May - not enough time and torn between seasons

My schedule hasn't allowed for much skiing this month even though there is plenty of snow up high still.  The lower elevation mountains have also been so green that I've been wanting to run.  So I've been doing a little of both.  Here are the highlights:

Tuscarora Quad: X and Y Chutes, Seagull Couloir, SE face

Main Chute, Little Chute, and Dogleg in better visibility and with next years Movement's 

Suicide Chute

What Superior looked like the first and last weeks of May

Trail running 

The Elevator

With all the resorts but Snowbird closed it was the week to ski a few resort classics.  Saturday morning I took a quick trip up to Mount Millicent at Brighton and skied what is known as the Elevator chute.  Not quite as awesome as Main and Little Chute and Alta but still quite fun and always awesome being in a new place.

The line is straight off the summit in the middle

X and Y Chute of Tuscarora, after seeing this view I knew I needed to come back soon!

Summit views

Looking down

Mt Baldy, Main and Little Chute

Alta closed last week to the lift served public and reopened to the backcountry.  Over about 5 days last week it snowed 41 inches and Aaron Kennard and I were able to ski these lines in the middle of that.  Visibility was terrible but the snow was great.  A lot of stuffing in the chutes but nothing breaking deeper.  On the apron after Little Chute the snow was a bit more slabby but still manageable.  Overall it was a pretty awesome day!

About how far we could see for most of the day as Aaron takes the last few steps to the summit

Aaron skiing down Little Chute

Me skiing down Main Chute, captured by Luke (chuting project) who we met on the summit

Collins lap to finish off the day, of course the best visibility of the day

Mount Raymond

Two weeks ago Aaron Rice and I headed up to Mount Raymond.  A first for both of us and was quite fun.  As always we saw many more lines to add to the list from the peak.  

The objective:

Aaron on the way up the ridge to the summit

Me booting 

Skiing down

Aaron's heal released when he hit a patch of funky snow and I was able to catch this amazing action sequence of him somehow not falling

The summit views were amazing!

The site of one of the fatal avalanche accidents from earlier this year.  An impressive display of nature's force as we humbly looked at what it did to the trees that used to be there.

 Headed home

East and West Kessler Couloirs on skinnier and lighter skis

This morning Aaron Kennard and I went up Argenta and skied down East Kessler couloir then skinned and booted back up to the top and skied down the West Kessler couloir which was new for me.  The snow was pretty good in the East Couloir and pretty crappy in the West, but the West was still so much fun. I love exploring new areas and lines.  We have such an amazing playground in our backyard!  It was weird being on different skis but I really liked them.  The 1.5 pounds less per foot made an incredible difference on the uphill and the 10 cm shorter ski was super easy to get around on jump turns in the couloirs.  Hopefully I can sell some old stuff and buy the demo set up.

 Summit views

Two sets of Blizzards

Aaron got a lot of really good pictures of my jump turns today

Aaron making his way down to the couloir

Jump turning through breakable crust

Aaron climbing around the waterfall cliff

Aaron trying to ski as long as possible

Good memories from this view.  One of our standard family Sunday hikes growing up.