Snow Basin. Mountain Running.

Last week I got to do something I had never done before - run down a mountain. I was in the SLC/Springville/Ogden area for business. I have a friend who works at one of the companies I was visiting. He's into biking, snowboarding, hiking and running. I made that appointment the last one of the day. When we finished meeting in Ogden, we took off into the mountains to visit the closed-for-the-season resort of SnowBasin.

Even though it was closed, there was still a lot of snow on the slopes (in fact, it had snowed the day prior to my arrival). So, dressed in tights, 2 long sleeve shirts, Salomon SpeedCross 3s, gloves, a hat, and just-purchased YakTrax, I set up the slopes with my friend.

Now let's face it, my buddy spends almost every day of his life after (or before) work running around this mountain range. He's acclimated to the altitude and is used to running up surfaces that are a bit steeper and longer than those I normally encounter in Kansas. So on the way up, I just trudged along behind him in the snow.

When it came time to turn around, though, we immediately started running down the mountain in the deep snow. My feet were wet and cold, but the speed and the view I was experiencing simultaneously kept my focus away from any discomfort.  We cruised the downhill at sub 7 miles. Jest before we hit the final drop, I was handed a plastic grocery bag and instructed to sit on the back while holding the handle between my legs. What followed was the fastest ass-sledding I have ever experienced. We were at the base of the slope in no time. Being a newbie, I was not really used to having butt cheeks so frozen that I could not feel them. But a quick change of clothes soon revived my gluteal region.

I hope to get back to that mountain at some point this summer. The hiking and running should be a bit easier (yet still plenty challenging), without snow on the ground.

 Just before starting to run down the mountain.

The way up.