“Southern Utah isn’t usually the first place that comes to mind when you think of skiing. We had no idea what we might find in the sandstone spires near Bryce Canyon but conditions were the best they had been in years and we were prepared for a serious adventure.

Pulling into the lone gas station parking lot, we watched the temperature plummet to a bone-chilling -15 degrees outside. It was one of those ‘what are we in for’ type moments. A week earlier, we received a slew of snapchats from our friend Joey Thomason, urging us to join him on ‘the trip of a lifetime.’ His ‘now or never’ attitude at first seemed a bit dramatic, but after seeing some remarkable images of Bryce Canyon we felt compelled to leave the comfort of resort skiing and venture towards the unknown. With no knowledge of conditions, terrain, or even camping, Sawyer and I drove the eight hours and strategically placed our tent near the only place in town that served coffee. We hunkered down behind some busses; unsure of what we find when the sun rose.

The next morning we gathered some gear and wandered off to Red Canyon, 15 miles west of Bryce. Being extremely optimistic, we spotted decent snow on the canyon walls that looked like the laid-back turns through aesthetic red rock cathedrals that we had envisioned. Turn one was a little firm and with turn two we dropped straight to rocks and dirt, we were a week late. It began to sink in that skiing in the desert wasn’t exactly the fairy tale we had envisioned. However, turning around wasn’t an option at this point. Still, it seemed like everywhere we went, the fields were peppered with hidden rocks and unknown snow conditions. After some assessment and a ton of prodding around in the area, we began to find some areas that held snow and still captured the essence of the desert adventure. Cold dry snow at the top of each line turned to sticky wet slush that kept everyone on their guard. Trying to be at the top of the correct snow fields turned into a wild chase around the Utah desert. Tracking lines that hadn’t been too exposed to the heat and then promptly turning around to the other side of the canyon in search of the same conditions was the mission. It was an intense experience not knowing if your next turn was going to be rock, snow or ice. After a few core shots and a handful of F-bombs, we were finally able to make some decent turns through the canyons.”