The 12 Hours of Sunlight was yesterday and I’m sure everyone who was there would agree– it’s nice to have that done. The 12 hour race requires skiers or boarders to ascend, on foot or skins, 1,500+ vertical feet up Sunlight Ski Area and then ski down and repeat, for half a day. It can be done as a solo, duo relay, or a four person “firedrill” team. Christy and...
Joey, cold smoke. We’re halfway through the season, and despite the fact that every major storm thus far has skirted us to the north or south, the first half of winter, and January in particular, proved to be pretty good for backcountry skiing. With any luck, the second half of winter will be even better. (more…)
Saturday’s bad weather made for classic storm day conditions up in Highland Bowl. The wind and low visibility kept the fair weather crowds away, and the snow only piled up deeper as the day progressed. Here’s a little video from Christy’s Bowl day. If it isn’t obvious, she’s a proud member of the camp that believes that you should never ride the snowcat up the ridge, no matter how short...
Sean takes it first here. Consider it good advice when up in his neighborhood to at least offer him the first drop. We’ve had a couple of outstanding backcountry ski days around Ashcroft this week, with long powder runs and total solitude. That is unless you consider repeated bighorn sheep encounters as feeling crowded. Some pics: (more…)
Christy prances through the snow. The holiday season is upon us, and if you live and work in a resort town such as Aspen, it’s not quite the vacation you might think. Everything and everyone is maxed out– the mountain is busy, you work everyday, town is packed, you can’t park anywhere or walk into a restaurant without a reservation. Of course the business/ busy-ness is welcome, but by the...
The North Face of North Maroon Peak, 14,014 feet, from the new book, Fifty Classic Ski Descents in North America. If you ask Christy and me, 2010 was a pretty good year. The skiing was great, the races went well, the summer was memorable, we had quite a few fun adventures away from Aspen and of course Christy finished skiing the 14ers. As I was trying to organize things on...
There’s something about making your first turns of the season that’s always special.
Soon-to-be hot off the press, and just in time for the holidays. Earlier today I was given the opportunity to pore over a proof of the much anticipated new book, Fifty Classic Ski Descents in North America, and it looks awesome. The 200+ page, large format book, a collaboration by Chris Davenport, Art Burrows and Penn Newhard, just gets better and better with every passing page. According to the press...
Lindsay, Angie, Craig and Nick descend the Emmons Glacier. Last April, when warm weather and dusty snow seemed to call an end to the Colorado spring ski season, we booked tickets to the Pacific Northwest and set our sights on some peaks in the Cascades. But when winter made a surprise comeback here at home, we were faced with a decision. We could head up to Rainier and Hood as...
J Love, just happy to be here. “It may not be the smartest thing to do,” Johnny said, “but I think I want to try.” Well, as many of his friends can attest, when given a choice, Johnny Love hasn’t done the smart thing every time. But when he called me to ask my opinion on whether or not I thought “it would count” towards his 81 month streak of...
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
