Over the past couple of months, Freeskier, Expedition: Kirkwood and Kirkwood Mountain Resort collaborated on a contest with an epic prize: a chance to ski the permanently closed Cirque at Kirkwood, with private guides from Expedition: Kirkwood.

Contestants were asked to upload a photo of a rowdy line they’ve skied and tell the story about their experience. After receiving dozens of entries, Expedition: Kirkwood has picked Ben Woodworth as the winner.

“The Expedition: Kirkwood crew picked Ben’s entry because it captures the Kirkwood spirit perfectly. He saw something he wanted, put in the work and went after it, simple as that. It was as much about the skiing as the journey and adventure it took to get there and we can all relate to the lengths we go to, to earn those turns. Congratulations, Ben!”

Below is Woodworth’s entry:

Ben Woodworth | Grunge Couloir on Mt. Timpanogos

Took a page out of Andrew McLean’s book (literally, he wrote a book about chutes in the Wasatch called “The Chuting Gallery”) and ventured up about 4,500 vertical feet (trailhead to top) to the Grunge Couloir on Mt. Timpanogos. It took us about four hours to get to the top. The snow was firm and stable. It’s always fun skiing steep terrain after touring/booting for four hours. Your legs are on fire after the first few turns. After skiing the couloir we skied the massive apron below. It was 100+ turns with variable snow conditions… another leg burner. Although it wasn’t blower pow, it was still an awesome adventure and definitely helped build confidence for bigger, burlier lines in the future.

Quick explanation of the photo:

Top left – Looking down the couloir
Top right – Booting up
Bottom left – Me skiing the lower part
Bottom right – A view of Timpanogos from the parking lot. The Grunge Couloir is that tiny strip of snow in the middle of all the rock.