Wandering the Wasatch

Turkey & Dirt

2009-12-07T18:43:00.000-08:00

Rimrocks Shred from John Maxwell on Vimeo.

With the single digit temps today, it is hard to believe that a little over a week ago I was shredding dirt with Larissa and my Dad. The bikes are now put away for the season as we await for the snow gods to unleash their fury on the Wasatch. As always a great way to close out the season with some shred in Billings over Thanksgiving.

Don't Hate Me..................

2009-10-09T11:57:00.001-07:00

Just Because I'm on the Level.

TR #2 - Colorado (Part 1)

2009-08-28T12:26:00.001-07:00

I am now a firm believer that everything is bigger in Colorado. The mountains are tall and the rides are long. Larissa and I got a chance to tag a long with Ben and Laura for a four day trip to Crested Butte. Ben had spent some quality time patrolling at the Crested Butte ski resort in the winter and wandering the bike trails in the summer, so we designated Ben as our tour guide. Needless to say, Ben did not let us down.

We got into town on Thursday afternoon, and headed for a stroll on the Snodgrass trail to get warmed up for the weekend. I did seem to be breathing a bit harder than usual as we were staying at an elevation of 9,300' and the riding only went up from there.

After a night of eating dank pizza with fresh figs, we headed out the next morning to the 401 trail. The 401 trail received the runner-up for trail of the year in Bike Magazine, so I was it wouldn't disappoint. Prior to leaving for the day, Ben recommended we link the 403 trail to the 401 trail. Being new to the area, I gladyly agreed. Little did I know it would be 7 hours, 40 miles, and 4,800' vertical of climbing before we were back at the condo. We were all a bit worked, but extremely stoked for such a sick day in the mountains. The climbing was tough, the descents fast and flowy, and the scenery was off the charts. If someone asked me to link the 403 trail to the 401 again, there would be no hesitation in my decision. "Yes!"

Larissa and I with Mt. Crested Butte in the background. Doing a bit of acclimatizing on the Snodgrass trail.

It was still all smiles at this point prior to the real suffer fest. At the top of Washington Gulch headed for the 403 trail.

Contemplating in the mountains. We have to ride how far?

Larissa ghost riding towards Gothic Road.

The summit of the 2nd mountain pass for the day. But wait, it isn't over yet.

Finally arriving at our destination. Just a bit more of climbing before a ripping downhill.

Right at this moment I was discovering what the Rocky Mountain High was all about. This photo was taken around mile 30 and well over 11,000 ft. and somehow I was feeling good, actually a bit buzzed. It is amazing how the mind can play tricks on the body, I was somehow convinced that I could ride forever.

Larissa hammering out 40 miles and 4800 ft. of Vertical of climbing all in style.

Ben scouting the descent on the 401 trail. Are we there yet?

Sick Views at the end of another sick day.

(Stay Tuned, For Crested Butte Part 2)

TR #2 Colorado (Part 2)

2009-08-09T22:08:00.001-07:00

After a day of hammering out 40 miles, we had hopes of getting up the next morning and repeating, but our bodies told us differently. Instead we opted for a shorter shot on the Upper Upper loop which runs from the ski hill into town. Although this trail was about a 1/4 of what we had ridden the day before it provided a joyous romp through techy rocks and flowy tight singletrack immersed in plush wild flowers.

Having finished up the ride by early afternoon it gave us a chance to cruise downtown Crested Butte. Even though there is a great deal of wealth in Crested Butte, the town still has a wild west feel to it. The locals are also bike crazy. Everyone either pedals the epic singletrack surronding downtown, or hops on their townie and heads for the local watering hole. Crested Butte is also home to the Mountain Bike Hall of Fame. The true roots of Mountain Biking started here and gave the Californians the ideas that have ultimatley led to one of the sickest sports today.

In an attempt to work on my Multi-Tasking skills, I attempted the Karate Kick/Biking maneuver.

Larissa too busy shredding the Upper Upper Trail to pick wild flowers.

You have to love a town that has incorporated the Community College's track into the bike trails. I figured it would be a good time to work on my sprinting. Didn't help much, still slow.

No need to worry about Dragons. Crested Butte has a full-time Dragon Slayer. Here is Larissa being saved.

Although the Californian's claim to be the founders of Mountain Biking, it truly began in Crested Butte and thus is home to the Mountain Bike Hall of Fame.

Definitely a place I feel comfortable hanging out.

