Colter Hinchliffe Seaon Edit

I had the chance to get to know Colter this year and ski around with him at Alta. This guy is a real character and a kick-ass skier. Here's the proof.

July 10th in the High Wasatch

Some friends and I made an overnight ski-camping journey to the mountains this weekend. While most people around these parts are over snow sports, I can't help but continually geek out about how much snow is left to ski in July! Here are some pics I snapped with my Go Pro. Until I get a real camera these sub-par helmet cam shots will have to do.

Greeted by a rainbow at camp

Finding the top of a chute on Sunset Peak

Looking down little Cottonwood. Still plenty to be skiied everywhere.

Looking back at Sunset Peak

Alta still looking pretty filled in

Peaks were climbed, lines were skiied, and sandwiches were consumed. Cheers to never-ending winter.

From the Vaults: Pyramid Gap 2009

While looking through my hard drive recently, I stumbled up some photos that I've always liked, but never posted. It was in March of 2009 when some friends and I set out to hit one of Utah's most famous jumps: Pyramid Gap.

To properly execute this 90 foot gap jump, it usually takes a good crew and a few days of building the jump and in-run. This also means you and your crew will be missing out on 2 or 3 good pow days. We, however,  took a haphazard approach and hit it after it was already built (albeit not the best build ever). It still required getting there before sunrise and doing a lot of preparation on the in-run. The in-run is the biggest challenge on pyramid because any little bump will throw you off when dropping in at 55 mph.

Stepping out the in-run

As we were smoothing out the in-run, a guy approached us and asked if he could take some pictures. That guy turned out to be none other than Bruce Tremper, a legend of the Wasatch who worked for the Utah Avalanche Center and literally wrote the book on avalanche safety. Naturally we obliged. It turns out Bruce is also a very talented photographer! With both Bruce and Chris Shifrar, we ended up getting some cool images.

Me getting the first hit. Photo: Bruce Tremper

Another angle. Photo: Chris Shifrar

Carston doing his thing. Photo: Bruce Tremper

Another angle of Carston. Photo: Chris Shifrar

Sean Kelly. Photo: Bruce Tremper

Sean Kelly. Photo: Chris Shifrar

Sean Kelly hitting the wall. One of the best impact photos of all time. Photo: Bruce Tremper

After myself, Carston, and Sean Kelly had one try each, a strong head wind picked up and we had to call it quits. I hope to make another attempt on this beast again in the future.