The month of April has come and gone and it feels like things are rapidly heading towards summer below 12,000 ft around here. Statistically, despite Denver and the Front Range being above 100% SWE on the season, we’re at 71% of the median for the state as a whole. Though truncated spring seasons can be frustrating, they can also make for a good excuse to return to reliable lines on peaks close to home and just enjoy the skiing for what it is, while it lasts. Well that’s what the month of April turned into (for me at least) and hitting the refreshes actually delivered several solid days of powder skiing. Here are the highlights…
Quandary Peak – Quandary Couloir
Partners: Brian Miller
April 9th
Brian on the familiar approach up Quandary’s East Ridge.
First up was a return to a fun line I had skied a few years ago, the north couloir on Quandary Peak (aka Quandary Couloir). We were drawn in by the high snowline in Summit County and the fact that the line looked to be in up top from afar. Turned out to be barely in but negotiable, with pockets of recycled powder to be found in the more shaded aspects of the chute.
Not too shabby, we’ll take it.
After finishing off the 1,800 ft descent, Brian and I looked back on the route and realized just how thin it was compared to May of 2019. Here’s the photo for comparison to the one below.
Finishing off the line with beer in our near future.
At any rate, things were set to get a little better as a few early-April storms dropped a decent amount of snow up high. Vail-side Gore approaches never really filled in all winter and it became clear the season was going to be all about Summit County’s high trailheads…
Coon Hill – Northeast Couloir/East Face
Partners: Diana Westoff, Rick Thompson
April 11th
All smiles on the summit of Coon Hill (12,757 ft).
Next up was a fun, short day on Coon Hill with Rick and Diana. I had actually never been to the top of the peak itself so we headed on up to the summit and spied a cool looking northeast line dropping down into Williams Creek. From the bottom of that line we regained the north ridge and enjoyed some corn skiing off the standard east face back to the car.
Dropping off Coon Hill’s northeast side.
All in all the snow wasn’t great on this day, but it sure was nice to see Rick and Diana and get out for a few turns on a new peak.
Buffalo Mountain – “Little Elvis”
Partners: Jon Bloomfield, Brian Miller
April 17th
On the approach through the Buffalo Mountain Fire burn area.
On the 17th Brian, Bloomy and I headed up Buffalo Mountain to check out a line none of us had skied in “Little Elvis”, the continuation of the couloir used to access Elvis’ Crotch skier’s right of The Silver. The great thing about Buffalo is it might be the most reliable mountain in the state in terms of snowpack and multiple ski options off its flanks. The bad thing about Buffalo is that as such it draws a lot of crowds, with this season being by far the busiest I’ve ever seen. The Silverthorne Police Department was in agreement as they handed out about fifty tickets to cars parked illegally up and down the Ryan Gulch Road after the TH was maxed out by 6:30am. It’s a growing problem up there and one that will eventually need to be addressed at some point.
Good snow in “Little Elvis”.
Thankfully we were able to nab a legal spot, after which we made our way up the familiar approach to the top of Little Elvis and enjoyed a great ski on down this classic line. I think we were all in agreement about it being the best line we’ve skied on Buffalo to date.
Already looking forward to returning and scoring first tracks in this one. Maybe midweek is the ticket for next time.
Bald Mountain A – Northeast Face
Partners: Jon Bloomfield, Rick Thompson
April 18th
On the skin with Baldy’s northeast chutes ahead.
The next morning Bloomy and I met Rick at the French Gulch TH and we set off to revisit Baldy’s northeast slopes, another line in the old and reliable category. Just on the heels of a decent storm and with good snow on the same aspect the day prior, we had high expectations for a powder harvest and that’s exactly what eventually came to fruition.
A classic tweener day with weather moving in and out of the area all morning gave this one a winter-like feel, along with the soft fluffy snow. It’s tough to go wrong on Baldy.
“Mystery Mountain” – North Couloir
Partners: Anthony Haupt, Brian Miller
April 24th
Heading into the alpine in “Mystery Basin”.
Next up, I joined Brian and Anthony Haupt on an outing that turned out to be quite a mystery as to what we skied and where it was exactly. It’s not often we find ourselves just totally unaware of where we are in the backcountry but, that’s what happened on this day. The good news was through our bout of amnesia we did manage to locate and ski blower powder down a perfectly pitched chute, in addition to checking off a peak on the 13er list that may or may not rhyme with “Fartlek.”
…and enjoying light powder in the peak’s mysterious north chute.
After our satisfying morning of fugue state skiing we returned to the parking lot and enjoyed a round of mystery beers, then headed home, still quite puzzled. I’m just happy none of us disappeared and showed up buck naked in a grocery store in Leadville a couple days later.
Twin Peaks B – Northeast Couloir
Partners: Rick Thompson
April 29th
Moonset over Twin Peaks, seen from Twin Lakes.
And lastly to close out the month Rick and I motored on down to Twin Lakes and checked off a line that had long been on the list, the northeast couloir on Twin Peaks B (13,333 ft). It’s a line that seems to rarely come into smooth condition as it either melts out early or rips out up high and ruins things down low. After seeing a group had skied it and reported back good conditions, it was a no-brainer as the outing might be the best bang for your buck in the entire state of Colorado. And I’m not saying that without putting any thought into it.
Starting off the nearly 3,600 ft descent on a prototypical spring day in the Rockies.
When in condition, skiing Twin Peaks entails walking a couple hundred yards from the parking lot along a dry service road, hitting snow, and climbing 3,600 ft straight up to the summit. That’s it. Then you just hope for decent snow conditions throughout the descent. The line had gotten a timely refresh in the day prior which all but erased the tracks from the previous party. Some recycled pow up high and a dash of corn down low and Rick and I were happy.
Nearing the bottom of the twisting line with Highway 82 in back.
It’s a good one. I’d recommend checking it out sometime if you’ve got the right snow year and the beta.
Brews and sandals on the bank of Lake Creek. I love spring.
And with that we’ll see what May brings. Things are going fast, enjoy it while it lasts!