MASSIVE Search for Utah Powder, Continued...

After having our well-laid plans of powder domination destroyed by sledneckers up North in Logan, we regroup back down by Park City for another sled mission to find fresh in Utah. It’s somewhat of a gamble as temperatures are unsettlingly spring-like across the state, but Ian and Neil Provo know of a zone at high altitude with North facing aspects.

It’s not a cakewalk getting to this spot. More than thirty miles in from the trailhead, it’s difficult to figure out if our light-headedness can be attributed to the altitude, or sucking two-stroke fumes for the last hour. Cutting the engines, it only takes seconds to see the toil was worth it. Silence envelopes us like a flood and the ridge before us—rising from a frozen alpine lake—is a natural terrain park covered with at least a foot of fresh snow that is still good.

Sean Pettit sets up and tees off a big Cab 540 off a sizable drop. Stomp. Neil Provo sends a floaty backside three across the fall line into a powder apron. Stomp. Ian Provo slashes a pow turn on top of a hanging field and drops a 180 off the edge. Stomp. Callum Pettit arcs turns down a tight chute and throws a 180 off a pillow at the bottom. Stomp. The crew is beside themselves. The best footage in over a month hits the can and at this rate the utah segment in “The Massive” is sure to blow minds. The zone gets slayed for the rest of the day with similar results. Everyone is riding high.

Tanner Hall feeds off the good vibes coming from the crew after the first two days. His ankle is feeling better after some intensive icing and physical therapy for a week. He heads out on day three with us to scope this zone and test out the ankle. He’s got about a week to some heli time up in Terrace, British Columbia, and he’s itching to see if he’s good to go.

Of course Tanner can’t help himself when he sees the zone we’ve been hitting the last two days. He sets up on a steep, tight chute with mandatory air at the bottom. Dropping in, he busts off one quick turn and points it off the 15-footer at the bottom, sailing between rock slabs barely wider than his shoulders. He stomps it and quickly lines up a launch off a pillow. Nonchalantly, he throws down a smooth backflip, all Japaned out, and skis away through the powder, which is still holding up in the high altitude.

Utah ends on a high note. Tanner is back on skis, shots for the movie were definitely got, and we spent a week skiing fresh in the middle of nowhere Utah. Keep checking in to www.redbullskiing.com as the season, and the snow, gets deeper.

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