Da two Utes

Our friends Randy and Ali are staying with us until they can find a place here in UT. Yep, they're becoming Utahn's!

The newest additions to the great state of Utah

Saturday I got out of work early so we made a plan to go on an afternoon hike. I thought it would be cool to take them up American Fork Canyon, and do some hiking on Mt. Timp. I know a dirt road that wraps around Timp, and there's a big rock slide area that looked clear and easy enough to hike. Above the slide it looked like they're were some gully's that would lead up to the top ridge of Timp.

It's too bad there's no good views in Utah...

As we started hiking we were in good spirits, heavily debating the differences between a 'chute' and a 'couloir'... we decided the difference was minimal and Canada sucks.

SNOW!!! we went up to the chute to the right of the snow

As we made our way up the rocks got looser and looser, and the terrain got steeper and steeper. Before long we were fighting for traction, afraid we'd slide all the way down to the car. About this time we spotted some Mountian Goats, so we pressed on. They had no trouble getting traction... must be why they're called MOUNTAIN Goats and we're just 'bipeds'.

Big Goat, Little Goat... couloir?

We got as high as we dared, to the bottom of the gulley, and headed back down. The treck back down was nerve racking, doing more 'controlled sliding' than hiking... but we made it down safely. We ate our sandwiches as the sun set, and we headed home.

D-Rocket is all smiles at sunset

Beats sitting in the house, that's for sure! Welcome to Utah Randy and Ali :-)

Night falls on the Wasatch

Ryan South Side GoPro footage from Ryan Voight on Vimeo.

Aerobatics Clinic 2009

Wings Over Wasatch is proud to announce the Mitch McAleer Aerobatics Clinic will return to Utah, August 21-23! Back by popular demand, the 3-day clinic will build upon last year’s success. The goal is to educate each attendee on performing safe and progressive aerobatic maneuvers. This clinic is aimed at ALL aerobatic enthusiasts- from those looking to learn safely, to veteran upside-downers. Attendees can expect comprehensive instruction complete with video examples, equipment evaluation, video analysis and more.

The clinic will be held in the greater Salt Lake/Point of the Mountain area, August 21-23. Cost is $300 per attendee, with limited slots available. For more information, including a complete event schedule, or to reserve your slot, go to www.wingsoverwasatch.com.

No Rain in Hurricane (UT)

I've been working with a video producer who creates content for the Larry Miller Megaplex Theaters here in Salt Lake... he's creating a segment on hang gliding in Utah! Pretty soon you'll be able to go to the movies and, if you get there early, you'll see hang gliding on the big screen!!!

Road Trip!!!

Last week I gave a lesson to the segment host, and on Thursday Dan McMannus gave her a tandem flight (and flew with a video cam on board). In addition to those shoots, the video producer wanted to get some air-to-air footage, and wanted it to be over some of the breathe taking iconic red rock cliffs of Southern Utah.

Southern Utah... not scenic at all...

Friday a small group of pilots, along with a video crew, headed down to Hurricane, UT. The plan was for Dan to take the producer tandem, and throughout the flight the videographer could shoot aerial footage flying with the other pilots.

Heather posing with her Sport 2

The group consisted of Dan and Hildegard, Heather, Wes, Dave Gibson, and myself. After the 4 hr drive down, we scoped the LZ, then headed up top. The hang pilots set up their gliders, while the video crew set up their gear. Once everyone was ready- pilots launched 1 by 1, and easily climbed. As soon as Dangerous Dave launched the air show began. He was in his element, and having an inspired day... the film crew were loving it!

3D high-speed pass at the camera (on a crane, on left)

Later in the day Dan top landed so he could take the video producer up tandem for the air-to-air stuff. At this point conditions were strong... 10-15, probably gusting to 20. And this 'aint the South Side- it was rocky. With brush and cacti. Dan did a few fly-throughs and then lined it up and went for it. Dan executed the most extreme and technical slider I have ever seen. I was in awe of what I had just seen; I am still utterly impressed.

Dan's extreme slider, amazing!

Anyway, Dan and Eric (video producer) went up and shot some aerial footage. I haven't seen the footage yet, but between the red rocks, the clouds and sunset, and triple-D's flying circus air show, the footage should be astounding... I can't wait!

