Christy skis down the Southeast face of Mount Hayden on a perfect bluebird day. Thanks for the pics, Anda!
The abbreviated backcountry ski season keeps going. These photos are from a ski outing that Christy, Anda, and I recently made to Hayden Peak and South Hayden.
Technically speaking, there are three different Hayden summits. The most common of the three to see skiers is actually North Hayden Peak, a.k.a Ski Hayden, 13,316 ft., whose triangular north face is in prominent view from Aspen and Aspen Highlands. The middle summit is the tallest of the three at 13,561 ft. and is the true Mount Hayden. In my guess, this summit sees the fewest skiers of the group. The 3rd member of the group, South Hayden Peak, 13,540 ft., is above American Lake, and as the name implies, is the furthest south of the three.
So it was Mount Hayden and South Hayden that we aimed for, and found the snow on the sunny, southeast aspects to be really good spring corn. Conditions are actually holding strong up high and might remain that way now that more typical spring weather is here.
And then there was Christy’s wardrobe faux-pas. The cuffs of her light ski pants don’t fit over her Scarpas (only her other TLT5’s), so she was rocking an in-the-boot look all day. Nice.
Anda and Christy make their way up a couloir on the southeast face of Mount Hayden.
Castle, Cathedral and Mount Raoul (left to right) line the background and Anda and Christy arrive atop Hayden Peak’s summit.
Christy skis down the couloir we climbed. The ridge up to South Hayden’s summit can be seen behind.
Hey, that’s me! It looks like pretty good spring snow, and it was.
Looking back, there are quite a few options off the top.
After our descent of Mt. Hayden, we made our way up neighboring South Hayden. The run (and view) down the valley to the car was long.
Despite having had to work a snowcat on Aspen Mountain from 4pm to 9am the day/night before, Joey still managed to rally and met us on South Hayden. He opted for these turns rather than sleep. That guy is committed.
And down to Castle Creek Road. Good effort team!
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