The 50th anniversary of the Wilderness Act was this past weekend. The local papers have been covering the “news” that more people than ever have been cramming into certain wilderness areas around Aspen, and the local authorities seem surprised. One ranger went so far as to blame the increased popularity in Colorado on the legalization of marijuana-- read the story here. I tend to think it's a bit simpler. People...
The last ski days of the 2011 spring season in Aspen, including the southwest face of South Maroon and Independence Pass.
Route: Southwest Couloir Team: Ted, Christy, Joey Giampaolo This had been on our list for a while. Climb South Maroon via the East (Y) Couloir to the summit, ski the backside down to Fravert Basin, and then make our way back around to Maroon Lake. In our case we skinned up and over the col to the north, which put us in Upper Snowmass Creek, a.k.a. Lost Remuda, and then...
We're cresting the hump of the summer season, that busy time of the year when the crowds around town and the craziness at work can wear you thin if you're not careful. So with no big events and an open weekend, we opted for a short backpack/peak climb to get away from it all, if only for a few days. Interestingly, as I started putting this post together afterwards, the...
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...
Route: Southeast Face Partners: Christy, Dirk Bockelmann Saturday's ski of North Maroon was super-smooth. Maybe we should go for South Maroon too? We all felt some momentum from the day so by the time we left the tailgate at Maroon Lake after North, Christy and Dirk were up for coming along on South tomorrow. With a favorable report from the 9+ people who skied its slopes on Saturday we figured all we needed was to rally some tired legs. We...
Route: East Face to Bell Cord Couloir Team: Ted, Neal Beidleman I drove to the Maroon Creek parking lot alone. Neal Beidleman was experiencing an alarm clock fail. At a certain point in the spring after so many days up high, you know with near certainty what the conditions will be. I was so sure of South Maroon Peak I felt OK going for this solo. I blazed up the...
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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