Utah

Today in our Videos of the Week: The imaginary battle between EAST & WEST: Relatively interesting films from Japan and Georgia fight for your favor with two films from the USA. Have fun!

Aaron Rice (Instagram: @airandrice) from Utah broke the world record for vertical meters climbed on touring skis this year and is well on his way to achieving his goal of 2.5 million vertical feet (= 762,000 vertical meters). What sounds incredible to the downhill-oriented ski tourer is also hard to grasp for the uphill-oriented. So the question arises: who is the crazy type and how many vertical meters can you theoretically cover in a calendar year?

The second episode of Black Diamond TV follows avalanche forecaster and researcher Drew Hardesty. Hardesty lives and works in Utah and has been observing developments in the ski touring scene for a long time.

After the last-minute postponement, the fourth stop of the FWT in Snowbird/Utah was held on the last day of the scheduled weather window. With blue skies and fresh snow, the riders found suitable conditions on the Silver Fox Face. Lars Chickering-Ayers (USA) won the skiers' competition, Jamie Rizzuto (CAN) won the snowboarders' competition. Lorraine Huber (AUT) and Elodie Mouthon (FRA) came out on top in the women's skiing and snowboarding categories.

The week started with a bit of fresh snow, but it wasn't quite able to make up for the thaw damage of the previous week. On Tuesday, all was right with the world again: lots of fresh snow and brilliantly cold late winter conditions. On Wednesday, the weather was glorious and it was backcountry time again, although the avalanche situation didn't allow any slopes steeper than 30 degrees. We had two great descents, but then the situation became too dicey:

The atmosphere in the Sitzmark Club, the bar at Alta Lodge, is unique: the guests I chatted to could talk for days about the adventures they have had here over the course of their lives. Almost all of them have been here several times. The mixture of a simple 70s hostel paired with Michelin-starred cuisine and a communal atmosphere like in your own four walls makes this location in the furthest corner of Little Cottonwood Canyon truly unique and worth a visit.

The Wasatch Mountains are the reason why skiers from all over the world come to Utah. From Utah's capital Salt Lake City, which is already 1350 meters above sea level, the Wasatch Mountains rise up to 2000 meters from the huge plateau.

The slopes of Deer Valley start right on the doorstep in the Silver Lake district. Among the three ski resorts around Park City, Deer Valley has a special status. The huge villas to the right and left of the slopes indicate that it is not exactly the penniless Americans who reside here. Strangely enough, snowboarders are denied access to the ski area from the outset. Only when the lifts close in April are they allowed to explore the slopes of Deer Valley.

We were really looking forward to our trip to Utah, the home of the legendary Champagne powder. We had to wait for months, but finally the time had come. A good year after leaving Silverton in southwest Colorado, we are back on a plane heading for the USA. Situated 1350 meters above sea level, the 2002 Olympic city is the ideal starting point for a road trip through the ski resorts around the Great Salt Lake.