Vertical Ice Skating in Little Cottonwood

Been a long time since I rode a line down the south face of Superior so earlier in the week when Forrest Gladding asked if I wanted to hit it on Saturday, I couldn't refuse. The forecast looked like it might work out just perfect, a little snow Thursday and Friday then clearing early on Saturday morning. Yeah, that would have been nice but it seems as though few of the storms this season have made good on their promises. We knew it was going to be like vertical ice skating but we went for it anyway. Check out Forrest's report on his blog here

Pre-dawn patrol

Headlampin'

Damn hard to hold the camera still for this long exposure when your hands are freezing. Looking out to Superior from Cardiff Peak before sunrise

The first rays of sun hit Lightning Bolt chute on Cardiac Ridge

Andy Earl and Forrest Gladding make their way up the Black Knob above Little Superior

Andy and Forrest negotiate the first knife-edge on the approach. This was the mellow one, I was so gripped when I got to the really gnarly one I couldn't even think about getting my camera out

Looking down the face of Superior at Snowbird's Cliff Lodge 3000' below

That little dot in the center of the picture is Andy Earl, 20 turns in, another couple thousand to go, praying his edges hold

Our run, from the little bump on the center of the high ridge, the highest point on Superior, 3000 vertical feet of rock hard ice down to the road. By the time I was half way down even the smallest bumps in the snow caused a pain that felt like an ice pick in my quads. Good times.