Dave getting upside down over the cliffs

Dave inverted in front of some red rocks

Dave buzzing Dan and Eric... should make for great footage!

When you plan a video shoot around something like hang gliding, you never know if it will work out... especially when that plan involves traveling 300 miles to an unfamiliar site. But the weather gods rewarded our faith with epic flights, footage, and photos. I wouldn't change a thing about the whole experience (except maybe next time I'll get to fly too)...

Perfect end to a perfect day

Done at the Deer

Deer Valley officially closed 1 week ago today... making it officially flying season in my book! On Monday I got a text from Dangerous Dave Gibson, saying the South Side was looking good. I was surprised to hear this from Dave- as he quits hang gliding every November and then typically doesn't get into it again until Snowbird closes.

Unable to pass up a good time, I told Dave I'd meet him there. He was nearly done setting up already, so I got started on my glider. I watched him walk up to launch, put the glider down, and start yelling about Jackson the dog sitting in front of him. He eventually made me come hold Jackson so he could launch... the guy nicknamed DANGEROUS Dave couldn't launch with a puppy at his feet. Yup.

After he launched I let doggie go and he began chasing Dave across the ridge, barking. Dave immediately went into 110 degree wingovers, exiting towards Jackson (and the hill!). Ballsy, considering this was his 'first flight' since the start of ski season. His nickname was re-validated in my mind.

3D getting radical on a South Side expression session

I fly, I fly!

Saturday I had the day off, and the forecast for the South Side looked decent. Having not flown since November, I decided it was a good day to get some rust off.

As I drove down the frontage road to the South Side, I noticed right in front of me was a familiar white van with a hang glider on the roof... John L and I drove up top and immediately started setting up. Winds were a bit light, but we were hopeful things would pick up.

Just as it started to get really good John Glime pulled in, and frantically started setting up too. John L and I supervised from above :-) Later into the morning, a bunch more hang pilots showed up. Most set up, but it died off before they got to fly. Some chose to fly down, some to break down.

Here is a video from today (thanks Liz for filming!):
Hang Gliding at South Side, Point of the Mountain
(click on the link to watch the video in HD at vimeo.com)

After flying a bunch of us went out for pizza and beverages, putting a nice finishing touch on the day. Then John Glime and I bumped into Heather and Adrian, and they invited us over for dinner... Adrian made a delectable dinner, and we just hung out and talked flying, life, and everything in between. Adrian also showed John and I his workshop, where he makes custom 'zagi' wings. He actually has a computer driven, automated hotwire machine- he just plugs in the dimensions and airfoil, and the machine automatically cuts the wing cores. VERY cool!

Fun Day on Sunday

I woke up with two texts from Des in my phone, one said "Did you want to go do a run?", and the other (referring to the avalanche forecast) "It's green... green means go!".

I was tempted to stay home and rest my feet, but unable to resist a good time in the great outdoors I sprung to life and got ready. She had to be back by early afternoon, so we were just going to do one quick run and head home.

Since it's so easily accessible, we decided to ski the southerly face of Cardiff Ridge, which is basically right next to Alta, overlooking the parking lot. The tour up was pretty painless, and there were lots of other 'backcountry enthusiasts' out today despite being overcast, flat light, and a bit snowy.

The run down was surprisingly stellar! We weaved back and forth a little until we found a good looking line down, then we laid our tracks on the hill. The snow was a little wetter than the infamous Utah pow, but still very nice. There was also a bit of sun crust maybe a foot or two below the surface snow, but that's to be expected on a south facing slope.

A little lower down I saw a nice line through some trees and asked Des to take my picture as I came down. I openly admit I'm vain like that, and love seeing myself do cool things like aerobatics or powder skiing... lucky for me Des was happy to oblige and set up below. I linked a few turns, which resulted in the below sequence :-)

There's something cool about ripping down a mountain
and leaving a cloud in your wake...

It was a great day to be on skis, and I'm really glad I went. As much as I enjoy resort skiing, there's something about the backcountry that hits deep in my soul. Probably has something to do with the feeling of exploration and the unknown... and the untracked pow :-)

Tuesday Touring

I had the day off, and originally planned a backcountry day with some of my Deer Valley buddies... but last night things kind of fell apart :-/ One didn't have a ride from Park City, and another got called in to work. I decided I'd just have to sleep in instead...