When coming from a state with repressed liquor laws you are always stoked to score out of state high point beer. Ben and Laura can't hide the excitement.

The mountain thunderstorms rolled through Saturday evening making the trails perfectly tacky for Sunday Morning.

Larissa finishing up the trip with some shred on Stand Hill

TR #1 - Idaho

2009-08-04T20:38:00.000-07:00

Things are starting to settle down a bit after a whirlwind of mountain bike travel. I am going to try and catch up with a few blog entries of the recent travels starting out with a trip to Ketchum, ID. After first visting the area 3 years ago I have become addicted to the flowy backcountry single track. I made my fourth visit this July and introduced Larissa to the goods. The Fisher Creek Loop is always a fun way to kick off the weekend. The following day we did a bit of exploring and discovered the Oregon Gulch Trail. The upper section was a blast of flow mixed in with steep and techy and then finished out with some awesome meadow skipping through the lower section back to the highway. We closed out the trip on Curley's, another winding steep downhill that always leaves you wooping. I highly recommend you check out the trails of Sun Valley.

Always good to start the trip out with a Classic.

The famous burnt forest of Fisher Creek.

Vino from Oregon and Brew from Canada. Does that have "I'm from Utah" written all over it?

After ride "recovery drink" on the banks of the creek.

At the top of the Oregon Gulch trail. You are always a bit leary after a 2 hour climb and it doesn't appear that many people ride the trail. It is either going to be a gem or heinous.

Sometimes you have to earn it. Larissa hammering out the 10 mile stretch of highway to get back to our campsite. This is after 16 miles of riding trail.

I couldn't wipe the grin off my face after an epic downhill session on the Oregon Gulch Trail.

Scoob figured he would go for the Exon Valdez Oil Spill Look before we hopped in the truck and headed home.

Sun is Good

2009-07-28T21:03:00.000-07:00

Larissa and I have been on the road quite a bit as of late with a trip to Sun Valley and Crested Butte with only a few days of work mixed in. I hope to have trip reports up soon. Until then here is a short video that I put together of a few of the trails in Sun Valley. I had fun editing the footage even though I am bad at it. Enjoy!

Mountain Bike Session Sun Valley - Go Pro Helmet Cam from John Maxwell on Vimeo.

The Summer Shred Is On

2009-06-29T21:00:00.000-07:00

After 3 weeks of daily rain at the beginning of June the weather has finally cleared and the upper elevation trails are starting to shed their snow. Summer riding is in full swing and I am working on my tick list of trails for the season. The riding season has jumped off to a good start with my first Super D Race at Wolf Mountain and and an afternoon shralp on the Wasatch Crest Trail with Darek. Larissa and I also got to hit an epic while visiting McCall, ID for Walt and Devin's Wedding. The Ruby Meadows/Loon Lake Loop outside of McCall rivals any ride that I have done in both scenery and enjoyment.

The heavens unleashed the rains right at the start of the Super D race at Wolf Mountain. Made for a slick course.

Can't get enough of the views on the Crest Trail. Still quite a bit of snow on the peaks of the Wasatch. Maybe enough for a 4th of July ski?

Darek finds one of the few patches of snow left on the Crest Trail.

Larissa burning up the Loon Lake Loop.

The singletrack through the burn section on the Loon Lake trail rivals the burn section on the Fisher Creek Loop in Sun Valley.

Larissa scored a new 5 inch rig this spring and she has definitely been getting her shred on.

Sick views and singletrack along the Secesh River.

Dirty Snow

2009-06-11T16:44:00.000-07:00

I made a quick visit up to Montana to visit my parents for the weekend. I managed to talk my Dad into driving me up to the Beartooth Pass on Friday for a bit of skiing. With the gloom and doom of rain forecasted for the rest of the weekend I was stoked to have a bit of sunshine and made a couple of fun runs on the Gardner Headwall, but when I moved over to ski the Rock Creek Headwall the rain and fog had set in and I decided to call it rather than stumble around looking for the entrance into the Headwall. Needless to say it was another good trip to the Pass.

We bypassed the lift on Twin Lakes Headwall and aimed for the Gardner Headwall.

The left line off of Garnder Head Wall was a fun one. It started off with some fast steep turns off the top and funneled into a choke that was a left a bit boney from a wet slide.

Here I am on the Gardner Headwall. I am the little spec in the upper left hand corner. There is another skier in the lower right the skiing the main shot on Gardner.

Wildflowers are amazing. They can thrive in the barren tundra at 10,000 ft.

