Hogum Fork is one of the few drainages in the Central Wasatch that has always eluded me, and most other hikers in the Cottonwoods I would argue. The reason is simple: it is extremely rugged and remote. There is very little information on the drainage. There is no direct hiking trail to get into it in the summer. And there is not a lot of data out there on how the skiing is in the winter. Regardless of the season, the only way to get there is via Bells Canyon or via Maybird Gulch or up the gut of the Gulch itself. And any of these approaches will take you several hours just to get you into the drainage. So most people remain content to see it either from South Thunder Mountain or from Pfeiferhorn. I have seen it from both peaks over the years. And each time I do, my desire to get into the actual Fork has always grown, not diminished. Because it is so vast and boulder-strewn, I always felt that exploring it on skis was the most efficient way to go. As a passionate geek of understanding all of the drainages of the Central Wasatch, I have had many questions that have built up over the years about Hogum Fork.
February 15 finally presented itself as a Saturday with some time to check it out myself and get some answers to those questions. Under partly overcast skies, it took 2 hours of solid climbing and booting from the White Pine lot just to get over Hogum Hogback (the ridge separating Maybird and Hogum). I often wondered why they call this area Hogum 200. Standing on that ridge, I think I have a reasonable answer to that question: there are at least 200 good lines off that ridge into the drainage proper. There were so many options here, and so little time. I picked one and headed down.
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| Looking back at Hogum 200 and Hogback Ridge. |
Admittedly, the snow I found was marginal all day. It was a complex mix of rain crust, wind board, pure ice, facets, and some rare powder in the sheltered areas. And Upper Hogum was mainly rain crust and wind board, as the pictures will show. But when you have a (very) rare free day up in the mountains, you got to take it when you can - you can't wait around for next powder storm to arrive (it's snowing up there as we speak a mere 24 hours later). Life is too short- I'm not getting any younger or less busy with the passing years...
Upper Hogum is split into two large, un-named basins. You don't realize how large they are until you travel across them. By "large" I mean each sub-basin is big enough to hold it's own small ski resort (not that I'm ever suggesting that happen in this pristine wilderness).
The Pfeifferhorn presides over the eastern basin.
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| The Pfeiff - note the exit to the infamous Northwest Coloir to the right. |
Lightning Ridge and Airplane Peak flank the western basin.
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| Airplane Peak. |
I had my eye on some lines in this western basin. I'll call it Lightning Cirque because it deserves a name and the maps don't show one. (I once heard the area called Hogum's Heros) The nice thing about skiing on wind board is that skinning up steep slopes actually is relatively easy because it's so "grippy". Getting to the top of Lightning Cirque, I found it to totally flatten out at the foot of many sharp spires and skiable lines along the arcing ridge. There was no sign of any other skier up here from all season, except maybe a faint and old skinner. It felt like back country skiing should - you are all alone and on your own in God's country. The solitude and beauty was the best part of the day for me - maybe poor snow conditions forces one to focus on the jaw-dropping beauty all around in a place like this. It was a welcome mind-shift for me to make, and one that I did not resist.
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| Entering Lightning Cirque at the foot of Airplane Peak. |
I didn't realize it at the time, but after studying the map I realized that Lightning Cirque is flanked by South Thunder Mountain. In other words, on the other side of this cirque, one would be looking directly down at Upper Bells Reservoir. This would be a cool super-tour to do one day: White Pine to Bells on skis via Red Pine and Maybird and Hogum Fork. Having been in there on skis now, it would be faster on skis across the drainages than picking your booter along the ridge via Pfeifferhorn. In other words, cut across the drainages rather than do the traditional summertime Beat Out route on skis.
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One could spend a whole month exploring Upper Hogum on skis! Note South Thunder Mountain on far right.
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I did two runs in this area before I decided to head back when the winds started picking up and my water started running low. My exit was via Hogum Fork by design, exploring the whole way down.
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The Sliver, with a faint booter heading into it.
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| Lots of avalanche carnage in lower Hogum. |
I had heard many people say the exit was tough so I wanted to see it myself. As long as you stay high on skier's right, you avoid the cliff bands and waterfalls found down in the gut. I found the best snow of the day in those sparse pines during the exit, all the way down until I came to good old Little Cottonwood Creek.
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| The head dip in these waters felt good. |
To me, Hogum Fork represents perhaps one of the last bastions of true back country skiing in the ever-more crowded Cottonwood Canyons. The difficult access, the lack of "written press", the extreme remoteness, and the tricky exit make it a true gem of the Wasatch. Like any good back country area, you have to earn it.
One final note. The historic avalanches that came through LCC on 2/6-2/7 left behind amazing debris piles right along the road. They were 10' tall, fall of ice chunks and trees. No wonder the rating in LCC was extreme those days.
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| Impressive debris piles from massive avalanches coming through Tanner Gulch, piled up along the shoulder. |
One final final note. Since ugly avalanche debris piles aren't a inspiring note to end on, I wanted to leave you all with something that is: a picture of my 2-month old daughter, Amelia Grace Hegewald. She is certainly someone fun to come home to after a long day of touring. I can't wait until she is old enough to join in - and lead me out - on these adventures herself...
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| Hi Dad. Take me skiing soon, OK? |
