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…
At the tail end of winter Brandon, Dylan and I made the long skin up Booth Creek and climbed/skied “Peak P” down its long west-facing chute, known by some as the “Piney Plunge”. It was the sort of long, committing day out there that we dream of all winter, and given the current state of things in the world and local community, it might be one of the only such big days we get to experience all spring. I guess we’ll see… Read more…
While this spring has been one for the books in terms Colorado’s snowpack, finding decent weather windows for skiing has been a tad challenging at times. Despite a few failed outings which didn’t go as planned, mostly due to unforeseen weather and funky avalanche conditions, the stars did align for several fun days in May on a handful of local Vail/Summit County peaks. Read more…
A few weekends back Rick, Brian and I decided to finally check out “Outpost Peak” (12,362′) on the west side of the Gores. Outpost is a bit of a local’s favorite, with access straight out of town and several ski routes including a generally winter-friendly option in the south ridge. The peak itself is the high point of a north-south ridge line that separates Pitkin and Booth Creek drainages. Keep reading…