As our snow season slowly winds down and biking season ramps up, I’m always looking for real-time data on spring snow conditions and mountain biking trail conditions.
We are deep into what we all call mud season here in Park City. It’s that transition time where one day you’ll be skiing two feet of fresh powder and the next day you’ll be mountain biking in 60 degree temps! The issue this time of year is actually finding those bike trails that are rideable. Most of them have been buried under feet of snow for months, so needless to say they are a bit muddy. Riding these trails this time of year can totally destroy the trail. The damage that is caused by riding muddy trails is pretty irreversible when you live in a climate like ours. That’s where this new app I just found comes into play.
The App is called Mountain Hub and it has a ton of cool features but the crowd sourced observations are what have me super excited. I simply click my location on the app's map, and I see all the current observations users in my area have posted. While the information I’ve discovered so far has been super helpful, increasing awareness and finding more users would totally take this app to the next level.
For instance, I used the app yesterday and saw where people were experiencing avalanche conditions in the backcountry. The app was giving me real time observations in my area which helped us come up with a plan to ski terrain we felt had a lower risk of experiencing avalanche conditions.
Tomorrow, I plan to check out the observations to see what bike trails in my area are running dry. Last week, I adjusted my game plan after seeing the trail we had planned on riding had turned into a babbling brook as our snow continues to melt.
Anyway, the key takeaway here is to check out the app, it’s free! If you’re a part of the outdoor community why not help each other out. As we all know, information is key in our line of outdoor adventure.
Here is a video I threw together on Monday. It highlights the last 3 weeks of Spring skiing here in Utah. The third segment of the video shows a bluebird powder day. All this footage was shot Monday morning on the Park City Ridge Line. Check the app you’ll be able to see where I entered in my own observations as well.
