Brighton, January 22, 2010

I arrived at Brighton before 9 to 19 degree temps, over 9 inches of fresh powder, and a furious graupel storm.

The winds were vicious, blowing the graupel horizontally. Still, visibility was surprisingly good and the sun was visible through the thin storm clouds.

The Great Western chair did not open, high winds and avalanche danger.

Despite the cold temps, the snow was a little sticky. As the day progressed the graupel storm ended, and the snow seemed to get lighter and it started to squeak when you walked on it--always a good sign.

Hooked up with a local and we concentrated on the trees, jumping pillows, and skiing as much powder as we wanted. Laps on Millie was especially a kick as the galleys were full of snow whereas normally they slide out.

Around 1 p.m. the anticipted storm started in earnest and it began dumping sugar snow.

The snow got so deep at 2 p.m. I put away the 1080 guns and it was fatypus time.

A great day. Tomorrow they are predicting over a foot. Probably off to the Bird.

No pictures of skiing as the conditions were pretty harsh but here's a shot of the snow flying...

Bring it north with you when you come back.

Brighton: The under-appreciated ugly stepchild of the Cottonwood Canyons. I've been there on storm days and virtually had the place to myself because everyone else felt like they had to head for the big boys. I love those places too, but Brighton on a day like that is a treat, and my tickets are already paid for as a bonus.

Good job hitting the storm Keith, but you might consider going back to Brighton tomorrow if you want no lift lines and max freshies! If GW opens you'll be VERY happy. I've also been told by a few big time skiers that it's one of their favorite spots.

We'll be there in a few weeks, hoping for the same treatment!

Have fun, dog.

Thanks Keith for letting us know there are still places with good snow. You plan to ski Solitude? 25 yrs ago or so I had some great days there, snowing all day, tracks filling in each lap off to the side of a steep bump run served by a lift called Parachute or some such?

Actually today was not bad at Crystal, low wind, great Rainier views. Olympics and Baker were in the clear and there were still a few 800' shots of untracked 6" powder in Silver Basin trees.

Enjoy the road trip, be safe.

Sounds like a wonderful day.  My buddy was in Little Cottonwood today and experienced the same conditions.  The forecast for Saturday thru Sunday in the Wasatch is a powder addicts dream.  I have found that Solitude has smaller weekend crowds and when the Canyon is open it provides endless untracked terrain.  Be care with all that white stuff blowing over your knees and up your nostrils.   

Silas: read your report about crystal and talking to the man. The thing about solitude is that it takes so long to get back over to the Honeycomb,, but yeah, there's awesome skiing there for sure.

Zap: your buddy emailed me. Thanks.

Marcus: bring it back with you--You don't want to wait that long. I'll be gone until President's Day weekend. Heading to Big Sky on Feb 1 from SLC.

Haven't made  decision yet as I just got up. Car is covered with snow down here at SLC and they received 11 inches overnight at LCC so the road will probably be late getting open.