This past weekend I celebrated my birthday with a short hike up Steep Mountain which is located at the very southern end of the Salt Lake Valley. I stopped about halfway up to the summit of 6900 feet above sea level to take this photo.

The valley floor is on average about 4500 'ASL. The parking lot below me is 5,000' ASL and I'm around 5,800' ASL. I'm not sure of the angle of the mountain but they did name it Steep Mtn for a reason. It is steeeeep! I call it the StairMaster 5000. There are no trails with switchbacks. The mode of climbing is just go up.

My personal best record last year was 23.5 minutes up and 4 minutes down. Yep, going down 2,000 feet is scary fast. I climb with hiking sticks for stability and extra lifting boost with each step up. Going down I use them while glissading a gravel bar. That's the secret for getting down in 4 minutes. Yeehaaa! Only fell twice in 20 summits. Slipped, fell, bounced on my hip, spun a 360 and came up on my feet still going fast. Yep, it hurt but there wasn't time for pain until I finished. The other fall was in a snow drift while walking down slowly taking pics with my cell. Did a face plant roll, dropped my phone, got right back up. The phone was easy to find ...it made a hole in the snow.
I can hardly wait for a big snow! My house is a tiny dot just left of center.