NATHAN ZOLLINGER
Sales and marketing, Zbroz Racing, Logan, UT, Factory Arctic Cat professional hillclimber
Favorite Riding Areas: Providence Canyon, UT
Why There? The reason I like to ride this canyon is because it's about five minutes from my shop. And I enjoy the terrain. It has some pretty big chutes, if your turbo or big bore is up to it. It will get your blood going. You have to be careful though as the chutes are avalanche prone, being north-facing. It also has some very technical tree riding if you look past the normal tracks you'll see.
When I am not building a fun hillclimb practice course, you "won't" find me in the trees. Well if you're lucky you will, but I ride there a lot and don't see many people in the draws and places I like to go. It's not that it is hard to find but people just don't seem to drop into every little canyon. It's not really high in elevation but gets good snowfall from the beginning of the season to the end. I have no idea how much; I usually just look out my office window and if the trees look like they have a good fresh coat I stop what I'm doing and go see how much. Providence Canyon is frequented by a lot of big name locals like the Williamsons, Thompsons, Simmons, Checketts and many more, so if you see someone do something that looks easy, it's probably done by a veteran backcountry guy with a better than average skill set.
Another highlight worth mentioning is Logan Peak. This peak has some nice radio towers so it's easy to find and it offers a cool view of the valley floor. It's also just above the Rodeo Grounds, which is the local race hill to see if your buddy's sled is really as fast as he says it is. Be careful on the north/east facing hill as it slides a lot and the smaller bowl just to the south took the lives of two good guys a few years back. Wear your beacon and use your head, not your ego.
How Long Have You Been Riding? I think this is my rookie year? When do you become a veteran?
Your Current Ride: 2010 Arctic Cat HCR with Exit shocks front to rear, ARS FX 43-inch chromolly A-arms, CPC lightweight canister, Frogskinz venting and lots of extra energy bars for digging out my buddies.