Just three years ago, Park City Mountain Resort, and most of the West for that matter, received a record amount of snowfall. On average, Park City Mountain & Canyons receive just under 300″ of total snowfall per year, but during the 2022-2023 season we received 612″ of snowfall. Yet, here we are, wrapping up the 2025-2026 ski season and Park City has only recorded 171″ or half the average. And the lack of snow was painfully evident throughout the winter. The mountains and hills normally blanketed in at least some amount of snow from November to April were nearly brown …
Racing is fun, and as much as I try to hold back from signing up for races because it’s so hard to compete with the super fast athletes, I still get drawn back in and put in my place every time. My first skimo race was no exception, but luckily, I had no illusions of standing on the preverbal podium at my local ski race. Starting in the back, behind all the high school kids and with the rest of the “casual” racers, we headed uphill to complete as many laps on the course as possible in about 1 hour. …
Inspired by RoadTripRyan’s adventure map, detailing the locations of all of his experiences in the greater Utah area. I finally decided compile all 400+ posts into a map of my own. For the past ten years, it’s shocking to see all the places I’ve written about in that time. Looking back at my first posts detailing trip to New Orleans and EDM concerts that I’d travel to, all the way to the countless adventures in the mountains around the world. From reviews of hostels in Iceland to reviews of my favorite backcountry skis, the BD Helios 105s. I’d like to …
We only get to live this one, short life. Right? Being realistic with myself, even at the less-than ripe young age of 33, I won’t be able to do everything I want, nor see every place in the world. It’s a sad realization, but an honest one at that. Will I climb Mount Everest, race the Leadville 100, or sail around the world? Who knows. Even though I won’t be able to check off all my goals in life, I am damn sure going to try to cross off as many things as possible. As my grandfather used to tell …
One of the best parts about living in a ski town is the shoulder seasons, when you can combine multiple sports into a single day. Well, once the ski resort closes down for the year, it’s the perfect opportunity to combine biking and ski touring. Though we wanted to ride from our house, the spring melt made our route to cross the highway impassible, so we started from in town. After loading up the bikes, we headed up to Park City Ski Resort to tour up the last bits of snow to the summit of Jupiter Peak for an epic day out with a good buddy!
The entire journey was about 22 miles, with a total elevation gain of almost 3,700 ft, including the bike portion. I was shocked, to be honest, that I was able to make it all the way up to the peak and back, while skiing moderately well once I put the GoPro away! It was such a blast being able to ski my favorite line at Park City Mountain called Main Chute off the top of Jupiter peak without anyone else being remotely close to us. It felt like we had the entire resort to ourselves… and that Grouse of course. Luckily, my legs didn’t bonk until the last 1/4 mile on the rail trail while riding directly into the wind. So I’ll definitely take that as a win!
Hi there, my name is Zachary Kenney and I’m an adventure filmmaker & photographer. My passion is to tell stories that will hopefully motivate you to go live a more adventurous life. Whether that is to experience the view from the summit of a mountain, or wandering through a new town on a road trip. Currently based in the Park City, Utah.
People that live in Salt Lake City believe that Park City is just another suburb of Salt Lake. The locals that live in Park City know that’s simply not true. And so it goes, the endless debate (and rivalry) on which town/city is better to live in. Either Park City, where the mountains are at your fingertips because you live in the mountains, or Salt Lake City that sits right at the foot of the beautiful Wasatch Front Mountains. And through this series of posts, I hope to help those that are looking to move out west to Utah, on …
People that live in Salt Lake City believe that Park City is just another suburb of Salt Lake. The locals that live in Park City know that’s simply not true. And so it goes, the endless debate (and rivalry) on which town/city is better to live in. Either Park City, where the mountains are at your fingertips because you live in the mountains, or Salt Lake City that sits right at the foot of the beautiful Wasatch Front Mountains. And through this series of posts, I hope to help those that are looking to move out west to Utah, on …
So you’re making out to Park City, Utah to do some skiing or snowboarding and are looking to maximize all you can ski in the short time you have in town. Well you’ve come to the right place. I’ll brake down the best way to maximize your turns on your skis and snowboard while on some of the greatest snow on Earth. Remember to be honest with yourself and your abilities, because every mountain in the world grades their runs differently. A black diamond back on the East Coast, like Pennsylvania and West Virginia might only be a Blue Square …
This season has been wild so far, with regards to our snowfall and snowpack her in Utah. We got dumped on in October, which is never a great start for any snowpack to prevent a season-long persistent weak layer. November followed with not a single flake of snow, which lead to a rotting snowpack from the early season snow. Then came a record-setting December which gave us nearly 10 feet of snow in some areas. But then a freakishly dry January rolled in, where it hadn’t snowed past the 7th and combining with warm temperatures, we had incredibly safe avalanche …
As a heads Up, this is not an extensive list of newest backcountry skiing gear, but rather a recommendation on the type of gear to get and an explanation of other versions out on the market. This is basically a jumping off point for gear recommendations. My philosophy in the backcountry is that you need to prepare for the uphill, where lightweight is the priority, and downhill, where performance and fun is the priority. Backcountry specific skis, do they really exist? Yes. Are they different than resort downhill skis?Technically yes. In here I will try to break down the difference …
