Mount Tukuhnikivatz and Lil Tuk
- Date: April 23,2023
- Distance: approx. 9 miles round trip to Tukuhnikivatz + 1.5 miles on Lil Tuk
- Elevation Gain: 3,146’+ 1,700′
- Trailhead: Geyser pass winter trailhead
While the Colorado snowpack remained questionable amidst an unstable weather pattern, the La Sals in Utah boasted great conditions and classic ski lines. One of our close friends was heading out to Moab to spend the weekend mountain biking, so Mark and I decided it would be a perfect opportunity to ski some new mountains and spend some time with an old friend.
Our first objective was Mount Tukuhnikivatz: the most prominent peak in the La Sal’s outside of Moab. One of the “50 Classics of Ski Descents in North America,” we found ourselves with lots of company as we headed up this hill. Accustomed to Colorado springtime snow conditions, Mark and I made an early start, the first of maybe 30 people we saw summit that day.
The views of the desert as we hiked up the snowy peak were truly remarkable. The stark contrast of our experience on snow and the sight of castle valley below made for a memorable experience.
We weren’t alone on the summit long and we enjoyed the company of other out-of-towner’s who had come to chase the good snow conditions. while our early summit on Tukuhnikivatz made for some poor snow conditions skiing down the face, it did allow us the time for a second summit up little Tuk.
We found our timing worked out much better for our hike up Little Tuk as the aesthetic East face had warmed up perfectly for some spring corn skiing. The aesthetic experience combined with the accessibility of the area and the perfectly consolidated spring snowpack had us excited to come back the next day for more!
Mount Mellenthin
- Date: April 24, 2023
- Distance: approx. 9 miles round trip
- Elevation Gain: 3,217′
- Trailhead: Geyser pass winter trailhead
Just one valley over from Tuhkinikivatz, we found Mellenthin to be a relative ghost town compared to our experience the day before. It was a Monday, and cooler temps and clouds in the forecast seem to have driven the crowds away.
Mark and I booted along the frozen cross-country/ snowmobile road for about three miles before we headed up through the trees to the base of Mellenthin. Route finding below the tree line proved to be relatively painless as we handrailed a drainage to the base of the peak. Clouds rolled in and out, giving us a glimpse of the face we were going to ski as we made our way to it. We dawned crampons and made our way to the summit in chilly, but not totally miserable conditions.
At the summit we could see the clouds building and decided to make a quick transition to make our way down. As I stomped into one of my bindings, I heard a pop and discovered the metal U-spring that holds my boot to the ski had snapped in half! This seemed unprecedented since this was supposed to be one of the most durable parts of these bindings. We decided that with the extremely low avalanche danger, it was safe enough to strap my boot to the binding as a substitute for locking in. I made careful turns and our fix worked impressively well with the extra thick Voile straps I had bought just the day before.
The skiing was simple and fun and soon we were back at the road scooting our way back to our car.
We loaded up our skis and discussed ways to fix my binding as we headed to Durango to spend the night with another one of our close friends in Durango.