​I love the refection that comes with the transition of the year. It takes me back on a travel through my memories, revealing how each moment lead to the next. In 2017 I spent most of my time outside, fascinated by the joy I find there endlessly. I maintained my yoga and meditation practice which brought me to new understandings and perspectives. I read 13 books and allowed each to impact my perspective. I had a scary allergic reaction that brought a whole new understanding of myself. Most of all I feel like I've grown to see the radiance that comes from each and everyone of us.

As I look back over the year, it would be easy to look at what I didn’t do or what didn’t go “right.” Instead I’m choosing to re-live 2017 through my memories in an active state of appreciation, when I shift my perspective this way, my heart swells with appreciation and joy for each piece. The following is my way of actively reflecting on 2017 by appreciating these 10 things.

#1 Wasatch Powder

​The year started off with copious amounts of snow! The cabin was buried up to our second story windows. Zach, Yoda and I spent everyday on a mission to enjoy it , ride it, and fully appreciate it. We learned to pow surf and life was real good in the hood, riding to and from the backdoor. Because our backyard is Bonanza Flats, we are incredibly grateful to be a part of the community that collaborated on purchasing and setting all 1350 acres aside as newly protected open space! 

​#2 Guiding splitboard education 

As the season progressed I had the opportunity to spend a bunch of time touring with incredible people and a lot of women! Between Park City and the Baker splitfest we accomplished "the backside sessions" with Pallas Splitboards. I was honored to guide a group of eager ladies towards their splitborading goals offering my experience to help ease their learning curves. I absolutely love teaching and contributing my passion toward others finding their connection with nature. 

​#3 Yurt Life In The Sawtooths 

A journey up to Idaho took us deep into the Sawtooth Range. Some of my best friends and I got to spend our days together in the Williams yurt. We relished in our time of riding beautiful lines, feasting on awesome food, and capping each end with a soak in magic hot springs. 

​#4 Mt Rainer & ladies road trip

​Continuing north, back up to the Cascades I embarked on a ladies road trip. I was delighted to check out Mt. Rainier and have my mind blown with her scale. We had fun living it up RV style with Lex, Helen, and Hummel. 

​#5 Birthday Powder & Desert vibes 

Once back home it was dumping still and just in time for my birthday. Nature delivered a big storm and we rode “over the head” powder on April 25th. That afternoon I voile strapped my bike to my snowmobile and we headed south to ground in the desert sun. We not only rode incredible trails and watched beautiful sunrises from the bed of Z’s Tacoma but we also timed the run off perfectly. The spring run off in the desert allowed us to float canyons that haven't been send-able for at least 6 years! 


​#6 Splitboarding The Wind Rivers 

Home again and my heart was still pinging for adventure. I left my awesome stable job to join Zach in a search for the undone. The Wind-Rivers is a range consisting of the most remote wilderness in the lower forty eight. In the winter, it doesn’t give it self up easily. With a major amount of effort and miles we found ourselves in one of our favorite basins of the entire range. The surrounding ramps were caked in spring snow. Ticking of two of them while dodging lightning and fog, we considered the trip a beautiful success with just the right amount undone to come back for more. 

​#7 Zach's Incredible 30th! 

Zach’s Birthday extravaganza. Setting out from the cabin, we connect into PC’s legendary MTB trail system. Our line starts with the corvair trail, one of my all time favorites. We connect via many other trails to Shadow lake, the crest, and eventually ricochet for an all time day on Park City’s finest trails. Next we spent a day hiking off trail and up high in the Uintas, exploring and taking in the views. Next, we set out to climb the Grand Teton, leaving the cabin at 5pm. We drove to Jackson and started on the trail at 1am. Hiking through the darkness until the morning sunlight hit us as we crested over the ridge line. Leading my first trad pitches, I place gear to protect us from the 2,000’ exposure and we made the summit! After a nice descent we drive back home and accomplish “The Grand” in under 30 hours cabin to cabin. 

​#8 Off trail and Up high in the Winds

A chance to return to the Wind Rivers is August is an absolute must for us. This year we decided to “topo-hope” our way through the range by linking up contour lines over passes, peaks, and ridgelines. To our astounding surprise and delight, we were a-top Roberts Mountain during the solar eclipse and had our minds blown by the sight of totality in the middle of the day. 

​#9 Guiding and amazing opportunitys 

Multiple successful trips guiding Mountain Biking, Yoga, Backpacking, and Rock Climbing with Park City Yoga Adventures, Inspired Summit Adventures, and White Pine Touring enriched my working life. ISA worked closely with The Outbound at both their Utah and California events and made memories that I will cherish always. One of those cherished memories is learning to surf, lighting a fire inside that is still burning! We also pulled off our first multiday event and opened a bunch of peoples eyes to the wonders of wilderness. We also had the opportunity to work with Visit Utah fishing and backpacking in the Uintas. 

