Utah Adventure Journal
Utah's Outdoor Lifestyle Magazine
Grizzly Gulch- Keystone of the Wasatch
As population continues to grow along the Wasatch Front, more and more recreators in both winter and summer will continue to stress the natural resources of the Wasatch Range. With the growth comes the inevitable consequence of traffic, parking, crowded trails and slopes for those looking for solitude in the Wasatch Range, and particularly the […]
The Art of Core Shot Avoidance
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 […]
Pfirst Time on the Pfeiff
After a winter of big storms and deep snow, March was like a faucet that has been cinched shut. We had finally dried up. And, after a couple weeks of high pressure, the mountains were firm but stable. While it wasn’t powder skiing, it meant green light for big lines that would otherwise be […]
Traffic and Avalanche Hazard- The Realities of Getting up the Cottonwood Canyons
It’s a tale as old as the Avalanche Forecast: “A good old fashioned cold front crashed through the Wasatch last night and snow totals are up to a foot (12″/0.86″SWE) in the Cottonwoods and the northern end of the Park City ridgeline. It’s still snowing (UAC Avy Report 12/4/2017)†Knowing it is dumping in the […]
A Trip With the Pros
Photos by Chris Brown There are some who dream of winning the lottery. The surplus of money is enticing, and people imagine buying the life experiences they might have lacked. Last April I won a type of lottery too; it started with a text message invite, and the big win of my winter […]
Powder on the Plateau
Utah backcountry skiing has it all: lots of big varied terrain, good access, copious powder snow, no people…..wait a minute. No people? It’s the Wasangeles, brah! There are always people crawling over every square inch of the Wasatch, from pre-dawn to post-dark. Ah, but there’s another Wasatch, brah. The mighty Wasatch Plateau, aka the Skyline. […]
They Painted in the Canyons: Archaic Artists on the Colorado Plateau from 9,000 years ago
Of the thousands of Native American rock art panels in the Southwest, none are older than Barrier Canyon pictographs found throughout the Colorado Plateau and concentrated along rivers, especially the confluence of the Green and Colorado rivers. From tiny five-inch animal figures to stunning eight-foot tall human shapes with no arms or legs and alien-like […]
Putting in the Work
After exiting Interstate 70, the Land Cruiser immediately touched dirt. “Where is the entrance to Capitol Reef?â€Â My wife, Louise asked. Yep, Utah’s National Parks are stunning and undeniably increasingly popular. However, Capitol Reef is one of the least visited national parks. “We’ll travel south a few miles and then enter the park.â€Â I replied.  The […]
Dads,Daughters, Desert
It was late. Late in terms of bedtime. “Dad, where’s Maddie?â€Â Lilly asked. “We’ll find her shortly.â€Â I responded. Lilly asked in a sweet, “I want something,†voice. “Can we have a campfire once we get there?†“It’s already past your bedtime. Once we get there, we’ll setup the tent and get some rest.†“Mommy, won’t find […]
The World’s Biggest Backcountry Party
On September 13 the tent will once again be raised in the Black Diamond Equipment parking lot to celebrate the 25thedition of the Best Party in Utah: the Utah Avalanche Center’s annual Fall Fundraiser.  From its humble beginnings in a house due to a tragic event to a serious hoedown with over a thousand people, the […]
Loose Lids and Tight Spots
Since my first introduction to canyoneering I had been telling various friends around the country how great it was and how they should come to Utah to give it a go. Several folks gave me a reply along the lines of “indeed, canyon hiking is great. I’ve done the Bell Canyon/Little Wild Horse canyon loop, […]
The Lake Powell Paradox
My Dad grew up on a 2,300-acre ranch in Big Sky Country. His life was embedded in livestock, crops, and weather. On the ranch, there wasn’t the type of nature separation we experience today. Life was the elements. My Dads upbringing heavily influenced my parent’s choice when purchasing their first home. He was no […]
Of Cows and Climbers
I cranked hard on my bike pedals through a cloudy soup of brown dust. It was a creek bottom torn up into a 4×4 farm road, and was not meant to be ridden by an old mountain bike. The track certainly wasn’t meant to be ridden by a dirtbag laden with climbing gear en route […]
From the Silver Dollar Bar to the Bears Ears Education Center
The small desert town of Bluff, Utah is experiencing a canyon country renaissance. A dozen new tourist cabins are going up. A 54-unit resort is being built. A former trading post is a thriving restaurant, and the old Silver Dollar Bar built in 1955 has found new life as a forthcoming Bears Ears Education […]
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Winter Issue on Stands Now!
