Kehlsteinhaus: A Trail Run to The Eagle’s Nest

The Eagle’s Nest was a surprise birthday present for Hitler built with Nazi party money. A mountaintop stone retreat built 6,000 feet up, accessible by a gold-plated elevator. It was one of the crown jewels of his empire. And the man was afraid of heights.” – Major Dick Winters, 101st airborne division. Keep reading…

Poking Around

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It’s been an interesting start to the year so far, with several large storm cycles rolling through Colorado punctuated by long periods of dry, sometimes unseasonably warm weather in between. The overall snowpack has lagged behind the median several times only to play catchup with big dumps to get us back to average. And the variable weather has created a somewhat complex avalanche situation state-wide that’s likely only going to get more complicated before it improves. Keep reading…

Of Huts, Elk, Boomers, and Pow: Winter at Janet’s Cabin

A hut trip to Janet’s Cabin has been on my Colorado bucket list for years. As a lifetime skier of Copper Mountain, I’ve always known that there was a hidden cabin way up in the woods somewhere beyond the gate of West Ten Mile, the most westerly run on the mountain. I had skied past the gate dozens of times and pondered an outing beyond the rope lines. I had also seen plenty of fully loaded snowshoers and skiers riding the Kokomo and Lumberjack lifts en-route to a stay at the hut. Keep Reading…

Meridian and Cataract Creek

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Just before New Years I joined up with Rick, Dave and Zach on an exploratory tour into the northern Eagles Nest Wilderness. After a long sled approach we skinned out along Elliot Ridge and skied off Meridian Peak before exploring the Cataract Creek basin a bit in search of some bonus turns. It was a fun day out, and really the first true backcountry day of the season for me. Keep reading…