I attempted to ski the Rock Creek Headwall, but got shut down by the thick fog. This is a photo of my Dad creeping around in the clouds.

Wouldn't be a trip to the Beartooths without a little fog and tundra.

Chicago's Mountains

2009-05-30T17:10:00.000-07:00

Larissa and I headed to Chicago for Memorial Day Weekend. Although Chicago is an awesome city with plenty to do, I found myself most drawn to the views of the skyscrapers. The highlight of the trip was taking an architectural tour of the birth place of the skyscraper. The tour consists of a boat ride down the Chicago River which puts you right in the middle of Chicago's Skyscrapers. Although I prefer natural settings, I was in awe of the immense structures that man has created.

Larissa, Peter, and I at a Chicago Whitesox game with the skyline in the background.

The Bean in Millenium Park. I was amazed by this thing as was everyone else

Is that sand on the banks of the Chicago River? Nope that would be concrete, glass, and steel.

The Sears Tower with a little lean.

I kept seeing reflections of this sketch ball. As if he was following me?

The view from the top of the Hancock Tower.

Beat the Heat on Box Elder

2009-05-19T18:26:00.000-07:00

With temperatures forcasted to be near 90 degrees for the day, I decided to head for the mountains to cool off. The goal for the day was to ski of the summit of Box Elder Peak (11,101 ft). Didn't make the summit, but learned some valuable lessons along the way.

Lessons Learned:
1) Starting at the crack of 11 am is a little to late this time of year.
2) Get a map. I thought I could figure it out once I hit the trail but quickly realized this wasn't the case. I kind of got some directions from some horsemen that eventually got me headed in the right direction.
3) Bring adequate water or means to get water from a stream. I spent a good portion of the day eating snow to keep hydrated. Doesn't work so good.
4) Dogs are great ski partners, but they don't set a very good boot pack.

I ended up on the trail in the middle of the picture which led in the wrong direction and cost me about an hour of time.

Enough of the dirt, time to hit the snow.

A lot of the day was spent staring at this guy?

Mayes thinking about a swim in Utah Lake.

Don't let the smile fool you. I was a bit disappointed to be out of time and juice to make the summit.

Lookers left is what I wanted to ski.

Looking back on what I got to ski.

Had a fun day, but stoked to be back at the Truck 9 hours after I started.

Vernal?

2009-05-10T20:32:00.000-07:00

I had heard mention of Vernal single track a while back, but had yet to check it out. With a recent article in Bike Magazine comparing Vernal to the likes of Fruita and Moab, I knew I needed to ride this zone. The weather was perfect and the single track was tight. I will definitely be back.

It always good to start out the day with a little pre-ride stretching

............ And a sacrifice to the Bike Shoe God.

Larissa at the entrance to Fire Sale!

Scoob trying to get me to pick up the pace.

Screw the view lets rally some single track.

I thought my new aerodynamic haircut would help me go faster, but no, I was dragging ass as usuual.

All of the tight single track left Scooby drooling for more.

The trails had strategically place scultpures. They were very cool and often incorported old bike parts. I definently got good vibes from this place.

Crow and Lacey joined us for the weekend. Lacey is stoked on her new truck and camper.

The campsite. Not much shade in Vernal.

Crow headed for a collision with a rock.

Lacey about to nail a fun switchback on Fire Sale.

Choices?

We chose Dipity and it treated us well.

Scoob finally had to give in.

Desert Smiles!

Ski Partners

2009-03-22T15:06:00.001-07:00

In states such as Montana, most don’t think twice to load the Dogs in the back of the truck when they head out to backcountry ski. Utah does not have this luxury. Both Big Cottonwood Canyon and Little Cottonwood Canyon are designated “Water Shed Areas” which is really another term for “ No Dogs.” Don’t get me wrong, with the amount of backcountry ski travel these canyons see, if everyone brought their dogs, it would border on ridiculousness. By venturing out of the Cottonwood Canyons into places such as the Oquirrh Mountains, Emmigration Canyon, and the Snowbasin periphery, I have had the opportunity to tag along with Scoob and Mayes. The dogs make especially good ski partners when heading out for Solo Missions (no other humans). They are great at testing snow stability, no bitching, and best of all they ward off fellow skiers trying to poach lines.

Scoob trying to go for a free ride on the skin track.

Screw the view, Lets huck the cornice!

Mayes scouting her line.

Scoob stomps on the snowmobile track.

