A trip to the Desert, and a dip in a Hot Spring

 

More Great Snow!

We toured up near Alta today. It was fun seeing some aggressive lines skied in Wolverine Cirque. Mount Superior was tracked out today. Fun fun fun.

Great Snow!

The skiing to day was the best we've had in some time. Light dry confection sugar snow that gives back what you put into it.

manipulating government has developed into a reliably high-margin -- and thus high-rate-of-success -- enterprise

Not only is our country on the wrong track, but in an article by Jeffrey H. Birnbaum, lobbying is becoming so profitable that investors want in too. Presumably, you can now make money investing in the lobbying firm that represents you to government so that your own interests are advanced. Perpetual motion machines may not work in physics, but it seems that politics is now breaking all the rules.

A few days on the dark side

Black Diamond's new headski guarantees face shots. 

Ulli on the uptrack.

Sunday Tour

more touring from low elevation. Eventually you find snow. I hope my dogs appreciate all the effort I make so they can come too.

Low Elevation Tour

The tour on Sunday was a low elevation tour. We heard that there was near blizard conditions on ridgelines, so we decided to deal with sticks, rocks and a dusting of snow instead.

Eventually, we climbed above 8000 feet where the avalanche forcast center told us that we would find snow. yup.

Shortly after admiring the setting sun's light on the way down, the snow petered out, and the 3000 foot downclimb began. What a great day!

Southern Utah Swing

After our Thanksgiving meal, we took off for a tour of Southern Utah.

We hiked to No Man's Mesa, a remote part of Kane County which has been grazed only briefly. No doubt because of the 4 mile slot canyon and 900 vertical feet of switchbacks across Navajo sandstone with exposure!

The slot in Lick Wash to No Man's Mesa
widened a bit
until the mesa appeared.


A short stop in Bryce National Park.

A meeting of stones. What plans are they making?

A brief hike in Capitol Reef NP.

First turns

Snow conditions are still a little thin, but we found some nice snow.

River Cleanup on the Jordan River

Heading out in search of trash.

Who would have thought that the Jordan River in North Salt Lake City would be this pretty?

Two of us picked out over a hundred pounds of trash from the river. The white can in my trash bag is a fire extinguisher.