Utah Adventure Journal

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 […]

  “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 […]

  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 […]

  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. […]

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 […]

Snow and avalanches are an enduring part of the mountain environment that affects the livelihood of many operations throughout the world.  In the western hemisphere, the scientific study and monitoring of these little understood phenomena began in the small town of Alta, Utah.  Situated nine miles up a glacially carved canyon in the heart of the Wasatch […]

  In my second winter season at Snowbird I became a tram operator working under the legendary tram and cable guru Bob Ficker. A year later having moved into lift maintenance, I recall a conversation about an upcoming cable replacement job on one of the lifts, and I asked Bob about the Tram track cables […]

“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 […]

10 Tips to Creating a Location-Independent, Fully Funded Winter After a while, most skiers and snowboarders get tired of service industry jobs and other location-bound positions. You want the freedom to work and the freedom to chase a storm without the consequences of unemployment, bankruptcy, and homelessness. Unless you went to finishing school, you benefit […]

Is Outdoor Retailer Bad for Utah Public Lands? By Amanda Ashley Twice a year the Outdoor Retailer show descends on Salt Lake City and is the largest gathering of the Outdoor Industry in the United States. The opportunity to meet with suppliers, retailers, manufacturers, athletes, demo products and learn about new materials makes OR a truly unique […]

I lied on my life insurance policy. The reason, is that mountain sports are dangerous, and I participate in almost all of them. So when I filled out the insurance application and got to the page of questions about my hobbies, I feared the truth would lead to expensive premiums at best. At worst, my […]

“Are you okay?” I opened my eyes and blinked against a helmet-clad vision, silhouetted against the sun. I shielded my eyes with a gloved hand and raised my head a few inches off the ground. I could totally understand why this person was asking about my well-being, seeing as how I was sprawled out alongside […]

  I love to mountain bike in the desert. Every time I put tires to trail in remote, barren lands, I see things. Maybe it’s the heatstroke and dehydration, concussions suffered from innumerable endos, or my habit of sucking fumes from ventilation pipes atop abandoned uranium mines. But I swear that something is out there. […]

“How was skiing?” The wife asks me this every time I return from a day in the mountains. I lean my skis, still dripping with spring snow, against the wall by the front door, put down my boots and poles, and take off my jacket. “Fine,” I say with a shrug. “We got a few […]