The summit of Mount Ogden, a craggy 9,570-foot peak in the Wasatch-Cache National Forest, dominates the skyline above its namesake town. In a good snow year, a massive squiggle of white known as the Banana Chute fills in on Mount Ogden’s rocky northwest face, creating a dramatic entrance to a skiable descent that is larger than any lift-accessible run in the country.
Calibrate your altimeter at the top and you can ski for four miles and nearly 5,000 vertical feet, from the thin alpine air, down through the maw of the chute, over ridges and meadows of untracked snow, then into a creek bed that funnels the backcountry line to its unlikely terminus at the residential grid of a midsize American town.
My story today in New York Times, “In Utah, the Fast Way to Town,” covers my descent of the line last month. Go here for the full story: travel.nytimes.com/2008/02/15/travel/escapes/15banana.html?ref=escapes
My original trip report blog, with several photos of the ski, is here:
thegearjunkie.com/trip-report-skiing-mt-ogdens-banana-chute
