The Parleys Summit, Utah Lookout, 2010 edition

[Foy]

Hello RoadTrippers,

Our annual Utah fly-n-drive starts early on 1 January 2010. We should be on the ground and behind the wheel of a rental Jeep Grand Cherokee by dusk that day. The weather has been, and is forecast to remain, fairly mild, so we're not expecting the snow accumulations in the 5 to 7 foot range like we've enjoyed in previous January weeklong trips. Regardless of what Mother Nature does or does not bring, we expect to be out and about as far north as Powder Mountain (northeast of Ogden) and as far south as Alta (a mere 8 miles as the crow flies, but a 1.25 hrs loop through SLC is required from our Jeremy Ranch exit-area borrowed home), and we will regularly be running the 7 miles into Park City proper. Between the mobility and the "roost", providing an eagle's view of Kimball Junction along I-80 just east of Parleys Summit, we should be in position to observe and comment on ski area travel conditions out there quite readily.

So, watch this space for updates starting Saturday or Sunday.

Let the Winter Games 2010 begin!

Foy

[Mark Sedenquist]

Regardless of what Mother Nature does or does not bring, we expect to be out and about as far north as Powder Mountain (northeast of Ogden) and as far south as Alta (a mere 8 miles as the crow flies, but a 1.25 hrs loop through SLC is required from our Jeremy Ranch exit-area borrowed home), and we will regularly be running the 7 miles into Park City proper.

Foy,

Looking forward to your next reports! We are close to being able to launch a new incarnation of this forum that will enhance and hopefully enrich your experience of using the forum to provide field reporting to the rest of us. Just a few more tweaks and adjustments!

Mark

[Foy]

Well, I'm sorry to say it's been a slow news WEEK here in the Wasatch Range. We arrived absent adverse events on New Year's Day. We had occasion to head down to SLC on Saturday morning, early, and sure enough, we were in the midst of around a 4" quick dumping. I-80 was covered both east and west from Parley's at 0630. We encountered "The Cavalry", the term I use for the 4-abreast, en-echelon plow trucks coming up the eastbound lanes around halfway down the grade. By the time we'd completed our business around 0800 and headed back up the mountain, both uphill and downhill sides were clear.

No more snow until an all-day snow shower yesterday, and that was not even enough to cover the roads at this elevation (7,600' overlooking Parley's at 7,016').

I did manage a full-on "Belgian Face Plant" at Alta on Monday, but that's an entirely different story.

Foy