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A five day ski traverse (loop) through the Berner Oberland region of the Swiss Alps with huts, summits, good weather and bad.

The days are longer, the temperatures warmer, and the snowpack, though thin, is stablizing. We love the arrival of spring because it signifies the start of our backcountry ski touring season. Christy and I had some opportunities to get out and ski some high 13ers recently. Here’s what we found–

At 10,839 ft. Hahn’s Peak isn’t a particularly high summit by Colorado standards, but it’s position among the neighboring peaks of the Mount Zirkel Wilderness give it a fairly impressive presence. And it makes for a really fun backcountry ski outing.

Last year I had the opportunity to be a part of an amazing mentorship program that the Aspen Middle School conducts annually with their 6th-grade students. I was approached by an impressive 11-year old girl who asked if I would be willing to participate in the program as her mentor for ski mountaineering.

We finally skied Treasure Mountain. The massive 13,528 foot mountain outside of Marble, Colorado can be seen from high points all around the Elk Range.

We joined friends at the Lindley Hut last week and did a cool tour on and around nearby Star Peak. I’ve always considered April to be prime time for the Braun Huts…

It wasn’t much of a start, but this winter has sure developed into something nice. This past January has seen tons of snow so far, and while it’s early and things can change, the stability in the backcountry has been really good as well.

The holiday season is here again, and as much as it’s fun to see town so busy, it can be intense at times. We’ve been lucky that for the past six years we’ve been able to escape the madness for a night and head up to a hut for Christmas Eve with some friends.

The season is definitely winding down. For most it was over weeks or even months ago. But we always like to keep things going until the very end, and besides, the conditions up high are really just coming into form in May. We may still get out for another day or two before truly stashing […]

Our last stop on our Norway trip was to the Lyngen Alps, a peninsula packed with peaks a short distance north of Tromso. We had long heard of the region, it’s one of the more well-known locations in Northern Norway for climbing and skiing.