Route: South Slopes

Team: Ted, Chris Davenport

Even though I had already skied Mount Sherman once in 2004, I still welcomed Chris’s invitation to do something different and get out of Aspen for the day. We could talk up some more exciting trips for spring and maybe somewhere down the road he would return the favor and come along with me when I needed a partner (Capitol perhaps?).

The weather wasn’t supposed to be very good, but we both figured if there’s a straightforward route to attempt in less than ideal conditions, Sherman’s south side is the one. The mountain wasn’t going to give up its summit without a fight though. Chris and Tom Zuccareno had been “shown the door” here, so-to-speak, in high winds a week earlier.

It’s often windy here and this day was no exception. The resulting whiteout was bad at times, though there was little falling snow, so apart from a few challenging stretches where our skins weren’t holding too well, we were up top pretty quick. With hardly a single photo opportunity to be had, we were clicked in and started skiing ASAP. At times I couldn’t tell if I was skiing fast or standing still, the whiteout conditions were playing with my senses. When that happens it can be pretty weird.

Eventually we skied out of the weather and made our way home. A month later we’d have much more fun, on Pyramid.

Dav’s take here.