Utah Adventure Journal

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The entire world knows by now that Utah has the greatest snow on earth. But we can all agree that ski resorts are more than just the powder that falls upon them. Utah’s ski and snowboard resorts are unique, and each can toot its own alpenhorn. But besides the snow (which is obviously most important) […]

The sun sets as I take my bike off the hitch rack. Mountain bikers in the parking space beside me do the opposite. They’re heading home. Although their ride has ended, mine is about to begin. I dig my shoes onto pedals and take off up lonely singletrack. A few stragglers are on the trail […]

Park City is undeniably a world-wide mecca of mountain biking. With over 400 miles of singletrack and the honor of being the first IMBA Gold Ride Center on the planet, there’s a trail for every taste and experience level. People travel for miles to ride famed routes like Mid Mountain Trail, Wasatch Crest, Spiro, Flying […]

  “Winter is coming.” This simple phrase made popular by the TV show Game of Thrones,is pervasive and overused.You’ll find ithashtagged and quoted on every Instagram post featuring autumn colors, dark skies, or the first white dusting of the season. The saying is also very true. It’s a mantra that every mountain person doesn’t need […]

  Utah’s best early-season backcountry ski tours   Story and Photos by Jared Hargrave     Patience is not a virtue of backcountry skiers. Every autumn Utah inevitably gets hammered by an early-season snowstorm that drops a few feet of virgin snow in upper elevations. Those peaks with frosted tips ignite a migration into the […]

  Nothing ruins a carefully-curated outdoorsy image faster than having a child, and camping is the first activity that fades into the Outer Darkness. I determined this while purchasing something I once swore I would never buy – a camper. In scripture, Outer Darkness is a place in which a person, generally of the wicked […]

  New Brews to Keep Your Summer Tasty The mountains are green, the air is hot, and your beer better be cold. Summer is in full swing in Utah and our state’s breweries are churning out seasonal brews that are light and refreshing. Perhaps you’re tailgating at a trailhead after a long mountain bike ride. […]

  I’m not an athlete. But when I strap a number plate to the front of my mountain bike, I sure feel like one. The difference is athletes enter races to win. I enter races for the promise of free beer at the finish line. But despite my indifference (and physical limitations) to making the […]

The perfect location is inside the door, right below the sliding lock. This spot ensures the most visibility as it’s just above eye level. Everyone who comes inside will be forced to look at it. A captive audience. I peel the backing off and carefully place a sticker atop dozens of others, hiding the competition. […]

The moment was peculiar, I noticed, when Matt Walker tossed an inflatable pool toy into our shopping cart. Polygamous women and girls wandered the aisles in grubby prairie dresses, wearing hair so big they could paint the ceiling by just walking beneath it. Also in the cart, an assortment of the usual last-minute trip essentials. […]

Each year, Utah breweries release seasonal beers that pair well with their respective time on the calendar. Autumn’s required drinking includes Oktoberfest styles. Winter calls for dark, boozy ales. During spring, fruit beers blossom in liquor stores everywhere. But summer, ah summer. No seasonal beer-style quite matches up with the season like those of the […]

I’m hiking up a scree field in my ski boots. With each step, a mini rock-a-lanche cascades down, initiated beneath my worn soles. A few smaller rocks gain momentum and ping down toward Mason Diedrich, who is boulder hopping below. Like me, he has skis on his pack, poles in each hand, and stiff plastic […]

It was one of those March days when the sun shines hot and the wind blows cold: when it is summer in the light, and winter in the shade. – Charles Dickens. I don’t rush into things. No decision, large or small, receives a verdict without a serious pow wow inside my skull. Decisions marinate […]

“This is the nicest yurt I have ever seen.” It’s Saturday afternoon in the La Sal Mountains and I am taking off my ski boots at the door of the Geyser Pass Yurt to avoid tracking mud onto the gorgeous wood floor. My friends enter behind me with similar exclamations about our lodgings. The bunks […]

The scene before me looks like news footage of a crowded New York City sidewalk. A stream of people, hundreds, maybe thousands deep, approach. These people trickled in a few at a time at first; a giggling, young couple here, a group of shirtless college boys there. But as we near the end of our […]