Backcountry ski days have been real hard to come by for me this spring. I got plenty of resort days in this winter, but for whatever reason, getting up and down mountains just hasn’t happened for me this spring. I’ll mostly blame the Grand Canyon R2R2R training, which ate up a lot of weekends. I’ll also blame the general trials and exertions of a mid-30’s dude with two kids. Days out ain’t as easy to come by as they used to be. Keep Reading…
The month of April has come and gone and it feels like things are rapidly heading towards summer below 12,000 ft around here. Statistically, despite Denver and the Front Range being above 100% SWE on the season, we’re at 71% of the median for the state as a whole. Though truncated spring seasons can be frustrating, they can also make for a good excuse to return to reliable lines on peaks close to home and just enjoy the skiing for what it is, while it lasts. Read more…
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…
A few weeks back Brando and I took the morning off from work to climb and ski “The Fly” (12,550 ft) up Booth Creek. It’s a somewhat reclusive Gore peak with a bit of an approach to get to, but the neat climb up its summit ridge and the south face ski route are well worth the price of admission. For me, The Fly had long been on the wish list and was fun to finally pay a visit. Read more…