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  Strawberry Ridge Backcountry Skiing


Backcountry Skiing, Strawberry Ridge, Utah
Distance: completely variable, 1 to 40 + mile trips possible
Days Needed: 1 day trips to 3-5 days for entire ridge
Rating: Easy to Moderate
Daniels Summit Elevation 8,000 ft
Strawberry Peak:: 9,499 ft
Spanish Fork Canyon: 6,000 ft
Maps: USGS 1:100,000 Provo.

Driving Directions

Access is easy. Take Highway 40 south out of Heber City. You'll drive about 15 miles, through Daniels Canyon and arriving at Daniel's Summit. Perched right there at the summit is a fairly big lodge and store called, of course, Daniels Summit Lodge. The highway is plowed all winter so you shouldn't have problems driving there. The property owners charge $6 for a day of parking. You buy a ticket in the store and put it on your dashboard.

Route Notes

From the Daniel's Summit General Store parking area, you can strap your skis on and go directly west. You should see a cross-country ski route that is posted with small markers. This route meets up with the road in about a mile or so. You can just follow the road for miles on end, or take off into the backcountry to avoid most of the snowmobiles.

Strawberry Peak is a great destination. You can ski right up the the summit, usually without any avalanche danger. But use caution and good judgement. Plan to spend the day getting out to the peak and back.

Another longer trip follows the Ridge south. You can go as far as Spanish Fork Canyon if you want to. You'll be skiing along the snowmobile packed roads as well as routefinding in untracked snow. You'll of course need to be experienced at routefinding and winter camping to go very far.

In any case, chances are good you'll find some great powder for tele turns. There's something magical about this place when it comes to powder -- you can almost always find good powder snow slopes somewhere.

(Too bad there are so many stinkin' snowmobilers around. Anyone else want to petition to reserve the Strawberry Peak area for ski recreation only? :-)


 Recommended Book
Hiking UtahWasatch Winter Trails

A solid guide for beginner to intermediate level skiers and snowshoers. If you've always wanted to experience the peace, solitude, and beauty of winter backcountry travel in the Wasatch, but didn't know where to go, or how to do it safely, get this book.

Get it at Amazon.com

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