Gore Ridge

Good snow up high. It was nice to get back into the alpine again.

This past weekend Dylan and I headed up for a morning tour on Gore Ridge, in part to continue training for the Grand Traverse but also because he had skied up there a few days prior and reported back soft and stable conditions up high. Finally.

Truth be told I haven’t skied much backcountry this season thus far. Apart from a few huts and sled skiing days up on the pass with Rick and company, it’s been pretty much all resort skiing and skinning for me and I’ve been fine with that. Patience is almost never a bad thing when it comes to this sport, and this has felt like a good season to sit tight and be patient. That said, I think we’ve all been looking forward to spring and the coverage and stability it usually brings. And with a stable window finally arriving just ahead of another March dump, it was time to go check things out.

Up on the ridge with some Gore giants in back. The wind chill could be 5 degrees and Dylan would still be hatless.

With a couple of 10lb dumbbells courtesy of Dylan sitting in the bottom of our packs we made our way up to the top of Gore Ridge and looked down a couple ski options. Despite the oncoming storm that was just starting to hammer Denver with 3 feet of snow, the sun was out and the Gores were looking mighty fine across the way. I guess that’s why they call it the Continental Divide.

Dylan and a fine backdrop on a day we assumed would be cloudy with low visibility.

We skied slightly different aspects to determine where the better snow was, slapped the skins back on and headed up for another lap. Then we headed slightly east for a third lap in a different chute before skiing down to the creek bed and back out to the car.

On the up.

Painting the canvas. Photo by Dylan.

Finishing things off lower down. Time to head home.

Things are looking a little better in the area coverage-wise but suffice it to say, we need snow. With most of the major Vail-side Gore approaches already melted out a decent ways up the valley it could be an interesting spring season for us Gore enthusiasts. I guess we shall see…