Ski touring around Salt Lake, end of May ?

EelBunker

New member
Hello all,

I don't really know if this is the right place to ask, but I take my chance.

I am from France and will be in SLC for work end of May. I plan to stay an extra 3 days to backcountry ski. Does this make any sense ?

Still some snow at these dates ?

Also, I would very much appreciate any suggestion : organized trip vs "find some friends on the net" ? Some reliable and not too expensive companies ? Must-ski places ?

The general idea is to take a few days into the wild ! 800-1200 m positive elevation / day. Ideally with nights in shelters.

Thanks in advance, sorry if not the right place,

Jérome

**This thread was edited on Feb 13th 2018 at 1:36:07pm
 
topic:EelBunker said:
Does this make any sense ?

Still some snow at these dates ?

Some years like last year there is plenty of snow for spring skiing well into June. Unfortunately Utah is currently having a low snow year so the snowpack may not last. By late May you will be doing a lot more hiking to get to/from the snow.

If it is an option to travel north, there is great spring backcountry in the northern rockies in montana/idaho/wyoming. Here in jackson (5 hours drive from slc) our tram should reopen for the summer season on saturday May 19th so many skiers will be here that week. I have “winter” camped up high that week before and will likely do an overnight trip again this year
 
You'll be fine at the end of May. 3 years ago was the worst winter we've had (this one might be worse but is turning around and I think it will eventually surpass that year for total snow depth). Regardless, during that shitty winter, Main Chute at Alta was still skiable into late May and June. You might have to do some hiking but it should be too bad. You'll want to stay high elevation for that. By then the snowpack should mostly be good to go, but check out recent observations on www.utahavalanchecenter.org and the Wasatch conditions thread on the tgr forums.

Here are places I would recommend:

Alta: it's not totally "wild" as it's a ski area, but the access snow and terrain are prob the best and most acceptable. Go to Main Baldy Chute (and Little and Dogleg chutes if they are still in) Gunsight on the other side will still be in as well (skied it late July last year) Bonus: depending on what's going on at snowbird, if they are closed for the season, you can take skis up the tram if you sign a waiver, then it is a really easy hike to baldy.

Snowbird:if they are closed and Pipeline is in (it will be), it is well worth the walk from the bottom to hit it IMO. If you're willing for a longer tour, upon exit from Pipeline to west to the White Pine Drainage and look at skiing Red Top or Red Baldy. Red Baldy will have snow. The exit out will lack snow (likely below 8000ft) but there is an easy to locate established trail.

Superior: maybe the south side will still have snow, otherwise the north side will be good to go and have many great options for skiing. Suicide chute will still be skiable. You might have to navigate some rocks and waterfall at the bottom, but that's the fun part.

Uintas: take a drive on the mirror lake highway about 1.5 hours out of Slc. Bald mountain is great and has no approach. There are several other peaks and fun objectives right off the road, which should be plowed by then.

Wolverine cirque: this is tucked between Brighton and Alta. For that time of year, I like the approach from Brighton. Several chutes should be skiable that time of year. You can just pick what you want and go. If seagull chute is skiable off Mt Tuscarora, you have a quick ski over to it from the top of mt wolverine, and a mostly easy exit back to Brighton.

Timpanogos: harder shit but Cold Fusion and Grunge Couloir may still be in. Approach with mtn bike can help for cold fusion. Likely a lot of walking up and down to get to snow but you get to ski a 60 degree slope in grunge (watch for rockfall and do more research on it).

That's about it for the main spots. You can get into some crazier stuff if you're willing to walk a bit. There will be snow up high, it's just about accessing it easily.
 
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