Sometimes, you just have to play the hand you’re dealt.
Not that skiing isn’t one of my favorite things to do, but after six or seven months of winter, the arrival of summer is definitely welcome. As we all know, though, nature doesn’t always follow a set schedule, and this year’s prolonged snowy spring was a good example of that– summer didn’t seem to declare itself until just a few days ago. There’s still so much snow, even Aspen Mountain is set to be open this weekend.
So rather than fight the trend, we’re still skiing. Earlier in the week, after some flakes fell in town on Memorial Day, Chris Davenport– just back from a successful expedition to climb Mount Everest that included a rare ski descent of the Lhotse Face— made the call to head up to North Maroon Peak, where we found conditions to be more like March than June.
Until things dry out around here, the ski season will likely play out a bit longer. And if all the days are like this one, we should have no problem making the best of it.
Stacked with snow, including a few inches from the night before, Chris approaches the big North Face of the “relatively” small mountain. Just ten days earlier, Dav was atop Mount Everest, and it was great to catch up and hear all the stories from his expedition.
After catching up to a solo skier from Colorado Springs (seen below), we took the lead in booting up the North Face. Despite being in front of Dav here, his acclimatization from the Himalaya undoubtedly worked to his advantage. We made the round-trip climb and ski in five and a half hours.
I seized every opportunity to get in front and snap pics so that I at least had a couple that didn’t show me off the back, as I was for most of the climb.
Welcome back, Chris.
Its status as one of the “Fifty Classics” was verified.
I thought the Garmont Masterlite boots he wore to be a bit light and soft for the day, but I guess when you consider he recently skied the harrowing Lhotse Face in them as well, they will work just fine here.
The fun-filled morning was only made better by returning to town in time for breakfast at Jour de Fete. And for others wondering, despite the calendar now reading June, the route should be good for a while longer.
We hooked up with a gang of friends from town and headed up to Cathedral Lake. Our goal was the Pearl Couloir of Cathedral, an area classic and sweet objective by itself. At the top of the couloir however, Christy and I would continue on up and over to Cathedral's true summit, and ski it's Southeast Face.
Aside the summit block- the snow began just behind, some rock-hopping was required.
Hey Ted,
It was great to meet you two on N. Maroon! You guys were machines, climbing that face! I stood on the summit wondering if you were looking back at me from the PARKING LOT 🙂 I posted a TR on 14ers.com, check it out http://www.14ers.com/php14ers/tripreport.php?trip=9985
AspenSpin, if I had to choose between skiing N. Maroon solo or with a partner I would have gone with a partner. However, there are a lot of things that could go wrong on that mountain that a partner would not be able to help me with. Playing it safe means not skiing N. Maroon at all. You have to weigh your risks, you know? Although, I do admit that I have a bit of an innate inclination to hit the mountains in solitude.
Mike- Glad you got it done and glad you popped in here to say hello. It was a great morning up there for sure.
You’re right about the solo thing, it’s one of those spots where if something went really wrong, a partner wouldn’t be able to do much. But they do help with taking turns kicking steps.
We met in Aspen in 2000 and have been happily stuck in the rockies ever since, getting out in the mountains every day we can, in every season and by all means possible. Read More
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