utah ski trip!
⛷️ utah ski trip!
my extended family has a winter tradition of meeting up for a downhill ski outing somewhere in the western united states. this year the snowbasin resort in the wasatch mountains was chosen, so in late february i jumped on a plane headed for northern utah — traditional territory of the Goshute, Newe Sogobia (Eastern Shoshone), Timpanogos, and Núu-agha-tʉvʉ-pʉ̱ (Ute) nations.
before hitting the slopes, though, we got to witness an interesting twist on the sport: skijoring! if you’re not familiar, skijoring is a startlingly fast combination of horseback riding and snow skiing. amazing stuff! inspired by that athletic prowess, we made our way to snowbasin.
utah didn’t get their usual amount of snow this year, but it was a very nice spot regardless. in fact, they’ll be hosting alpine skiing for the 2034 winter olympic and paralympic games! (they previously served as the venue for downhill, super-g, and combined races in 2002.)
the weather wasn’t cooperating on our second day of skiing, so took in some history at the golden spike national historical park, which commemorates the completion of the first transatlantic railroad. a highlight was seeing replica locomotives in their machine shop and speaking with staff tasked with maintaining them. we learned about how construction of the railroad impacted so many people, including the indigenous people whose lands the route transected, and the chinese, irish, black, mormon, and civil war veteran workers who tenaciously built it.
thankfully better weather returned, and my trip concluded with an incredibly beautiful day on the slopes. this was an awesome time to bond with my family, and i’m so grateful to have been able to join them!
my trail name’s mythic and in 2026 i’m continuing my multi-year thru-hike (m.y.t.h.) of the pacific crest trail. as i prepare to return to the pct (and hopefully tackle other section- and thru-hikes in the future), i'm going on day hikes to help keep in trail shape!
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