It’s no secret this season has been less than stellar for the Colorado snow enthusiast. Many have decided to hang up their boards in pursuit of other hobbies, as the thin snowpack continues to dwindle in the face of relentless sun and heat. Though good skiing has indeed been difficult to find this year, there is still some to be found if one searches in the right place. Keep reading…
Rick, Brian, and I set out in an attempt to ski the South Couloir on Clinton, also known as Monica’s Descent or “The Lewinski Slot”. After taking a look at the chute from above we realized what we were really searching for was decent snow, something that seems to be in short supply these days. An early start from Montgomery Reservoir had us to the base of Clinton’s East Face in less than two hours. From there it was a mellow snow climb to Clinton’s summit ridge, with some short sections of talus booting. Keep Reading…
The thought of skiing a high peak has been nothing more than a distant memory to me for the past few months as our snowpack has gone from being nonexistent in November/December to thin and unstable in January/February. With late winter bringing a decent dose of snow and some warm temps to go with it, Brian and I finally decided to come out of our shells and give an east facing, low-angle line a crack. Continue reading…
Normally by January Colorado’s snowpack has reached respectable totals, enough to make inbounds skiing a priority. This year has been different. Inbounds skiing has been a bust, and even backcountry prospects are few and far between and marginal in quality. Rather than sit around and whine about it, a few friends and I decided to go ahead and take what Colorado seems to be granting this year; a solid window for winter hiking. Continue reading…