I got up around 9 and checked the Utah Avalanche Center website (part of my daily morning routine at this point). The forecast was green/low danger, and in the current conditions it said "riding conditions are still excellent", even though it hasn't snowed in over a week. The last line of the forecast really got me, "Get out and bag that long-sought-after super-tour, summit, or line."

I gathered up my stuff, and my avy-rescue dog (in training) and headed up to American Fork Canyon. From Salt Lake, or the Point, or Orem, or anywhere you can see the Wasatch Front really, you can see this one, pointy peak sitting next to the long ridge of Mt. Timpanogos. That pointy peak just North of Timp is Box Elder Peak, and I'm absolutely fascinated by it. I want to summit it, and stand on the pointy peak. Then I want to take my skis and rip that mountain to pieces.

Going at it alone (well, with Jackson, but no other humans that could use a beacon/probe/shovel to dig me out), I knew I wouldn't be skiing any steep and deep today. But that doesn't mean I can't loooooook! So Jackson and I drove as far as we could into American Fork Canyon, and then started to trek.

Avy Jackson, to the rescue! Oh, wait, he's just chasing snowballs again...

I fear the 'green means go' avalanche forecast won't last until my next day off- we have snow in the upcoming forecast, and this nasty surface hoar (AKA frost) was EVERYWHERE today. This stuff is known to be a persistent weak layer responsible for avalanches... the only hope is the new snow starts out wet enough to wipe out the hoar, or it snows a ton and the weight of all the new snow immediately collapses the weak layer. If not, better tread lightly for a while...

Surface hoar, AKA frost. Persistant weak layer. But it makes the snow nice and sparkly :-)

Having not done this journey before, I wasn't sure how far it was, or which way to go. I've studied quite a few topo maps, and Google Earthed it dozens of times, but sure enough there were a few tricky spots where I got lost. Below is a guesstimate of how far I went, and the route I took (minus all the detours).

This is ROUGHLY where I went and how I got there

The trip in looks long, but it was pretty easy. Probably 80-90% of my time west spent on hardpack snow roads, through the many campgrounds up there. Now that I know where to go and how to get there, I think I could get a group to the base of Box Elder in under 2 hours... maybe 3 depending how big the group is and how fast we move.

That's Box Elder Peak on the right, above treeline. The 'hill' to the left is barely visible on topo maps, eclipsed by Box Elder's additional 1,000 ft (Box Elder Peak is over 11,000 ft msl).

Getting to the top looks like... work... to say the least. On the other hand, the skiing looks phenomenal. I saw some fairly easy looking descents, but also some great looking 'big mountain' lines. There are also some steep and narrow chutes that beg exploration. It's one mountain that has it all... and that's just on the North-Easterly aspect that I could see...

I think I've found my new favorite backcountry stomping ground. When the snow is right, and some other people are up for it, I'm heading back... I need to ski that mountain.

Capturing the beauty of Utah

Those that know me, know that I'm never far from my camera. And for good reason... you never know when you're going to see something photo-worthy, so if you want epic shots you need to always be prepared!

I try to find something photo-worthy at least once a week... sometimes the shots come out, some times not so much. Here are a few I've had sitting around, 3 of the 4 are recent...

Late-day Sun-Ray

This one is from the summer, taken from the top of the North Side bench. As the sun set, a low level fog set in, and the 'layers' of mountains made for some neat 'sun-rays' through the fog.

Red sky in morning, sailor take warning.
But to a skier in Utah, this can mean... POWDER DAY!

This one was taken coming up Rt. 80 through Parley's Canyon, coming from Salt Lake to Park City. It took a few tries before I captured someone's tail lights streaking by, and by that time the vivid colors had already started to dissipate. Live and learn I guess...

Mount Olympus in the starlight

This one was taken on a sub-zero roadside on my way home from Deer Valley. I had to put stand the tripod on the roof of the car in order to get a good angle over those trees. Since it was dark the auto focus wouldn't work, so I had to manually ballpark it. My lens has distances written on it, but those are more-or-less guidelines, because in hot or cold temperatures things expand/contract and the distances can be off. It looked in focus on the little LCD, so I didn't take another... but when I got home it was clearly out of focus. DOH. Still, I think it captured the beauty of the mountains with Orion's Belt overhead...

