Chasing Rays

By:  Porter Haney
February 3, 2011 1:19 pm | Category: Quick Update, Skiing

Blasting up the dark Canyon road, Colby, Dwyer and I we’re hankering for some blissful laps in upper Little Cottonwood hopefully  bathed in some warm morning sun.  It’s been extra cold recently, as low as -49F in Logan Canyon,with temperatures dropping to minus 20 F in the Alta neighborhood.  While not exceptionally cold for New England standards, it had us Utah boys cringing with eye-lash-icles and frozen goggles.  Without further wimping around, we braved the early morning elements, got our sweat going, and charged up to the ridge separating Big and Little Cottonwood.

We’d have never predicted it that’d we’d beat the sun to the top of the mountain side, but that’s just we did.  Simple as that.  Our skinning muscles must be getting to big for their own good.  We peeled our skins, set up camp, and started waiting for the sun to join us on the ridge.

The few extra minutes gave us time to luxuriate in the stiff north wind and watch the groomers finishing up their work on the LCC resorts.

Hidden peak

Hidden Peak isn’t so hidden from this vantage point.

The ever present Pfeifferhorn is always one of the first to soak in the Eastern rays.

pfttttttttt

Oh hai, even Pink Pine isn’t pink yet, nor is Red or White pine.

I’ll tell you who likes to hog the sun, and it ain’t Dwyer.  Superior does.

Getting it's sunshine on

Goddamn this is a fun thing to ski.

By this time, I had thoroughly frozen the boys fingers and toes, waiting for the sun to get done tagging the high peaks and start tagging the medium peaks.

Big D dropped in, and wanted to make damn sure that everyone knows, that all though his skinning muscles are bigger than average, his skiing muscles have been compared to Paul Bunyan’s lumberjacking muscles!

d dropping a deuce

Like the mature adult he isn’t, Colby took second tracks, for he knows that the second skier always gets the sharper frame.

colby slaying

D proceeded to flash his Black Diamond (backcountry.com link, watch out you link clicking fools) logos as much as he possibly could.  This way and that.

logo flash

more logo work

Here, he tried to sneak the logo out, but the immature sastrugi would have none of it!

sastrugi isn't quite old enough

Colby got in one more frame, just chasing the sun down the hill.  He turned into a chameleon here and tried to ski in tree shape.

colby the cameleon

Thanks for reading FIS.  We’re all about earning our turns however we can.  We’ll fight clean, we’ll fight dirty, we’ll even snake your pow if you let us!  Get after it, a sunny weekend on tap for the West, and more pow for the East!

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