Here is another one of my wack narratives. Luckily I watch these videos before I post and make sure I veto it so I don't bore everyone. I threw this one in because the dogs make up for the boringness.

Howling

2009-03-15T21:27:00.001-07:00

This is the only photo that I took while chilling in the parking prior to a full moon journey in the Uintas on Wednesday night/Thursday morning. My photography skills are extremely weak making it next to impossible to get any kind of blog worthy photos while skiing at night. Anyway, I don't think any photo would do full moon skiing any justice.

Since discovering the joys of full moon skiing a few years ago, I have become a fan. I have been able to get out on numerous full moon expeditions, including three nights last season. This year all the full moons had fallen on storm nights and I was beginning to think it wasn’t meant to be.
The month of March proved to be different. With a couple of feet falling the day before the full moon and a clear night forecasted, I knew it was on. I got the call from Stoy “ Hey, Full Moon in the Uintas, you in?” “Hell Yeah!”

Alex was able to rally a crew of 10, almost unheard of if you ask me. We had a relaxed skin up with multiple breaks to have a few drinks of whiskey, wine, and beer. Then skied an amazing shot with perfect creamy powder, made even better with the beautiful moonlight. It was so good we had to go for seconds. The out was interesting to say the least, a stout zipper crust, made for a couple miles of snow plowing. Made it back to the trailhead by 1 a.m. and was in bed by 2:30 a.m. and then up at 6:30 a.m. for work. I had a hard time keeping my eyes open at work, but couldn’t wipe the smile off my face from such an epic night.

Canada

2009-03-06T11:15:00.000-08:00

A preview of the movie Larry is editing of our trip to Canada last year.

I Give it a Y

2009-02-26T21:38:00.000-08:00

Larry and I got the opportunity to ski the Y-Couloir in Little Cottonwood Canyon. The Y is a true Wasatch Gem in that offers 3,200 ft. of vertical at a consistent 40° pitch. Getting to the top of the Y is fairly simple. Load your skis on your pack and start bootin. The Y is the true Stairmaster.
Just about the time I thought I was core for hiking the Y, I was quickly slapped in the face, when a crazy Euro dude popped his head over the summit. He had hiked up in Timberland work boots and ripped blue jeans, not to mention he was lacking a sliding apparatus to get him back down. Yes, he hiked down the same boot pack that he came up in.

The Y Couloir in all its Glory

At this point I was really wishing Larry would have fixed the hole in his pants.

Coal Pit Headwall. It's on the list.

Are you sure I am going the right way?

Larry testing out the rocks of the Y.

Larry checking out the traffic jam on LCC Road.

Which way do I go?

Never Summer

2009-02-25T08:00:00.000-08:00

Check out Craig's new website:

http://www.endlesswinteradventures.com/

How long will the ski streak last?

Life Balance

2009-02-18T17:45:00.000-08:00

What I did before work today. Utah What?

Sick of it All

2009-02-17T19:38:00.000-08:00

I am sure you are all sick of my blogs about skiing, but it is hard to write about anything else when the Wasatch is just this good. The storms have been consistent and the snow deep. The College Crew rolled in for the weekend and awoke to a foot or more of fresh at The Bird. I heard quite a few "That was the best day of the year" comments at the Condo that night. Needless to say, I was excited the others got to sample the Utah goods, that us locals sometimes take for granted.

Mark from Boise was the only one in the house that came with backcountry gear and a split board. Yes, he was rewarded.

Mark felt out a fairly large stump in the white room on this run.

Northwest Face of Silver Fork (Check out the nuking winds coming off the ridge. If you look closely at the right hand side, you can see the wind slab Mark set off.

A closer view of the wind slab debris

Before I met up with Skiapalooza Posse, I had a roomate day in the Basin Backcountry. The roomates and I had one of those days with bluebird skies and perfect snow. We even got the rare opportunity to ski the Fingers. The Fingers are a zone of chutes off Mt. Ogden. They rarely open as they are often chalked with avy debris, contain variable snow, and develop huge cornices. However, today was the day, as they opened for only 2 hours with ideal conditions.

Crow finishing off his run in Cold Water Canyon with Style.

It had been a couple of days since the last storm, but the snow still had the usual Wasatch Charm. Crow tests it out in Hell's Canyon.

Lacey, Saves lives at night and slashes Pow by day

Me, Finishing out the Cold Water run and headed for a little bushwack(I am going to dedicate a future blog to this term)

Getting amongst it in the Wicked Witch.

