Great anticipation for 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.
The main venue for the Winter Olympics has three ski resorts: Park City Resort, The Canyons and Deer Valley. Still slightly weakened by jet lag, we are of course already at breakfast early in the morning and quickly set off. After all, we have an appointment with Jonathan Cheever, the current number two in the Boardercross World Cup, at 9am at the Baselodge of "The Canyons". Jonathan didn't want to miss the opportunity to show us the best runs in his home area.
The Orange Bubble Express takes us to the ski resort in no time at all, where Murdoch Peak is our first destination. In the bowl of the same name, we make our first acquaintance with Utah powder, which is highly praised around the world. And indeed, thanks to the dry, continental air, the snow is extremely fluffy, even though we have obviously arrived at least a day too late. After heavy snowfalls last week, most of the slopes have now run out. But luckily we have Jonathan, who knows exactly that there is still powder snow to be found in Condor Woods and Devil's Friend Run.
Around midday, we head to the other side of the ski area. As the third largest ski area in the USA, "The Canyons" is known for its vastness. A few chairlifts later, we are at the top station of the Ninety-Nine-90, named after its height, which is also the highest point in the ski area. We quickly shoulder our skis and climb up to the summit in ten minutes. There are plenty of possible lines along the wide summit ridge to the left and right of the summit.
Jonathan takes a running start and shoots over the cornice into the slope. First I take a photo of the whole thing, then it's my turn. A small jump and off we go. Turn after turn, my new Watea skis plough through the feather-soft white. With every turn, the powder snow splashes past my head. What a feeling. Wonderful. With the epically wide slope, I don't even have to think about where to ski. Instead, I just let it go. Of course, we climb the summit a second time. This time we don't traverse out that far, but head straight into the Red Pine Bowl and through the sparse trees of the "Magic Line" towards the valley.
Done but happy, we say goodbye to Jonathan and take a stroll through Main Street. We continue tomorrow. Then it's off to Deer Valley. One of three ski resorts in the USA where snowboarders have to stay outside. We are excited.