Many people are unaware that Deseret Peak is only a stones throw from Salt Lake. Its about a hour drive from my house which is about the same time as it takes me to get to Little cottonwood. Located just west of the Oquirrh mountains, this peak Stands just over 11,000 feet and holds three amazing couloirs. The twins and the north couloir. All three are not small and will will give you a bang for your buck. I asked my friends Caroline Gleich and Forrest Shearer to join me and could not have had a better touring party. As of now the road to get into the canyon is still under snow and is 4 miles just to the trail head to start your hike in. I brought my sled to cut that time down, but was not stoked on that due to the road being melted out in many spots. Although the skis on my sled did not like it, our party did and we were able to start our hike in with fresh legs. The start of the trail head is wilderness so the sled had to stay and we were off on foot. From the trail head it is 3000 feet to the top of the couloirs. With record breaking heat this day we chose to stay safe and head to the twin couloirs which are north facing and stayed pretty cool the entire day. But throughout our whole hike we could hear big wet slides ripping off the east face and could see debris fanning out onto the aprons of the north couloir. Timing is everything on days like today and our timing was perfect. The north chutes had warmed up perfect to give us some good corn/pow on the way down. The trail out and down lower was a bit of a slog and the snow had become a bit slushy by this time but it was a total success. Special thanks to Caroline for taking all the pictures.
Caroline and Forrest checking out the twin couloirs.
Caroline crushed it by putting in the skinner the entire way. This pic can give you a scale of how big the couloirs are.
The snow got pretty firm at the top so booting was the only option.
Topping out at just over 10,000 feet.
Best part about getting to the top is making your pack lighter. Cliff bars and sandwiches.
Caroline and Forrest checking out the line.
The west couloir of the twins is pretty big, felt more like skiing a bowl, but the snow was pretty good and stable.
Steven Lloyd Photography