With all the snow flying around I was due a mental health day. I headed out with Larry and Chris for an ascent of Mt. Wilson My mental health was restored with the 2 ft plus of fresh that welcomed us on Wilson.

I got a lot of crap for the self portraits I posted in my last blog, but I couldn't pass this one up since I was sporting some nice Sweatcicles.

Sweet Terrain of Mt. Wilson

Turkey Day

2009-02-03T10:28:00.000-08:00

With a beautiful Saturday brewing in the Wasatch, Larry and I decided to go for a bi-canyon journey. We dropped a car in Mill Creek Canyon and headed for the Butler Fork Trailhead in Big Cottonwood. The ski descent for the day was off the summit of Gobbler's Knob down the north face to the car parked at the Porter's Fork Trail head in Mill Creek. Needless to say, the stoke was high, as this is an area that Larry and I have discussed on more than a few hazy nights.

The summit of Gobbler's provided us with endless views of the Wasatch ski terrain, stirring dreams for the future. The down was the highlight and ranks near the top of my backcountry ski descents. The sun produced high levels of serotonin in the brain, the sky was blue, the snow was smooth cream powder, and the skiing was fun from off the summit (10,242 ft) all the way to the car (5,950 ft). Gobbler's offers wide open rolling terrain at a perfect pitch, and did I mention it is a long run. The mental test of bushwhacking on non-existent hiking trails often associated with exiting a backcountry line was not the case. The Porter Fork trail was perfect for a James Bond style ride down the mountain, leaving me with nothing but smiles as I hit the gate.

A little video action of the lower section:

Morning Commute

2009-01-28T16:43:00.001-08:00

Met up with a few of the guys from backcountry.com at their local dawn patrol spot in Parley’s Canyon. The sweet views consisted of the orange alpenglow in the horizon and a steady stream of headlights funneling down I-80. The turns were fun and I made into work by 9:30. Not a bad way to start out the day. Can’t wait to get back and ski off the summit of Mt.Aire.

Mt Aire Calling

Weather

2009-01-25T19:23:00.000-08:00

The weather in SLC has been less than ideal. With 10 plus days of high pressure the inversion got supper bad. The pollution in the valley was worse than I can remember in my 4 years here. Friday it started raining, giving everyone hopes of the inversion lifting, but instead we ended up with acid rain. Then the sun came out which was followed by a thick, dense, and eerie fog. The rain level was around 8,000 ft which made for some interesting skiing (soggy).

In true Wasatch fashion the strom pulled through, the temps dropped and the snow turned to fluff, blessing us with storm totals of 24" or more. This made great conditions for Larissa's first ski tour up Meadow Chutes. Oh yeah, no more inversion! (for now)

My First Post!

2009-01-18T18:58:00.000-08:00

With the avalanche danger finally mellowing out, it has given me the oppurtunity to get into some lines I have been thinking about since moving to Utah.

Day 1 - Started out with an early morning skin up Argenta (3250 vert) in Big Cottonwood. We were able to summit Kessler peak and ski down all before Crow had to head to work at noon. The skin was awesome and provided a beautiful view of Mt. Raymond and Gobblers Nob in the alpenglow. Skiing was good with some creamy snow in the uppertrees.

Larry, me & Crow @ the summit of Kessler

The route

In the upper chute

Day 2 - The goal for the day was to ski Bananna Chute off Allen Peak on the backside of Snowbasin. This is a shot I have been wanting to do in its entirety, but have never taken the time because it requires a fairly long car shuttle. The line decends 4600 ft in less than 4 miles and ends up in a neighborhood in Ogden. Definently a fun adventure with a run out that involved a ton of bush-wacking and dodging large boulders in a creek bed. Crow's edge suffered a fatal blow when he attemped to gap the creek.

Scouting the Bushwack

Looking back from Ogden

Day 3 - Didn't have a plan when the day started only that we were meeting Alex at the Base of Big Cottonwood at 9:00 am, which guaranteed an adventure. We decided to take a walk up Butler Fork for the day. Once we crested the first ridge and saw Mt. Raymond looming in the foreground we knew that was our target. I had only been up Raymond in the summer and remember commenting that "these lines would be awesome to ski." The approach to Raymond was a good push with a little scrambling on the ridge to get the blood flowing. It was a fun line from top to bottom with good turns off of Raymond, into an amazing aspen forest, and then out Mill A Gulch with spring like snow.

Alex droolin over the lines on Raymond

Getting Closer