Chris Davenport skiing the North Face of North Maroon Peak. 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...
A late spring ski descent of the South Face of Castle Peak with Pete Gaston and Max Taam.
In the department of good news, we were recently nominated as National Geographic Adventurers of the Year, for our completion of the Centennial Ski Project.
A 20 mile ski outing to Mount Raoul, 13,803 ft, near Castle Peak, with a return trip over Conundrum Peak and down the Conundrum Couloir
From the Wall Street Journal, March 17, 2015. We’ll leave it to the Wall Street Journal to ask that question, in a story that ran in Tuesday’s paper about Christy, 14ers, her training, and more. It was a cool story, and considering how often the press misses the mark on topics outside of their expertise, I think they did a really good job. (more…)
Breaking trail to the high point in the upper basin. Castle Peak’s 14,000 foot summit is up above. Conundrum Peak doesn’t make the cut as an official 14er according to the Colorado Mountain Club and the 300′ rule. But the Conundrum Couloir that splits its east face is such a classic climb and ski that it deserves a spot on every Colorado ski mountaineers checklist. A friend told me that...
The new, must-have guidebook to Colorado backcountry skiing and ski mountaineering. As a Colorado backcountry skier, the mere prospect of spring brings excitement. But I found myself particularly psyched for the upcoming season after poring over a copy of the new guidebook, Climbing and Skiing Colorado’s Mountains – 50 Select Ski Descents. This book is long overdue. It’s co-authored by Ben Conners and Brian Miller, two Colorado ski mountaineers who...
In the North Couloir of Castle Peak– a fall classic. 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...
Route: North Face Team: Christy, Ted, Chris Davenport, Scott Rinckenberger Riding a wave. If you haven’t been tuned into the Centennial Skiers Project, to sum it up quickly I’ll say it’s been a really good spring. Christy, Dav, and I (along with an assortment of friends) crisscrossed the state, skiing high-13er summits day after day. Not only has it been really productive, but it also rated pretty high on the...
It took a little while, but I finally managed to get the trip reports from our 14er ski descents back online.
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