#10 Progress in Cabin Life 

And that brings me back to now, back to home. Zach and I made great progress on our cabin build. This year we completed many projects, one of the biggest was new windows, insulation, and siding on a room that used to loose a lot of heat. Zach also grew a beautiful garden that sustains us with awesome organic food still! This place is coming along beautifully and we love it more everyday. 
 
As a writer, I have been working with a bunch of various operations building content and stories. One of my goals going into 2018 is to not only write for others projects, but to write for myself by continuing this blog. Not only to tell stories, like this one, but also to help integrate everything I’m learning. I want to be able to give back and contribute some of this magic I experience by spreading it to you. Maybe it will inspire, and maybe it will just be therapy for me to write. Either way, I appreciate you taking the time to reflect back on 2017 with me. With deep appreciation for the roles each one of you have played in my past year, Namaste!

​Cindi Lou Grant 

Photo: Kate Osborn

In my daily interactions with people, I'm often looked at with a puzzled furled brow. I do bring it upon my self, I'm a peculiar looking woman who is stuffing groceries into her back pack, folding up extra paper bags, and perpetually in a puffy jacket paired with Sorels on a warm spring day in the check out line. The more extroverted observers assume-idly ask "how was the boarding today?" mistaking me as a tourist with no other apparel. As I point out the peak I rode 5,000 ft above us on the Salt Lake skyline, causally mention the eggs need to withstand a snowmobile ride and the extra paper bags are for getting a fire started, most people ask iterations of, "really?"


So, Backcountry Living, why? As a consistent flow of blizzards pummeled the rocky mountain range this season, our snowbound cabin is buried deeper then we have ever seen. With ongoing sore muscles, maintenance, shoveling, fire building, remoteness, and vehicles encased in road sludge- I catch myself also questioning why. Why not live in a suburb where the mail man can bring me packages, the garbage/recycling magically disappears, and going over to a friends house is in no way considered "an epic adventure"? 
 
Although my solutions and justifications for the perplexities of mountain life are not simple and by no means conventional, my husband Zach and I have managed to carve out our own little spot at 8,400 feet in a Wasatch blind spot. This was not simply a product of our own volition. This was a series of serendipitous events that united our family and friends around us and gave us the opportunity to give roots to our dream.
 
It started in 2004. We were 16-year-old love-struck snowboarders who dreamt of making our life in vast expanses of wilderness. After sneaking out of high school classes, we would drive past the small cabins that lined the road on our way to find an education snowboarding in Utah's Wasatch range. Our desire to live there, avoid the commute, and immerse ourselves in a life of frozen wilderness was ruminating in our minds.

As we put our attention towards living in the backcountry, coincidences started lining up. For the price of what a double wide trailer would have cost us in Salt Lake, we could have a cabin adjacent to world class snowboarding, a stream, and a view. we deemed it, to good to pass up.

As I use this blog to elaborate about how my life and its consistent stream of blessed coincidences unfolded. I know one thing for sure, I'm exactly where I am because I have been following my heart, even if that path is simply the pursuit of my own joy. The serenity, peace, and satisfaction I get from snowboarding to my house, meditating by the fire, drinking clean water, and breathing fresh air has taken my bar for what life can be, and raised to a level that will never recover from.  

I believe the twists and turns of my life give me a unique vantage. Although I formed most my perspectives from fringes outside the norm looking even further out; I want to explore and share adventures, feminism, snowboarding, yoga, self love, guiding, mountaineering, meditation, nutrition, and even the subtltes of life here. 

So, thank you for reading my blog introduction and cheers to more adventuring!

Photo: Adam Clark

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We have eight feet of snow that is nearly encapsulating the cabin. With the intense snowfall we saw all over the Rocky mountains in the past month or so, maybe you are in deep as well?

Shovel efficiency and snow storage:

1. The right tool for the job.
There are many types of snow shovels. Having at least one push shovel and one shaping shovel will help your efforts. If you really want the right tool you may just invest in a tractor, snow cat (coming soon), or just a snow blower but you should be warned; your arms won't be nearly as toned or sexy as they could be. 

2. Push over lift 
When you can push the snow off instead of lift and huck, your back will thank you! This might mean pushing snow out of your main storage areas between storms so you can push new snow into that freed up space. One of the first things I did to my cabin was remove the part of the decks banister so I could push snow off instead of huck it over. I have saved lifetimes of back aches because of it. 

3. Smart snow storage. 
Plan out your snow storage so that the piles you are making will end up helping you as the season dumps on. Building igloo walls off the sides of your deck or tunnels for pathways will make for less shoveling later; you know, do it right the first time. When rounded out and built proper, snow structures are very strong, and who doesn't want less shoveling?!

Happy shoveling friends and cheers to deep winters!