Sean skiing the Pearl Couloir. Earlier this week, a group of us went out for our first real backcountry ski day of the season. Better late than never. Sure, we’ve been in the backcountry on mellow tours through moderate terrain, but conditions and snowfall haven’t been suitable for taking on anything more. Now that we’re into spring and the instabilities that existed through the winter have been nullified somewhat by...
Good morning Grand Traversers! Put another Grand Traverse in the books. Having had a few days to think about the whole experience, the short answer is that it was a really good race. The weather was mild, there was no wind, and the sunrise was amazing. We got ourselves on the podium as the 3rd place in the co-ed category, Christy was the 3rd female overall to cross the finish...
Making our way up the East Snowmass Creek Valley. [Christy here] It’s been a different kind of winter this year. Not bad, just different. The little snow we’ve received so far has left us with a pretty unstable snow pack, and not-so-desirable ski lines in the backcountry. We haven’t skied any of the peaks were thinking about earlier this fall, have yet to ski with some of our closest ski...
The route, click to enlarge. Last Saturday, Anda, Christy, and I went on a little St. Patrick’s Day ski tour that circumnavigated our local Star Peak. The 20-mile “Star Peak Traverse” loop is a pretty obvious linkup of established local trails. Start at Ashcroft and head up towards the Tagert and Green-Wilson huts, following the snow covered jeep road all the way to Pearl Pass. (more…)
Ski descent of the Grizzly Couloir on Grizzly Peak, 13,988 ft., up the Lincoln Creek Valley near Independence Pass.
Christy, finding the old facets skied like a big pile of granulated sugar. When Kir’s email came through asking if Christy and I would like to join her and Anda at her Chair Mountain cabin for the weekend, you could hardly describe the thought process as a decision– I knew instantly we were going. Having spent nearly every day of the past three weeks working/skiing the thin coverage of Aspen...
A photo from the start. [Christy here, again] It’s not a good sign when things look like this in January. Sure, we need more snow, but it could always be worse. Even with a not-so-great start to the season, we’re still pretty lucky that we can get out on a nice, long tour and enjoy the gorgeous scenery. With a random Monday off, and a need to unwind from the...
It was far from a “White Christmas” around Aspen this year, but we did manage to find a little bit of powder up in the Pearl Pass area. (Christy here) For the second year in a row, we escaped the hustle-and-bustle of the holidays in Aspen to meet friends at the Green-Wilson hut for Christmas. Starting from Ashcroft on Christmas Eve afternoon, we skinned the five-plus miles to the hut...
Is the “tough” part of the slogan meant to describe the lottery? The lottery for the 2012 Hardrock 100 was on Sunday, and I’m thrilled to report that I got in again. Some say the lottery process is the hardest part of the race. While that’s definitely an exaggeration, if you’re not given a chance to run because you can’t get a number, well then it’s sort of true. This...
What better way to kick off the season than to debut a new outfit. Looking good, Fry. Our season has begun. Not wanting to wait another month for the lifts start running here, Christy, Kathy, Joey, and I headed up to Montezuma Basin yesterday. It’s a haul to get up there, but when the snow is good, it’s definitely worth the effort. For anyone considering heading up that way, the...
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
