Last Sunday morning Dylan Friday and I ripped off our skins and skied down to the base of Ajax Mountain, completing the Grand Traverse ski race from Crested Butte to Aspen two and a half years in the making. After being cancelled due to COVID only a couple weeks before race day last year, it was time for redemption for many racers this year and those who stuck with it were rewarded with one of the finest nights the event has seen in its 23-year history.
Dylan and I first signed up for this one in late-2019 and put together a pretty solid training regimen throughout the winter leading into March of 2020. After the race was cancelled we took the option of rolling over to 2021. Fast forward a year and we approached the race with cautious optimism the second time around. Though numerous races have gotten back onto their feet over the last 6 months, the Grand Traverse entails several aspects beyond COVID that need to fall into line to successfully pull off a race to Aspen. Keep reading…
This past weekend Dylan and I headed up for a morning tour on Gore Ridge, in part to continue training for the Grand Traverse but also because he had skied up there a few days prior and reported back soft and stable conditions up high. Finally. Truth be told I haven’t skied much backcountry this season thus far. Apart from a few huts and sled skiing days up on the pass with Rick and company, it’s been pretty much all resort skiing and skinning for me and I’ve been fine with that. Patience is almost never a bad thing when it comes to this sport, and this has felt like a good season to sit tight and be patient. Read more…
Rick, Justin and I set off from Shrine Pass this past Saturday after a short ride/tow up the road on Rick’s sled. A ten minute jaunt east had us atop the Black Cliffs area, where we skied several short laps down to the meadows below. We had been to this area early season before and it has always delivered some decent turns for us thus far. Keep reading…
Last week Brando, Brian and I set off from the Gore Creek Campground and once again made the long approach up into Deluge Creek. This time, the objective was to climb “Snow Peak” (13,024 ft) and hopefully ski off its south side down to Gore Lake. I had gotten a look at Snow’s south face from the summit of “West Deming” the week prior, and after flipping through some old pics of the face taken in past ski seasons to compare snow totals, we decided it’d be worth going to check out. Read more…
