Tomasaki Hut, LaSal Range, March 2008
Ever since hearing of the fine time some friends of mine had at this hut a few years ago I have wanted to spend a few nights there. Jonathan Kriegel and I spent the nights of March 21, 22, 23, 2008, at the hut and had some fine skiing in blue-sky weather. It was cold and windy at times, and slopes were sometimes icy, but at other times it was warm, with perfect corn. In any case, it was a thrill to be able to ski within sight of the slickrock country of Moab. We climbed and skied Manns Peak and Tomasaki Peak on the Saturday. On Sunday we tried Haystack but it was too icy and we failed (no crampons). We did climb nearby Burro Ridge which offered excellent skiing. The non-skiing highlight was the amazing aspen forest in this area. I have not seen such fine old aspens; it was a pleasure to ski alongside them.
The hut is owned by Tag-A-Long Expeditions in Moab <www.tagalong.com>, and they take your pack and water into the hut for you by snowcat, and take your garbage out after you leave. The trip in takes about two hours; the trip out just over an hour.
