Backcountry by horseback

SNOWBIRD — There is no better way to see country, particularly backcountry, than from the back of a horse. After all, four eyes are better than two.

While the horse keeps its eyes on the trail ahead, the rider is able to scan the countryside. Easy. Which is one reason horses have become part of the Snowbird ski area's summer staff, so to speak.

Among its summer programs, Snowbird offers both horseback and all-terrain vehicle adventures in and around Mineral Basin.

The basin is a popular ski area in the winter. In the summer, it's different — very different, pointed out one rider.

"It may be the same area you ski in the winter, but it all looks so very different in the summer," he explained.

This is not the first year Snowbird has made horseback and ATV adventures possible, but it's probably the best year, noted P.J. Clayton, concessionaire, "simply because of the wildflowers," he said. "With all the moisture we've had this year, they're spectacular."

And, in most cases, the scenery, wildflowers, wildlife and glimpse back to a little history are for "their eyes only."

Mineral Basin is among the more pristine locations in the Wasatch range, albeit difficult to reach.

Horseback is, indeed, an ideal way for touring the basin and surrounding countryside.

Rides, both on horseback and ATV, start at the base of the ski and summer resort with a ticket for a Tram ride to the top of Hidden Peak — elevation 11,000 feet.

ATV rides leave from the top of the mountain. Horsemen are driven in an all-terrain vehicle to the corrals and the waiting mounts at the bottom of the basin.

"There," said Clayton, "we introduce them to their horses. We really do want them to have a bonding experience with the horse, to get them to love the horses as much as we do. It's funny, but after people ride, they want that interaction with the horse — they call it by its name, they pet the horse, give it a treat, have their picture taken.

"We also instruct them on how to get on a horse, how to stop, start and get a horse to turn. We tell them where their feet should be when they go uphill or downhill, and how they should sit in the saddle."

That said, the ride begins, first across an open meadow and then into a stand of pines and into a stream.