Its been a rough year for skiing, the snow hasn't been kind to Utah and the year itself has been pretty tough for me.  I got out freesking once, then on my first attempt at touring...

...guh!  3/4 the way up bear trap fork and blammo, broken binding.  That missing screw probably didn't help things.  Thanks to Dustin being...well...the man, again I got things up and running.  So yesterday i got to try things out on one of the best days I've had in a while.


Emma ridge is always a winner, and it worked out perfectly with the recent snowfall and temps.  Good stability on the south facing slopes.  Its a hike alright, at least for my old and fatness; 1700 feet vertical in 1 mile.  Full track here.  but despite not working out in a while I still made it.  Spry young Tom and fit less old wade fared better than I.  It was a fabulous day though, cloudy and cold all the way up to keep temps down and the sun broke just as we got to the top.


After reaching the summit we went up ridge to a sub ridge that's due south facing.  It was gorgeous. 


And the snow?  even better, 10-14 inches of 8% and a solid 32-35 slope for 1600 feet.  Untouched.







One of my best tours, one long decent like this is worth any day at a resort.