A bit belated here, but in late-February I was fortunate enough to sneak into the Power of Four skimo race and successfully finish the course along with new partner and friend, Chris Tonozzi. It was one of the bigger days I’ve ever had on skis, and was super cool to finally be a part of.
Since the race’s inaugural run in 2011, the Audi Power of Four has become known in skimo circles as one of the more difficult winter endurance events in North America. Traversing up and over the four ski areas in Aspen, the course racks up over 11,000 ft of elevation gain and ~29 miles from start to finish. Like most skimo races, it’s very conditions dependent as well, which can further add to the challenge. Truth be told the full story of how I made it into this race is pretty unorthodox. With not much doing in the way of backcountry skiing this season, uphilling inbounds was sort of the only fitness option for us mountain folk through December and January. Keep Reading….
Last month I got an opportunity to head down south and spend 2 nights at the Opus Hut near Ophir Pass. It was sort of a last-minute invite that I was able to say yes to on a whim, and it turned into an awesome weekend of powder skiing and hut time with a great crew. Sometimes it’s really nice when a spontaneous plan comes together. The Opus Hut sits at 11,765 ft just to the east of Ophir Pass. It was built by Ophir resident Bob Kingsley, a master timber framer, between 2006 and 2011 after he bought the parcel of land the hut sits on. Keep Reading…
It wound up to be sort of a lean year for me on the spring ski objective front. A combination of life, work schedule, weather and snowpack made it so. But one of the half-dozen days I was able to get out and ski a new peak was certainly one to write about. In late-April Dave Bourassa and I realized a dream ski of ours after talking about it for years but never getting around to pulling the trigger until this year. Namely, a ski descent of the northernmost peak in the Gore Range, Eagles Nest A. We ended up picking a perfect day with everything falling into place, allowing us to ski two different lines off opposite sides of the peak.
In terms of skiing, Eagles Nest is about as obscure of a descent as they come in a range that’s already known for obscure descents. There’s not much that’s been previously written about this one, and neither of us know anyone else who has skied it either. That’s not to say it’s never been done, this is Colorado after all. But regardless we knew we were in for an adventure into the relative unknown. Keep Reading….
Over the past several years I’ve been slowly but surely ticking off the different huts of the 10th Mountain Division and Braun Hut systems, with the loose goal of eventually visiting them all. It’s a cool goal because for one, each hut is unique and offers up a different experience – whether it be the hut’s location, the access to ski terrain or peaks nearby, or the distinctive architecture of the hut itself. But beyond that, hut trips are always a great excuse to get different groups of people together, and the memories created over the years begin to stack up after awhile. Read more…
