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 the ski gear away for summer, but I thought I should share some of the...
We skied Castle Peak’s North Couloir last weekend, an early season favorite of mine. 14er ski descents are usually reserved for the spring months, but there are exceptions. Wet weather in Aspen during the autumn months falls as snow in Castle’s Montezuma Basin, and reasonably good skiing can be had up there as early as late September. The North Couloir is a bit more finicky in the early season (more…)
Stormin' the Castle The days are longer, the temperatures milder and the lines are more filled in- it just feels and looks like spring. Seizing a sunny day between spring storms that have been dumping on us lately, Anda Smalls, Adam Mosczynski, Christy and I set out to climb Castle Peak and ski its East Face. It was a great day by all accounts-- blue skies, fun climbing and spring...
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 time the New Year arrives...
Ross's email appeared my inbox with the aforementioned title in the subject line. Attached to it was this photo of Snowmass ski area and surrounding peaks as seen through an airplane window. As a skier, Ross was of course being facetious with his comment, but even non-skiers agree that it's just an ugly scene. And if you are into spring ski tours, then watching the line of dirty snow, or...
At 13,988 ft., Grizzly Peak is the tallest 13er in the state and a regular on many ski mountaineers spring tick list. Dirk and I found it in pretty good shape last Thursday. [singlepic=13,361,500,,center] Technically, Grizzly falls in the Sawatch Range and not in the Elks but with popular access beginning a short way up Independence Pass on the Aspen side, it feels pretty local. If you put together a list...
The Boys from Cali - the Sierra Slayers (More catching up- this from April 28th and 29th) All Chris Davenport said was that two of his friends, who get after it around Tahoe and the Sierras, were coming to town and looking to ski, and that they were going to call Neal and me. Oh and one more thing, they crushed him (Chris) on Mount Williamson, a 14er in California, last month. Hmm,...
Route: North Face Couloir Team: Christy, Ted A few days after skiing both Castle and Conundrum peaks with Adrian, Christy and I headed up. Today was a weekend day though, and it was crowded. Nowadays, with all the near "real-time" trip reports you can find online, everyone and their mothers were up looking for some early season glory. It was a real junk show, complete with stuck cars, snowshoers with...
Route: North Face Couloir Team: Ted, Adrian Ballinger 2006 saw another snowy fall up in Montezuma Basin. I made several trips up into the basin for some fall skiing and before long, after enough snow fell, the North Couloir on Castle Peak was ready to go. As the guide/owner of Alpenglow Expeditions, Adrian invited Christy and I on an expedition to climb Ama Dablam in October 2008 so I figured...
Route: North Face Couloir Team: Ted (solo) This was standard Castle Peak. Autumn rain in town falls as snow up in Montezuma Basin. Mike Sladdin, Johnny Love, and I piled in the Tacoma and headed up. I had been up here earlier in the week and knew the couloir was skiable. Mike unfortunately wasn't too interested and Johnny regretfully left his ski poles in the back of his truck in...
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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