The TRI Canyon Tour

We went long on Saturday. Bart and I started at 6200 South and Wasatch (after we missed the 6:30 bus), rode to Alta, and then traipsed across the mountains to Big Cottonwood, and out Millcreek. It turned out to be about 18 miles, 7500 feet of vertical, and 5.5 hours. I got two blisters, had an allergic reaction (which is still ongoing) to a Pro Bar, drank 30 oz. of EFS, 1 hammergel, saw a coyote, a trophy elk, and a mad moose, had a great time (except for the time when my Dynafits didn't lock (probably user error) and I stradled and then dangled from a small pine tree), and got some good training in. Speaking of training, my HR monitor says I was in Zone 5 for 1 hr 20 min and Zone 4 for that long as well. Bart doesn't believe in technology, but I think he got a decent workout as well -- all fueled by two bottles and a PBJ sandwich. That in itself was impressive.

Because of the clouds, the light was flat all day. Not great for picture taking.

Below is a picture of our route from the Little Cottonwood Canyon road up Pole Line Pass. At Cardiff pass, we went up the ridge towards superior.



We then dropped into Cardiff. Below is a picture of Bart just after he worked up the Moxie to drop in.



Below is a picture of our route through Cardiff Fork. As you can see, we skinned up Montreal Hill, and then traversed and skiied our way out to the BCC road.



Some nice turns were had on the steepish north facing Montreal.



After hitting the BCC road, we skinned up Mill D and to the top of Reynolds peak. We descended Reynolds through the trees and then climbed back up to the Millcreek ridge.



Here we are on the Millcreek ridge, looking into Wilson. Luckily, someone had skiied the Wilson chutes, which instilled in us the fortitude to do the same.



The Wilson run was perhaps the best of the day. The snow wasn't excellent and I was praying I wouldn't catch a tip in the stiff snow -- skiing light boots like the F1 leaves you at the mercy of tough snow conditions. BUT, after the first 5 turns, the other 30 were nice.



Our exit was out Millcreek Canyon. We were debating on whether to to a grand tour or whether to hit the Soldier Hollow skate race. After our tri-canyon tour, we were able to get some skating too, albeit on heavy alpine gear. Check out the elk.