Mount Tukuhnikivatz - La Sal Mountains

AlexMitchko
Feb 23, 2023
3 min read

Updated: Oct 7

Spring, oh what a glorious time to be in the desert. Play your cards right and all your mountain dreams can come true: corn skiing in the morning, mountain biking in the afternoon, and camping in the evening to top it all off. This is exactly what we had set out to do in early May 2021 with Sam Axeness, Rob Horch, Tristan Soto, and myself. Coming fresh off an intense avalanche course, this mountain getaway is exactly what I needed.

Rolling into the town of Moab is always a special experience. Ever since my first trip here in the spring of 2018, I have been back at least two times each year. Everything here is world class: perfect sandstone for climbing, four biomes to mountain bike through, historic rafting- the list goes on and on. With all these avenues for adventure, skiing is seldom thought of when southern Utah is on the docket. Don't let that fool you. La Sal Mountains are some of the most picturesque and engaging objectives in Utah. The contrast from desert plateaus while being nearly 13,000' high is quite a unique experience and would recommend to any adventurous skier.

I had been looking forward to this trip all spring as it combined my favorite outdoor disciplines- skiing and mountain biking. Our plan was to ski Mount Tukuhnikivatz, or commonly known as Mt. Tuk, and to ride The Whole Enchilada on our bikes.

As the crew rolled into camp the night before our ski our stoke was infectious, we all felt how special this ski was going to be. As we got to the trailhead the next morning I remember being blown away by how many other folks were going for the same objective that day. If I recall correctly there were at least 15 other cars in the parking lot. I was perplexed to say the least. "Why are there so many people here?" I asked myself numerous times. I just could not wrap my head around why so many folks ventured this far to ski over here, but, in reality, I was one of those folks who came from far away just to ski in this zone. This unique experience is a sought after one and rightfully so.

After a mellow hour or so poking around treeline, we finally got eyes on our objective. A beautiful peak with desirable descents on all aspects from mellow angles all the way to mandatory mid-line rappels. We chose a fairly standard line on the north ridge from the summit.

The ascent was fairly uneventful besides the careful maneuvering over rocks and small trees on the skin track. As we neared the top we found all the people we had seen in the parking lot. To this day it is still the most chaotic summit I have been on. From folks who booted the entire way with alpine gear to dogs to runners with no gear besides a hiking stick they found down low; it was pure insanity. As we fought the crowds on the summit, the line to descend was about ten skiers long. I couldn't wait; the wet instabilities for the day were rapidly increasing and I wasn't going to wait around for another ten or so people to get down. Cordially asking the parties in front of me to descend first; they agreed as they had some nerves to combat before dropping. The ski itself was fun. Heavy snow and good views were as expected and besides a small constriction in the lower section, fairly simple skiing.

This trip was awesome to connect with friends that I don't get to see often and to share our passions once more. After this ski we got to ride The Whole Enchilada to cap off a perfect weekend in the desert. Nothing pairs better than bikes and skis!