some of the best powder skiing in the world. Part 2 is for the weather enthusiasts and explains why […] Weather John Solder | July 19, 2025 0 Comments
Why Does It Snow So Much in Utah? Big Cottonwood Canyon (Brighton and Solitude) and Little Cottonwood Canyon (Alta and Snowbird) resorts are world-renowned ski destinations, and Utah is said to have the “Greatest Snow on Earth”. At first, this may seem odd and, frankly, a bold statement for a state probably better known for desert towers and slot canyons. So let’s unpack the claim and better understand what makes Utah powder so […] Weather John Solder | July 12, 2025 4 Comments
Wasatch Dispatch: March Comes Rolling Deep!! Deep Utah powder has covered everything! It just keeps snowing here in the Wasatch Mountains. Another right-side up storm: a foot of heavy snow to smooth the tracks, topped off by two feet of perfect blower powder. The best thing to do, so they say, is to go ski it. With a couple of options in mind, we figured today […] Backcountry John Solder | March 15, 2019 0 Comments
Wasatch Dispatch: Lisa Falls This past weekend was one for the books all across the Wasatch. People were getting after it! Lots of classic lines went down (hypodermic needle, Y-couloir) and even some of the once in a wild-hair line (Medusa face, yikes). But we had the big mama in mind, the most vert you can ski in the Wasatch, Lisa Falls. Clocking in […] Backcountry John Solder | March 1, 2019 0 Comments
Wasatch Dispatch: Code Blue | After the Big Storm After a long steady Wasatch storm cycle, and a lot of greybird skiing, the clouds finally cleared and the powder was waiting to be harvested under a deep blue sky. Fire up boys, we have a CODE BLUEBIRD! Multiple storms added up to multiple feet of new snow. But the best was saved for last, 2 feet of cold Utah blower […] Backcountry John Solder | February 15, 2019 0 Comments
Wasatch Dispatch: Skiing Big Lines | Heart of Darkness and Monte Cristo Direct Time to grab the ropes and harnesses. We were hungry for some exposed skiing. TL and Adam were game to tick off some classic Wasatch big ski mountaineering lines. There is something undeniable about steep ski to boot transitions, rappelling in the middle of a line, and traveling over big cliffs. Fully engaged skiing. We had Monte Cristo in mind from the […] Backcountry John Solder | January 11, 2019 0 Comments
Wasatch Dispatch: Full Sun After the Storm After two days of wind and heavy snowfall, the clouds rolled away revealing a new coat of 75 cm of creamy snow in the Utah backcountry. Jeremy and I pushed off early to get a jump on the frenzy but were greeted by next to no one almost all day. Nice to watch the day start from the top particularly with freshies at […] Backcountry John Solder | January 11, 2019 0 Comments
Wasatch Dispatch: Holiday Season Round-up With all the craziness that falls around the holiday season, it is hard to keep up with everything. But one thing that we should not miss out on is self-care. What does self-care look like for me? UTAH POWDER!!! December started off strong and mellowed out enough for the powder to settle out, so we got to play on some […] John Solder | January 4, 2019 0 Comments
Wasatch Dispatch: Dawn Patrolling | Fresh Snow & the Fast Crew After an endless dry spell (ok… like 10 days) a quick hitting cold front moved through dropping 20 to 25 cm of dry Utah powder. Great Salt Lake even got in on the action firing off a few convective showers of the fabled “lake effect”. Reason enough to get out early; time for a dawn patrol. Upper Little Cottonwood came […] Trip Report John Solder | December 14, 2018 0 Comments
Wasatch Mountains, UT Dispatch: Further Afield | Searching out Stability & Solitude With the north half of the compass shut down to backcountry travel in the cottonwoods, it was time to get out and explore some more of the Wasatch. In the trusty Ranger, I ventured north, where the lack of October snow has made for much better avalanche conditions. After gathering knowledge from friends and the google, I landed at the […] Conditions Report John Solder | December 13, 2018 0 Comments
Skier Triggered Avalanche Injures Skier In 600-Foot Ride in Utah on Saturday Over the weekend a skier-triggered avalanche caught and carried a person. While only 30 feet wide, the slide ran 600 feet!! Through trees and all. The avalanche occurred on Dec. 8th, 2018. The caught skier suffered a facial laceration that required a trip to the ER and badly bruised hip, back, and shoulder. BUT SURVIVED!! With a broken ski, the group […] Avalanche John Solder | December 11, 2018 0 Comments
Wasatch Dispatch: December Is Here | Cold Days & Jolly Fellows With 4 feet of snow since Thanksgiving, the shoulder season daze is lifting all across the Wasatch Front and cold dry powder is now on our collective minds. A short break in the weather was forecasted, a magic blue window on Saturday morning, and we knew it was going to be a special day. This time of year the people […] Trip Report John Solder | December 7, 2018 0 Comments
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