Welcome to Exploring the Rockies, a blog I created in 2009 as a place to share trip reports, gear reviews and thoughts related to exploring Colorado’s backcountry, and beyond. With the help of several other contributors and friends of mine, the site has grown into a library of adventures and trip reports spanning nearly fifteen years, focusing on backcountry skiing, hiking, running, peak summits, race reports, and more. I hope you enjoy our small corner of the Internet and find something here worth reading. Seeya out there…
-Ben Conners
On the summit of Bald Mountain above Vail, with my wife Anna-Lisa and our dog Jax in 2018.
Disclaimer: Hiking, climbing, and skiing are inherently dangerous sports that can and do result in injury and/or death. We the authors make no claims that the information/photos presented here are in any way accurate or consistent. Do not rely on information found here as a sole source of navigation or as a guide for how to go about hiking, climbing, and skiing in Colorado or beyond.
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Cool Blog Ben! It was nice to meet you on Sunday at the FOBP gathering. Hopefully will make it out to ski a 14er or 2 with you and Carl this spring.
Steve Traylor
Enjoyed your report on 14ners.com. Your fitness is lauded, but your confidence I most admire. Any suggestions for how to stay calm in the mountains ? Too often, while hiking, I’m spooked when clouds roll in or skiing off trail w/ just a partner. Thanks again for the report.
Truth is I am in fact often nervous when in the mountains. I find there’s ultimately always some objective danger to dwell on, even in the safest of settings, but I think it’s about assessing whether you’re worried about a real danger or whether you’re simply psyching yourself out. I tend to do a little of both, but with experience I’ve been more able to identify when I’m doing the former and when I’m doing the latter.
Absolutely awesome photos, and awesome trips. I’m truly inspired to start serious mountaineering. Those views are just…insane. I ski right now, and currently have a trip to Jackson Hole planned in January (plan on skiing some backcountry), but have never thought about climbing up and ski descent. Looks like a good challenge. Keep up the good work. May I ask what camera you use to capture your photos? Any special settings? Some of these photos look professional. Also, how did you first get into mountaineering in the first place?
Thanks for the comment! Most pictures on this site have been taken with point-and-shoot cameras up to this point. As for getting into mountaineering, well, as I’m sure you know Colorado hosts 54 mountains which rise above 14,000 feet. They are a perfect venue for beginner mountaineers to learn the basics in summer, and they continue to cater to a more advanced crowd in the winter and spring. They’re a great place to go out and learn. Have fun out there.