Utah’s Brighton Ski Resort attracts a laid-back mix of snowboarders and skiers. It was the first mountain in Utah to allow snowboarders and caters to them to this day, so no snobbery here. It also features terrain for all abilities, offers child-care for families, and night skiing is available in the park and pipe areas. I enjoyed watching all of …
It just got real….I’m moving!
It just got real… I wasn’t sure when the right time would be to make this announcement. But when I loaded all of my trail maps and hiking guides into a box and scheduled a POD for delivery to my driveway late next month, it seemed like a good time to share that I’m moving. And it’s no small move …
Learning to ski: Dress for success on the slopes
No one learns well when distracted by shivering and numb fingers. Clothes can make a difference between enjoying the experience and being miserable. This post is a companion article to my Learning to Ski post published a couple of weeks ago. Frankly, the original post got too long so I had to chop this section out. However, clothing is a …
Learning to ski: Three days of fun at Brighton’s Snow Sports School
I do not participate in any sport with ambulances at the bottom of the hill. ~Erma Bombeck This quote pretty much sums up why I avoided learning to ski until well into my 40s. Eventually I ran out of stupid things to do to my body, and I needed something to do in the winter, so it was time to …
Coffee Craving: The Rose Estb in Salt Lake City
Frosty morning air made me walk a little faster toward The Rose Estb (I’m following their lead by abbreviating Establishment), a coffee spot I’d been hearing about for months. I was so chilled and under-caffeinated I started imagining the flavor of what I hoped would be a primo cup of java from a block away. The Rose Estb is located …
My new adventure: Learning snow sports
I enjoy all four seasons. I spend spring and summer hiking in northern latitudes, during the fall I’m camping and caving further south, and I fill my winters with hiking and kayaking in Florida. What I’ve been missing are snow sports. It’s no surprise that I’ve never spent time in snow. Raised on a boat in the South Pacific and …
Photo of the day: View from Observation Point Trail in Zion
The changing color of the rock in Zion was nearly as impressive as the size of the cliffs. Sometimes the color shift was so sudden it looked like it had been striped by a painter. Unfortunately our hike on the Observation Point Trail had us shooting photos into the sun most of the day. Next trip we plan to time …
Out on a ledge in Zion National Park
“Nope, no way, I’m not climbing out on that rock so you can take a picture,” was the last thing I said before climbing out on that rock just off the Observation Point Trail in Zion National Park. Confession time, “The Active Explorer” is afraid of heights, not all heights, just natural ledges when I’m not on rope. So, when …
Five reasons to hike Utah’s Lake Blanche Trail
At over 8,800 feet, my lungs were objecting to the continued uphill trek toward Lake Blanche in Utah’s Wasatch Range. Okay, I’ll tell it like it was – I was huffing and puffing like a 3-pack-a-day-smoker. I’d been working out, and did some extensive hiking at altitude over the summer, but none of that helped. Feeling a bit humbled, I …