SZW

Salt Lake

Stringham Peak-Antelope Island

An opportunity to tour the Antelope Island State Park doesn't come around very often. Perhaps every 10 years or so. After skiing the deep blower powder of the Wasatch foothills yesterday, our party of 6 decided to head across the Lake and into more dramatic terrain. Arriving just after sunrise, we paid our park fee and drove to the Frary Peak/Mountain View Trailhead. Clearing skies gave us high hopes for getting the goods and spirits were high. Minutes into the skin, we could view a slide off of the high ridge line approaching Mt. Stringham. At this point is was too early to check to the UAC website and see the previous day's observations and posted avalanche reports. However, we calculated that the danger in this terrain would be moderate to considerable due to the existing weak faceted snow on the ground, erratic winds, and new snow. We carried on. Another few minutes of skinning the summer road and we happened upon a lonely skin track. It crossed safe terrain and would get us to a higher point quicker than the standard trail. Taking the skin track, we wondered where it lead and hoped to find some good tracks of our own. A shout from below turned our heads and we could see the Park Ranger standing at his truck hollering at us to stay on designated trails. From our elevated position it was hard to determine his exact words, but it went something like "You have to stay on the trail all day. Backcountry skiing is not available." We took that as it was and carried on in the mindset that we would follow his orders or risk a fine, or worse. In hindsight, we should have just walked the 1/4 mile back down hill and talked with him to settle any questions we had. We continued our ascent and regained the designated trail in short order. Following it from marker to marker, we eventually reached the ridge line that lead South to Frary and Stringham Peaks. Once crossing over the saddle we could see the skin track we originally followed meet back up and continue due south along the ridge. We decided to follow the Ranger's orders and proceed on the marked trail. Audible collapses were prevalent all the way along the way. Our average slope angle was no greater that 20 degrees. Shooting cracks also followed the whumphs. We treaded cautiously and simply enjoyed being in the beautiful surroundings of Antelope Island. Along the way we noticed tracks coming out of one of the E-NE facing gully/drainages and terminating at the main road along the eastern shore. We eventually happened upon the slide we saw from the parking lot and determined it to be the result of wind loading on the Eastern slope. The dimensions were 18"-20" x 50' by 200'. Near the summit of Frary, there were three sets of tracks descending two small gullies and into a choke at the bottom. Upon closer inspection, they had skied the steep NE facing gullies and bailed out before the choke to rejoin the original skin track. We suppose that these were the prior days tracks from the party that triggered the two slides on their way out. Arriving on the peak, we took in the 360 degree view of the Great Salt Lake and the Wasatch Range far to the east. Descending, we were paranoid of the the consequences of skiing any big line. Both due to the conditions and the warnings we had received not to ski from the Ranger at the trailhead. Some down hill skinning and rock hopping put us back at the cars about 90 minutes later. We were greeted by the Ranger and his deputy promptly after arriving at the truck. He was a bit amped about the tracks he saw and immediately assumed it was us. We carefully informed him that it was not us and that there was ample documentation from the UAC and our camera to prove we did no skiing whatsoever. He appreciated our honesty and told us that he too enjoyed skiing and didn't blame us for going up there. However, he did clarify that travel off the trail is not permitted and that backcountry skiing is not available within the the animal sanctuary. After some more banter, he bid us good day and we parted ways. An interesting walk in an unlikely place with an unexpected outcome.