Ogden is Utah's best kept secret. From prestine climbing crags, world class ski resorts, lakes, rivers, to high peaks and epic mountain biking; Ogden has it all. This past weekend, me and two other buddies decided to get out and enjoy some of the new 12 feet of snow the Wasatch mountains have received this year so far.
The original plan was to ski some low angle runs around the Ogden Canyon area due to high avy danger from the massive amounts of snow we've been receiving. Saturday morning though, we woke up to "Moderate" avalanche conditions and a blue bird day. It was too good to be true so we decided to ski Ben Lomond.
Ben Lomond is home to some of Ogden's best backcountry skiing. Unfortunately, the North Ogden Divide needs to be open or you have to drive all the way around the Ogden Valley to get to the trailhead. The divide was closed so we ended up skiing the canyon just south of the divide. We parked in a neighborhood and started to skin up someone's backyard to get to a service road that led up the canyon.
The road had had snowshoes on it previously so breaking trail wasn't too strenous at first. After a mile or so up canyon, the tracks stopped and we were on our own. The scenary was breathtaking. The air was cool and the snow was blower soft. It didn't take long for powder fever to set in and as we looked up the south side of the canyon we saw a ridge that was destined to be skied.
We broke trail for about 2.5 hours before we all agreed that it was time to get some reward for our hard work. We stopped about half way up the mountain, stripped the skins and got stoked about skiing wide open, fresh pow turns. The run was amazing. It was full of natural features, waist deep powder, and screams of joy.
After reaching the bottom, we decided to head back up for round two. We charged up to the spot we had turned around last time in about half the time. It's so much easier when you're not breaking trail. We all wanted to reach the top so we surged on. After another grueling session of breaking trail we finally reached the top of Lewis Peak. The sights and views were breathtaking. Looking out over the city of Ogden and down into the Ogden Valley, I hadn't felt so alive in a long time. "This is what it's about," I thought to myself.
Once we again we were treated to an epic run full fresh pow turns, cliff drops, and more snow than you can imagine. Once we all reached the bottom, we had nothing but smiles and hand shakes to say to each other. It was just one of those days. We bombed out the canyon and back to the neighborhood where we had parked. Why hasn't Ogden been discovered? People back from Park City where I'm from would kill to have days like this, all alone and waist deep powder. Whatever the reason I'm stoked I'm here and look forward to many more days full of fresh pow, lonely hikes, and epic scenery.
The original plan was to ski some low angle runs around the Ogden Canyon area due to high avy danger from the massive amounts of snow we've been receiving. Saturday morning though, we woke up to "Moderate" avalanche conditions and a blue bird day. It was too good to be true so we decided to ski Ben Lomond.
Ben Lomond is home to some of Ogden's best backcountry skiing. Unfortunately, the North Ogden Divide needs to be open or you have to drive all the way around the Ogden Valley to get to the trailhead. The divide was closed so we ended up skiing the canyon just south of the divide. We parked in a neighborhood and started to skin up someone's backyard to get to a service road that led up the canyon.
The road had had snowshoes on it previously so breaking trail wasn't too strenous at first. After a mile or so up canyon, the tracks stopped and we were on our own. The scenary was breathtaking. The air was cool and the snow was blower soft. It didn't take long for powder fever to set in and as we looked up the south side of the canyon we saw a ridge that was destined to be skied.
We broke trail for about 2.5 hours before we all agreed that it was time to get some reward for our hard work. We stopped about half way up the mountain, stripped the skins and got stoked about skiing wide open, fresh pow turns. The run was amazing. It was full of natural features, waist deep powder, and screams of joy.
After reaching the bottom, we decided to head back up for round two. We charged up to the spot we had turned around last time in about half the time. It's so much easier when you're not breaking trail. We all wanted to reach the top so we surged on. After another grueling session of breaking trail we finally reached the top of Lewis Peak. The sights and views were breathtaking. Looking out over the city of Ogden and down into the Ogden Valley, I hadn't felt so alive in a long time. "This is what it's about," I thought to myself.
Once we again we were treated to an epic run full fresh pow turns, cliff drops, and more snow than you can imagine. Once we all reached the bottom, we had nothing but smiles and hand shakes to say to each other. It was just one of those days. We bombed out the canyon and back to the neighborhood where we had parked. Why hasn't Ogden been discovered? People back from Park City where I'm from would kill to have days like this, all alone and waist deep powder. Whatever the reason I'm stoked I'm here and look forward to many more days full of fresh pow, lonely hikes, and epic scenery.
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