In between climb the 4000-footers, I took a few intermissions to pursue other adventures. One was a ski trip with my buddies to Park City where we climbed up Murdock Peak one day, and to the top of Scott’s Bowl on another. I still had about a year to go before turning 40, but skiing out west was my 40th birthday present to myself.
Climbing Up Murdock Peak
The quest to climb the 4000-footers was starting to have an effect on me—I wanted to climb everything I saw. Maybe it was the fact that 40 was lurking around the corner, but we were all up for something a little more adventurous than just skiing. After making some inquiries and consulting the trail map, we set our sights on Murdock Peak.
Hoisting our skis onto our backs, we tackled the steep slope. It was a big effort in ski boots, but having met the challenge, we were all smiling like crazy when we reached the top. After summiting, we strapped on our skis and collected our reward: fresh powder!
Dropping into Scott’s Bowl
The ability to hike up something big and drop into an untouched area to make fresh ski tracks, had us excited. So, the next day, we tried for another. On the Iron Mountain side of the resort is Scott’s Bowl, and we threw our skis on our back once again, hoping to find fresh snow. We had another bluebird day and while the novelty had worn off from having done Murdock Peak already, it was worth every step.
Park City Round Up
After two big hike-ups to “earn our turns,” the group felt satisfied. We spent the rest of the time skiing it out, grabbing some pints, and laughing about old times. Taking this pause with my friends was exactly the kind of thing turning 40 was prompting me to do more of. It was all part of what I viewed as a “healthy” midlife crisis, taking stock of where I was at in life, and who was important to me.
Up Around Jupiter Peak – Park City
Skiing Among the Aspens