Category Archives: Backcountry Skiing

Graham’s Glade

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It’s been quite the start to the snow season up here, at least in the northern mountains of Colorado. It seems like it’s been snowing more days than it hasn’t since mid-November, and Vail already has 62% of its terrain open as of December 16th. I can’t recall the Back Bowls opening this early in recent memory, nor can I recall wishing I owned a snow blower more than I have this month. With snow seasons in general being pretty hit or miss these days, needless to say, we’ll take it. Read more…

Calling It a Season on Grays

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It’s been a long ski season. A decent one though all things considered, featuring a bit of a roller coaster in terms of snowpack totals and capped off by a temperamental, dusty spring. Some good days were had, but these days I seem to find myself looking forward to the green valleys, raging creeks and dry trails of summer earlier and earlier. I’ve also always been a fan of defined endings to seasons and activities, as there’s simply too much to do in the Colorado outdoors to risk getting burned out on any one thing. So with all that being said, for me at least, it felt like the right time to take the planks out for one final ski and call it a season. Keep reading…

A Few Good Days in April

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It’s no secret that this year’s spring season has been a temperamental one in terms of weather, snowpack, and ski conditions for just about every skier in the state who doesn’t enjoy absolute freedom of schedule. The high country has been continuously raked by winds and dust storms throughout most of April and into May. Our snowpack ended up being nothing to write home about (slightly below average and with some aspects and ski lines never really coming into condition). Keep reading…

Turning the Corner

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On the last full day of winter Rick, Zach, and I decided to take advantage of the sunny weather forecast and go for a summit in the northern-Gore. We settled on “Northwest Corner” peak (12,663 ft), one of the highpoints along the serrated ridge extending from “East Corner” up to Meridian Peak on the north side of the Piney River Valley. Keep reading…