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 The view from the top. Spring is here. At least according to the calendar. And though it isn’t a tradition to try to get out on the first day of the new season, with Christy and I both free this past Sunday, we set our sights on an objective we’ve had for some time- Buckskin Benchmark’s Southeast Face. The 13,370 foot summit just north of Buckskin Pass sits between the giants of the Elk Range and looked to have a fun, direct ski down it’s southeast face. read more>>>  Lo Semple, rocking the fanny pack, on the second climb up to Burnt Mtn. after skiing the Hanging Valley Wall in the background. Click any image to enlarge. That was fun. At least in a sort of now-that-it’s-done kind of way. Seriously though, despite the sore feet and added challenge of having to finish on a broken ski, Christy and I both felt that it was one of the coolest things we’ve been a part of this season. Kudos to the Aspen Skiing Company, who saw past the obvious logistical hurdles of an event such as this, and ultimately gave the green light to send 150 or so people on this huge tour of the four mountains on a busy weekend day. Between getting gated terrain open early, to allowing uphill traffic on Highlands on an already crowded Saturday, to OK’ing a race course that regularly hopped in and out of the ski area boundaries which would have burdened the ski patrol in the event of a rescue– there were likely a dozen reasons why they might have considered saying no to the whole idea, but they didn’t, and everyone had a blast. Hopefully this was just the first of a new annual event. read more>>> So it’s all set. The new Power of Four race is officially “sold out” with 75 teams of two registered to start in the morning. I was out yesterday with Dirk and Pete Swenson, helping with the course marking between Snowmass and Buttermilk. About 11,000 feet of vertical gain with ski descents of [...]  Christy cuts through the powder on the Congo Trail section on her skinny little race skis. (Christy here) The new Power of Four Ski Mountaineering Race is right around the corner, so in an attempt to scout out the complex course and get some time in our new Dynafit ski mountaineering race setups, Anda Smalls and I went out this weekend for a little familiarization. read more>>>  Joey, throwing horseshoes. We’re halfway through the season, and despite the fact that every major storm thus far has skirted us to the north or south, the first half of winter, and January in particular, proved to be pretty good for backcountry skiing. With any luck, the second half of winter will be even better. read more>>> Saturday’s bad weather made for classic storm day conditions up in Highland Bowl. The wind and low visibility kept the fair weather crowds away, and the snow only piled up deeper as the day progressed. Here’s a little video from Christy’s Bowl day. If it isn’t obvious, she’s a proud member of the camp [...] |
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