Lonely sunrise

The crown jewell of my scenic collection, I took this one from the hang glider launch on the North Side one moring leaving for work. This photo is pretty stunning, but to see it in real life what breath-taking. I couldn't tell you why, but as the sun came up over Lone Peak, there was just so much color, it was incredible! This was another tripod and slow-shutter-speed shots, I wanted a low ISO and a 'smooth' look. Since the mountains and houses didn't move, they're nice and sharp, but because the clouds were moving I got that smoothed look I was going for...

Adventure Thursday is BACK

Had a GREAT day skiing at Brighton today!!! I, and a few of my Deer Valley buddies, had the day off today, so we made a plan to ski Brighton together. Besides myself, Brooks and Chris came out, and we got an early start (we were in the lift line before the lifts were open). Sandy met us there only a run or two later. After a few more runs we bumped into Ben and one of his buddies that's here visiting, so we were a group of 6 most of the day.

I wanted to go to Brighton because I recently signed up for a 'big mountain skiing' clinic at Alta/Snowbird... and skiing in a wedge on the flats of Deer Valley doesn't really prepare me for that type of skiing. Those that know me know I have a bit of pride, so I wanted to get some 'big mountain' practice in before the clinic.

Brighton is great for that type of skiing- they get tons of snow, it's steep, all the lifts are high speed quads... and my absolute favorite thing about Brighton is the anything goes attitude there. You want to duck a rope and ski out of bounds? Ok, but you're on your own. You want to ski in the double-diamond, experts only areas? Go for it... but know that a wrong turn might lead you off a 40 ft cliff. Seriously.

I don't recall mentioning that I wanted to practice big mountain skiing, but since I've been to Brighton more than the other guys I became the unofficial leader... which meant those suckers had to follow me down whatever gnar I could find. And we found some gnar! Cliffs, rocks, steeps, pow, tracked out crud snow, sun crusted snow, thaw-freeze snow... there was a caucophany of textures underneat our feet.

While not skiing scary lines, Chris and I peer-pressured Brooks into jumping off what I would call a medium to large sized cliff (considering how hard the snow for landing). He stuck it beautifully.

We're taught as instructors to be careful what we allow our kids to do, because "monkey see, monkey do" can be a real problem. Apparently Chris wasn't listening, because a run or two later Chris wanted to try his first cliff jump ever. The snow wasn't real deep or soft today, but we were able to find him a nice little drop to try out. He said he was nervous, but didn't seem to hesitate much before commiting and popping right off it. The landing was a non-event, and with a big smile he said he wanted to do more!

Since hucking cliffs is sometimes involved in big mountain skiing, and since it's quite possibly what I need to work on the MOST, we took some time jumping off things. We were like little kids... find a rock, jump in the snow. Find a bigger rock, jump in the snow. Chris' first one was pretty mellow, but his second was of decent size...

Chris' second-ever cliff jump. Brooks acts as air-traffic-control from below.

The biggest air of the day award goes to Brooks, who launched himself long distance off a boulder a little later in the day. The landing was soft and he nailed it. He came to a stop, then fell over :-) DOH! It was pretty sick though...

Brooks LAUNCHES off this rock, sails throught he air, and sticks it!

I think I need to award myself the wipeout of the day award, even though only Sandy and Brooks saw it. I got myself in a position where I needed to turn around in order to jump a small cliff and land in soft snow. By the time I managed turning around, I was pretty close to the drop. I think I commited fully, but I was so close that I didn't get any real speed and instead of launching out and away I just droped and sunk to my nipples. I followed this with an epic faceplant/cartwheel in the snow, and wound up on my feet 20 ft below the cliff (and my perfectly parallel-parked skis). It was painless, and hillarious, bruising only my ego. I seem to have this chronic problem where I do these drops going too slow and faceplant. Guess I need more practice... we'll have to hit Brighton again, ASAP!

All in all we had a blast. Found some new favorite spots on the mountain (and some spots I will never return to)... got some great skiing (with some great skiers).... and I nearly made it the whole day without falling, not bad considering the terrain we were on most of the day. Possibly one of my favorite ski days ever...