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TR: Torreys with an Old Friend (12 May 2012)

Posted by – May 18, 2012

Frank and I headed to the Front Range over the weekend for family obligations. While Frank was looking for things to ride, I was looking for mountains that could still be skied. I contacted a few people and options were thrown on the table, but the weather simply didn’t look good. Finally, on Friday afternoon, I happened to be checking Facebook and noticed that Mark had posted about trying to ski Torreys on Saturday, despite the potential weather front moving in. Mark is an old friend of mine, with whom I’ve shared many fantastic backcountry ski days when I lived on the Front Range. Maybe it’s because we’re both teachers, but we’ve always been kindred spirits, and I knew a day out with Mark would be fun no matter what conditions we encountered.

As I drove from Golden through heavy fog on I-70 in the dark morning hours, I was expecting snow up high. Instead, I was amazed as I drove out of the thick fog. As I looked toward the sky, my eyes squinted hard. Were those stars up there? Indeed they were. And the sky was emerging blue as I met up with Mark in Bakerville and we made our way up to the trailhead. We were able to drive all the way to the summer parking where we began our hike.
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We hiked with happy faces up the valley- happy to have been blessed with perfect weather, happy to have fresh snow on the ground, and happy to be able to skin up the trail instead of bootpack. Luck was surrounding us!
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Gray’s was looking caked, and our friend Andy (as I found out later) was breaking the skin track up the face.
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TR: King Solomon Mountain, Silverton (5 May 2012)

Posted by – May 10, 2012

Some of the best skiing always seems to happen in May. Exactly one year ago to the day, we skied Pyramid. A year before that, on May 9th, we skied Capitol. It seemed appropriate that we would ski some of the better lines during this first weekend of May, despite the fact that this ski season has been limping along with sub-par snow. The San Juans are of their own, holding snow when you expect that they shouldn’t. We hooked up with our friend Jarrett, a former Buttian who has spent the last two years in Silverton. We knew we would not be disappointed.

King Solomon was the goal. To make our lives easier, we set up a shuttle between Little Giant and Cunningham basins and began following the road up toward our goal. The light is always beautiful in the morning.
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The road walk was largely dry, with patches of snow.
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The snow was still holding well up high!
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More Ski Area Shenanigans

Posted by – May 3, 2012

Some people think I’m crazy. Actually, I think most people think I’m crazy. Even here, in a town full of ski-crazed inhabitants, nearly everyone shake’s their head in wonder and disbelief when they find out I’m still skiing. Thankfully, I have a husband who likes it just as much as me.

On Saturday we set our initial sites on Axtell. Being the day after a storm that came in with a lot of wind, we decided to try to stay below treeline. As we drove out the Kebler Pass road, we quickly realized that the snow-bridge that had given skiers easy access to Axtell the week before was now melted. This doesn’t mean Axtell is impossible to ski. But, it certainly makes it harder to access- more difficult than we wanted to deal with for something like Axtell. So, we decided on a back-up plan– to “backcountry ski” at ski area we would go.

A fox was there to greet us.
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Frank wished the T-bar was still running.
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The scenery was beatified with a touch of the new snow.
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TR: Headwall Hoopla

Posted by – April 26, 2012

After returning from my spring break, it was back to work. As I slaved away impressing the important concepts of math on to developing minds, Mother Nature decided to grace us with a good dousing of spring snow. Some people thought it was a cruel joke. I just thought it was great. I took time to enjoy the freshly fallen snow throughout the week, skinning up the resort both before and after work. But, on Friday, Frank joined me on an after work outing on the Headwall.

On the road we saw evidence that the bears were awake, and likely starving after a long winter of torpor and little food to eat in the area.
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The Headwall was looking pretty good!
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TR: Backcountry in Utah

Posted by – April 22, 2012

After skiing Grand Targhee, we headed to Utah in search of more pow. We got it :) We spent Friday skiing in-bounds at Snowbird. We milked the goods and knew the next day it would be best to head out for a backcountry tour. Our friends Jen and Jonathan put some ideas on the table and together we decided to head out to the “Alta backcountry”- slackcountry often accessed by the Superior lift, but this time of year the lift is closed.

We made our way up to Catherine’s Pass, enjoying the occasional views the spotty squalls allowed us to see along the way. Me with Superior in the background.
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TR: Touch of Targhee (12 April 2012)

Posted by – April 17, 2012

Last week was my spring break. For a couple of months now, we realized we probably weren’t going to be spending my break in Colorado due to our poor snow pack. So, we set our sites on the Tetons. Mid-week, we attempted the Grand Teton. Due to a few different situations, we were shut down. Still we had a great time and chalked it up as an opportunity to gather beta for the next try. Frank is currently sifting through photos for a trip report. In the meantime, we’ll move on to our next stop: Grand Targhee.

After our Grand Teton attempt, clouds moved in and unstable weather surrounded the region. While we had hopes of hitting more great Teton lines, it was clear that the weather was not going to cooperate. Rather than fight it, we joined it. We decided to chase the powder. We stopped for an afternoon ski at Grand Targhee which had 5+ inches of fresh.
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A view looking back toward Driggs.
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There were plenty of fresh tracks left, especially on the Sacajawea chair. So, there we went.

Frank.
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TR: Baldy in “Mayrch” (31 Mar 2012)

Posted by – April 9, 2012

After finding some good turns on Baldy the weekend before, we decided to head out to the same area again the following weekend. This time, we brought our visiting friend, Jim, and checked out a new line on the east side.

We began early, snowmobiling up Washington Gulch, and skinning up this southeast-facing bowl.
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It didn’t take long for us to reach the ridge, which we followed to the true summit. Lots of cool looking frost hoar decorated the ridge along the way.
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Just past the summit, we found a dogleg couloir that emptied into the eastern basin. But due to an overhanging cornice and some funky snow conditions, the entrance was tricky. We decided to save it for another time. But, Frank kept checking it out anyway :)
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120 Days

Posted by – April 5, 2012

For a few years now, I’ve wanted it. 120 days of skiing in a season. I was on a good track to accomplishing it when I moved here in 2008-09, but a torn ACL in mid-February brought that goal, along with the goal of finishing my 9 remaining fourteeners, to an abrupt halt. 2010-11 was a great season, and I was also on a good track to accomplishing the 120-day goal. But, my plans were thwarted by two weeks of illness, and also interrupted with our June wedding- not a bad way to be interrupted of course :)

So, I began this season once again with the goal of skiing 120 days. With my part-time schedule at the school, I have had a bit more free time this year and I’ve been able to ski 5 days a week on average. A month ago it seemed like accomplishing the goal wouldn’t be a problem, but the continual lack of snow since the beginning of March has put a damper in my plans.

That being said, yesterday I skinned up the mountain after work, a regular routine for me these days, and skied for my 94th day of the season.

The sunset was beautiful.

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TR: Baldy (25 March 2012)

Posted by – April 4, 2012

After skiing a fun line with good snow the day before, Frank and I wanted more. We wanted a place with options, and narrowed it down to Baldy- a single peak with options abound.

Me, skinning up the south-east facing ridge.
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As we rounded up to the top, we realized we still had time, and decided to drop in on the west side. But, first we enjoyed a few fun turns on the ridge.
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Frank enjoying the recycled pow.
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TR: Axtell (18 March 2012)

Posted by – March 27, 2012

After skiing Augusta the day before, a front moved in. Hoping for some fresh snow to fall, but still uninspired to ski frozen corn, we decided to check out the north-facing aspects on Axtell. Frank and I headed out with our same posse of the day before, with Jarrett, Kim, and Sydney.

As it turns out, we found some good snow! Kim.
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