Utah Adventure Journal

In a recent issue of UAJ, writer Lee Cohen took a look at the idea of interconnected resorts, or the so called “Interconnect” linking up Wasatch Ski Resorts, Euro style- via chairlifts. The idea once so popular, but largely under the radar for the past several years, has never gone away he discovered. It has […]

“If you fall, you die!” This catchy, morbid phrase, popularized by Coloradan, Chris Landry, one of the sport’s foremost pioneers, defines the allure of steep skiing. Although people have perished, it is rare, and most never consider that dire possibility. Mountaineering skiers are driven by a passion to descend improbable lines, and the reward is […]

“As long as it snows and blows in Utah, there will be avalanches.”  I am not sure who said this, but their wisdom resonates louder than their words ever could.  The combination of epic Utah terrain and copious amounts of annual snowfall, coupled with the fact that there are over a million people with easy […]

Why climb for hours on skins from Alta or Spruces CG only to find your planned run has already been skied? Have you had enough of sharing SLC’s “Urban” backcountry with the masses?  Why not drive an hour north, south or west and not cross a track all day? Big and Little Cottonwood Canyons do […]

You’re stoking on that new ultralight waterproof jacket you found on Steep and Cheap for some unbelievably great deal. All you can think about is how it packs down to the size of a Clif Bar yet it still keeps you dry during a freak desert downpour. You’re probably not thinking about all that highly […]

“Livin’ the dream”. If we said those words once to each other, we said them a thousand times over the course of our three night stay at the Snorkeling Elk Yurt, high in the Tushar Mountains.  Living the dream applies to nearly each part of your day: watching the sunrise from above 10,000′, following a […]

Black Diamond Revelation Avalung The perfect all around ski and mountaineering pack, the Revelation features a top loading design with plenty of room for stuff for a day or two in the backcountry. Designed to carry skis A-frame style. The exterior zip pocket is designed to carry your shovel and probe for quick and easy […]

Editors note- Numerous phone calls to Alton Coal for a response to this editorial were unreturned, and were finally met with a ‘no comment’. It seems that some harebrained scheme related to land or energy development is always floating about in Utah. The latest such questionable proposal is for surface (strip) coal mine located less […]

Skiers are a superstitious bunch, and the Pray for Snow ritual is our most cherished ceremony. As a group, we skiers share many similarities to ancient, tribal people living in a time when entire civilizations were dependent upon rain. Drum circles, rain dances and virgin sacrifices atop volcano craters were performed in the hopes that […]