Info About White Pine
White Pine is a South facing gully heading directly into Little Cottonwood Canyon. Being part of an East to West drainage this area has an endless amount of chutes. Driving up to Snowbird or Alta there are many days that the road must be shut down because of these lines. While they could be skied in winter they are at there prime during Spring time.
Ski Touring up Mill B South Fork
The morning started off cloudy as we started climbing up Mill B South Fork. It had been snowing for days and the lack of view was made up for by great snow. By now it was my last day ski touring in Utah before heading back to the Cascades.
Making our way through the Lake Blanche Trail I had no clue where we were going. Having just got done presenting a slideshow for the Wasatch Splitboard Festival I was surrounded by like minded Splitboarders. Bucky, Eric Michaels and John Lemnotis were kind enough to show me around.
John was leading the way putting the skin track into a blank canvas. By now there had been several inches of new snow accumulating on top of soft snow. From what my experience had been the past few days north facing slopes were bottomless powder.
Crossing Lake Blanche the alpine was just in front of us. Eric could only be out for a few hours and turned back as we prepared to climb up the final slopes. By now I had heard some chatting about the White Pine Chute. I had no idea what it was but I trusted that it was going to be a good ski.
Flat Light in the Alpine
Arriving in the alpine the weather seemed to improve. What had been white out conditions was now flat light but I could see. Since the beginning of the day John was charging up the slope. We hadn’t made any stops and I only had a split second here and there to take photos.
Heading up to the high col between we navigated the terrain a switchback at a time. Though we were surrounded by steep peaks we were able to stay on mellow slopes. Before long we arrived at the high point and it was time to decide. Would we ride back down the way we came our down the opposite side to Little Cottonwood Canyon.
Snowboarding Down the White Pine Chute
Standing on the ridge I looked down the White Pine Chute. Visibility had worsen but it was a straightforward line down. After a few minutes of chatting we decided to go for it. Since John had broke trail all day he was more than happy to drop in first.
The first 50 feet of the White Pine Chute was a narrow line just wide enough for a snowboard. Though the snow was good the south side wasn’t nearly as much as the north facing aspects. Since we were dropping into a huge avalanche gulch this actually made me feel better. Before long he was out of the crux and traversed over to a safe spot.
Bucky dropped in next and was happy to have tracks to help with the flat light. With a few carefully laid turns he was out of the tight spot and into the open slopes below.
The next 10 minutes were a blur as we made our way down the White Pine Chute. Snow conditions deteriorated as we lost elevation. What started as powder was slush as we made the final turns into Little Cottonwood Canyon. Looking back up at our line I hadn’t expected it while skinning up the open basin.
Driving back to Buckys I felt fortunate that he had invited me to Salt Lake City. If it wasn’t for him there is no way I would have experience the ski touring scene in the area. The access was so easy to get into some amazing terrain. Compared to the Cascades I understood why I heard stories of people getting massive vert in a single ski tour. Without there knowledge of the area I wouldn’t have known where to begin.
Thank you for reading this trip report and to Bucky for putting on the Wasatch Splitboard Festival.
If you are ever touring in the Wasatch Backcountry make sure to keep up with avalanche conditions by follow the Utah Avalanche Center