“Man, it was reeaallly good up there.” – author unknown (could be any number of people) The ski season has definitely arrived. Technically, that may not be news, but a recent exchange with a friend reinforced the fact that it was really here. While the conversation– which occurs regularly throughout the winter months– can vary in its specifics, the basic gist is always the same. It goes something like this:...
The final turns of Saturday’s World Cup Giant Slalom Another fun opening weekend has come and gone, and with that, another World Cup Event. The giant slalom and slalom races, the only U.S. stops on the Women’s World Cup circuit, were on Saturday and Sunday, respectively. Crowds of spectators watched from the finish area and grandstand, no doubt contributed in part to the sunny weather and somewhat uninspiring ski options...
Blue skies and powder- no complaints from Pete Anzalone. There’s snow up high, yet the mountain doesn’t open until Thanksgiving and because we don’t like waiting– sometimes we’re downright impatient– four of us decided to go get a sneak peek. Neal Beidleman, Pete Anzalone, Christy and I made up the eager foursome and found things to be pretty good if not downright awesome by pre-opening day standards. One run in...
Shhh. Maybe this time if we’re really quiet they won’t notice us…. Nope. We recently skied Clinton Peak, 13,857 feet, which was Christy’s 99th summit of the Colorado Centennials. Now all that remains is Gladstone Peak. Because we regularly discuss similar sounding adventures and lists concerning 14ers, it may help to explain the Centennial Peaks list in greater depth. Simply put, if you compiled a list of the tallest peaks...
The haze might be from pollution but it at least it makes for some cool lighting effects in the mountains and valleys. Cinque Torre in the foreground on the left. We’re on the beach in Mexico on a second honeymoon and figured we should share the remaining photos from our first wedding getaway. The Via Ferrata Cesco Tomaselli – Punta Sud was our favorite climb in the Dolomites– and for...
Nice toss Christy! I’ve played disc golf at 17,200 feet (Everest Basecamp- see below) but horseshoes at 14K? It was a first for me. Click to enlarge. After a string of fall storms brought snow to much of the state, winter has been on everyones mind. Usually we’re excited to pull the stuff out of the closet and head up to Castle Peak’s Montezuma Basin for some early season skiing...
It can be a slow transition or it can happen overnight. One day you’re out on the trail in shorts and the next, well, it’s winter. Case in point– a few days ago we were riding mountain bikes in summer conditions on the White Rim(pics to come) and 24 hours later, Independence Pass is closed for the season ahead of schedule and I’m scrambling to find the scraper for the...
We made a trip to the Maze District of Canyonlands National Park for a little backpacking.
On the summit of Tofana di Rozes, in Eurpoean terms- 3244m, 2 deg. C and 15 cm of new snow. You do the conversion. And the honeymoon continues. A day after the warmup on Punta Fiames we decided to hit something bigger. Highly recommended by friends and guidebooks alike, the Via Ferrata Giovanni Lippelli on the Tofana di Rozes was said to be a must-do. The Tofana group is comprised...
Say ‘cheese’– no, better yet, say ‘honeymoon.’ Christy smiles big nearing the top of the 5th class VF Tomaselli. Some Euros are following down below. If they didn’t smoke so many cigarettes they may have caught us. Click all photos to enlarge. The wedding was awesome. Afterwards, in need of some serious rest and unwinding, Christy and I headed to Europe, Italy to be exact. I know what you’re thinking,...
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
