Mt. Tuscarora
Yesterday, March 10th, I woke up to a call from Richard Cheski, a photographer and videographer I’ve worked with for the past few years. He wanted to meet up at Brighton Resort in Big Cottonwood for a hike and to shoot some photos. The weather lately has been so mild and beautiful. It’s nice to have a taste of spring, although I can’t wait for another wintry storm.
We met up in the parking lot, and decided to head up Milicent lift. After boot-packing up to the top of Milicent, we decided to head for Mt. Tuscarora. I skied this line with Cheski two years ago, and was stoked to get back to it. I’m going to quote Andrew McLean again from The Chuting Gallery because he does such a nice job summing up this chute. The line we skied is called the Seagull and it’s “A Chute with all the classic elements. It starts right from the peak with a long steep rock lined couloir that twists and turns before it empties out onto a divine apron. Tuscarora is best seen from the Brighton ski area, but best approached from Alta, via Catherine’s Pass. From Brighton, the upper chute forms a backwards “3,” or with a little more imagination, a vertical seagull.”
We dropped in at the top of the obvious chute, but instead of skiing straight down the seagull, we cut out to the looker’s left and skied through the opening to the side. The snow in there was light and deep, which was surprising to find given the warm temperatures lately.
Here’s a picture of me with Tuscarora in the background, right after skiing it.
Below: Richard Cheski on his cell-phone and rider, Ricky Bauer. 
Overall, it was a great day to be out in the backcountry! Now let’s pray for some more snow.
My plan for the rest of the week involves possibly doing another hike tomorrow, and then heading up to Jackson Hole again for the Jackson Hole Freeskiing Open. I’m not 100% sure I will compete yet, but it looks like the snow might be pretty good. If not, it will be a fun weekend of skiing the backcountry with some of my best girlfriends. I’m planning on heading up with Sue Larson, Cait Phillips, and Michelle Manning, so the Roxy girls will be out in full force.
Check back for updates. And don’t forget to check out my photo gallery.
