The north face of “Drift” had been on my radar for years, even since before Brian included it in our guidebook. The route is wind-prone and can be finicky to get in good condition. But when it’s in, it’s tough to find a better bang-for-your-buck line in the entire state. Paved road access, a short approach, and a straightforward climb all lead to an aesthetic summit and over 2,300 ft of skiing right off the top. Read more…
As I sit to write this post, two things are my mind. First, there is a lot of great beta on the Tenmile Traverse, including some excellent TR’s. I relied heavily on Steve Knapp’s, Anton Krupicka’s, and Geojed’s reports while prepping for this. Thank you to each of them for the excellent details and info. Because of this, I do not feel I need to add all that much more to the collective knowledge set for this route. Others have documented it well. Keep reading…
There’s a little gaper in almost all of us. Not many can pop out of the womb as a prefab Blaurock. I grew up in Colorado and “learned” to ski in Levi 501s. Now I hang out with people who ski routes worthy of films, scramble ridges with some legit badass mountain athletes, and laugh at my former self (I still ski horribly, but I at least ditched the Levis). So in the spirit of goodwill with gapers state-wide in hopes that they can similarly evolve, I offer this report. Keep reading…
After spending most of the week wishing I was still running around in the Weminuche and the San Juans, I was itching to go for a walk. These days when hitting the trail solo, I’m usually en route to the Park or catching up on some of the easier Centennials. On Sunday, with a morning to spare and a small weather window, I decided a trek into the Tenmile range was in order. Keep reading…