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...
Christy, descending Burnt Mountain towards Buttermilk. Low angle powder is OK, it’s the big backcountry descents that aren’t coming into shape. This winter has not been like those of the past few years. We’re happy the huge early-season dry spell that settled in across much of the west has passed, and that the conditions in the ski areas are finally good. Unfortunately, the instability in the thin snow pack that...
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...
The last ski days of the 2011 spring season in Aspen, including the southwest face of South Maroon and Independence Pass.
I wrote a piece for Powder Magazine online about our 10 day Bugaboos to Rogers Pass Traverse. Read it here!
Christy cuts through the powder on the Congo Trail section on her skinny little race skis. (Christy here) The new Power of Four Ski Mountaineering Race is right around the corner, so in an attempt to scout out the complex course and get some time in our new Dynafit ski mountaineering race setups, Anda Smalls and I went out this weekend for a little familiarization. (more…)
Well maybe it’s not a true “Dawn Patrol,” by its strict definition at least. But it is Friday and with the approaching summer solstice only 10 days away it’s not really necessary to get moving in the dark, and because it was completed before Christy went into work, we’re filing it under the title above. The weather lately has been unusual to say the least, with unseasonably cold temperatures and...
You Win Some, You Lose Some The weather forecast worsened each day as the weekend approached and we weren’t sure what to do. Christy, Lissa, Dirk, and I hoped to ski Mount Yale on Saturday and then try for Kit Carson on Sunday. If the forecast was right, the huge spring storm could shut us out and we might be sent home with nothing. But us if the forecast missed,...
Much to some locals’ dismay, the regular season in Aspen wrapped up last Sunday. If you ask me, it’s a blessing in disguise because like most sports, it’s the post season where things get exciting. For many, work stops until the tourists return for summer, the area snowpack is usually at it’s annual peak and the beautiful spring weather morphs the snow into its safer, predictable, spring variety. If the...
With the big snow that fell Monday and Tuesday came the text from Chris Davenport– Sievers Mountain on Wednesday, who’s in? As testimony to both the classic status of the Sievers tour and Chris’s ability to rally the troops, nine of us assembled at Snowmass under bluebird skies and began. Nine is definitely on the large side for a backcountry ski group and with three climbs and ski descents that...
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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