It’s just a fact of nature that no matter how much snow we get over the winter, summer will eventually run its course and the snow will disappear. I personally love and welcome this transition, as by this time of year I typically lose the motivation to shoulder a 35 lb pack of ski gear and hike for miles on dry ground to ski a thousand feet of marginal summer snow. Keep reading…
Brian and I met Matt at the bottom of the Tigowon Road at 4am Saturday morning, the last full day of calendar winter. Our sights were set on bagging Holy Cross on skis via it’s classic line, the Cross Couloir. Matt’s Friday afternoon recon mission to 12,000′ above Beaver Creek told the tale of a stable snowpack on north through east facing aspects. The CAIC reported that the recent storm snow had bonded well with the old snowpack, which we knew had been getting baked on east aspects by late winter, higher angle sun for the past two weeks. Keep reading…
I managed to rouse a few friends of mine, Brian and David, to get out this past Saturday for what was undoubtedly one of the best weather windows Colorado has seen yet this winter. Temps in the high forties and low wind forecasts were to be enjoyed state-wide. When a weather window like this comes along I usually feel an urge to get out and give something a shot, even if I don’t necessarily have any specific goals in mind. Well this time I didn’t have any specific goals, and neither did Brian. Continue reading…
To give credit where it’s due, the idea to go for Mt. Massive came from my friend Eric and his dad Steve. The two have been ticking off winter 14er summits for some time, and Massive was first on their list for this winter. Preferring more of a siege style of mountaineering, Steve and Eric planned to head in on the 26th, camp at treeline, go for the summit on the 27th, and deproach on the 28th. Unfortunately I was tied up on the 26th so the overnight plan wasn’t an option for me, instead I managed to rouse an old winter partner of mine in Kiefer to join me for a single day ascent on the 27th. Continue reading…