Trip Report: Guardsman Pass Alpine Ski Tour


Guardsman Pass Alpine Ski Tour
By Eve Kovacs
SKI 12/07/2025 NTD+
Finally, we had enough snow to attempt a real ski tour in the back country instead of just skinning up the Summer Rd at Alta! The idea behind this tour was to pick an easy destination to do a shakedown tour for people who were either new to touring or wanted to refresh their skills, or simply wanted to get out. A group of eight (Dalton, Mateo, Katherine, Mike, Frank, Robert, Geoff and Eve) started from the winter gate on the Guardsman Pass Road. We first reviewed the avalanche hazard for the day (considerable), our equipment, beacon operation and the plan for the day. We discussed how our route would mitigate the current avalanche issues and snow conditions. We proceeded up the road, with the more experienced participants offering lots of good advice to the newer folks. Rather than simply skinning up the road, we turned into the woods near the power line and followed the skinner up the open terrain next to the trees. This turned out to be a good route choice. It was more interesting than the road, quite scenic, avoided the heinous deadfall in the denser woods and took the best advantage of the minimal snow cover available. We all noted the presence of rocks just below the snow surface. Higher up, we cut our own skin track to take a gentle route to the pass. At the pass, we enjoyed a lunch break in the sun and contemplated our options. Jupiter peak to the north was barely covered and did not look appealing. The north ridge of 10420 looked much better and we decided to try going up about 200' to the first knoll for our transition spot. Katherine saved the day by showing Robert how to transition his brakes to downhill mode. Unfortunately, we encountered several rocks for the first few turns off this knoll, but managed to find a dozen or so good powder turns below the knoll. Opinions were divided about whether it was worth it. Everyone agreed however that our best option for the return was to ski down the road. There were lots of opportunities to practice short turns on the way down. Although the snow conditions were marginal and the skiing was definitely not epic, everyone had a good time. This tour is highly recommended for a mellow early season adventure.

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