I was pretty lazy recovering from gluttony on Turkey Day and decided I needed to get out for a ride on Friday. Couldn't convince anyone to join me so I decided to head 80 miles north to Ogden Canyon to have a late breakfast at a friends restaurant. Waited for it warm up a bit and headed out about 10:30 a.m. It was still about 35* but projected temps were supposed to hit 50* later on. Riding was uneventful on I15 and I exited early so I could ride through my old stomping grounds in east Ogden where I grew up.

I got to the mouth of Ogden Canyon and took 39 east. The road was wetter than I thought it would be and the temps in the canyon dipped below freezing and I could see patches of ice so I was more cautious than usual. I got up to The Oaks and found out it was closed for a few weeks. I forgot Keith does that before the winter season. Since it was pushing noon and I was hungry I decided to head up to Huntsville to the Shooting Star Saloon for one of their signature Shooting Star Burgers and a beer for lunch. I hadn't been there for over 20 years. The Shooting Star is a landmark in Utah as the oldest continuously operating bar in Utah. It was great to see that 20 years had not changed the place much and the burger was well worth the trip. Sorry for the lousy cell phone pics.

From Huntsville I headed south over Trapper's Loop Road and up to Snowbasin ski resort. I'd grown up skiing there and later spent 8 winters working there, and also worked the Downhills for the 2002 Olympics. It was great to see the resort again, but only for the grace of homemade snow were they open. Looks like my finger covered part of the lense on my cell phone pic.

From there I headed south to Mountain Green, then took 84 east to Morgan where I headed back south over 66, a Scenic Byway to East Canyon Resort. I had heard on the news that this road was closing Friday (that day) for the winter and got worried when I saw the Road Closed signs heading up the canyon. Luckily I ran into the crew putting the signs up and they assured me it was open for another couple of hours. The ride over the top was spectacular but the shaded areas had ice and snow on them and again I had to ride extra cautious. 66 drops down to Parley's Canyon and Interstate 80, where I turned east toward Park City.

I cut off on 224 and rode past the US Olympic ski jumping and bob sled complex, then past The Canyons resort and on into Park City. From town you can see runs at Park City and Deer Valley. Funny that it was the warmest section of the ride, about 55* up there and warmer than the lower altitudes of Salt Lake. From town I headed out to 40 and turned south to Heber, then hit 189 west through Provo Canyon and home. It was then that I realized how close I'd ridden to some of the greatest skiing on earth.

On the 240ish mile ride I'd been within 20 miles of Alta, Brighton and Powder Mountain. I'd been 15 miles from Snowbird, Solitude and Nordic Valley. I'd been less than 5 miles from the Olympic jumping complex, Deer Valley, The Canyons and Sundance, and had driven in the parking lots of Park City and Snowbasin. Man there's a lot of great skiing around here and it was fun to see skiers on the runs from my scooter. Great ride, great day and still not ready to park the ride for the winter.

 

Sounds like a great ride.

That is some pretty country. I've been there. I get down to Utah each winter and usually in the summer, too. It is some great skiing.

Never rode there in the winter, though.

 

There was ice on the road in East Canyon (just over the east side from Big Mountain) about 3 weeks ago. You are a brave man to ride that last week!