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

This year has been amazing for ice in Utah. It has been nice to set aside some of my skiing adventures to spend some time on the ice and meeting new people. A month ago Mammut team manager Dean Lords invited me to the Ouray Ice festival. Always up for something new I decided it would be a good experience to see and meet some new people. On arrival I was able to meet two of Mammuts ice climbing athletes Whit Magro and Andrea Charest. Although temps were sub freezing and the space heater at the tent wasn't enough to keep warm there was plenty of cool stuff going on to keep the mind off of being cold and focused on the festival.

Whit and Andrea pretty happy after the comp.


 Andrea had the first route of the day for the comp. Amazed that she did so well, especially for how cold it was.

 Whit on the mixed route. He took 4th in the mixed comp and second in the speed comp. Congrats man.
So after Ouray it was back to Utah. With some new friends and some new excitement to climb ice, I was on a mission to get out and see what conditions were around home. My new friends Matt and Sarah park were eager to get out as well and we had heard that the Spear of Fear in Joe's Valley was in and ready to go. I had seen pictures of it before and was pretty excited to actually get to be on it. We found it in great condition and had an amazing day and scored some great photos.
Next on the list was Maple canyon. Maple has always been well known for summer time climbing, but there is also wold class ice climbing there when conditions are in. Just so happens that they were some of the best conditions on years.
Sarah watching her newly wed husband climb the Spear of Fear.

This last month has been really amazing and the friendships I have made will last for many years to come. Special thanks to Dean and His wife Heather. Possibly two of the nicest and genuine people I have ever met. I could not have done it without you guys.

Dean and Heather wrapping up after a successful Ice Festival.



Steve Lloyd

Steven lloyd


Summer has many opportunities to train for the winter. I myself have fallen in love with mountain biking. It emulates skiing as much as any sport can without snow being around. Your attention to the fall line is imperative. Picking your line and committing to it has kept me on edge and make me sharper going into the skiing season. The only down side is crashing on dirt. It is a lot less forgiving and hurts way more. But this creates the opportunity to be more focused and commit to what you are doing 100 percent and you have to leave doubt behind.