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Frank

American Basin 4 Pack of Couloirs 5.19.12

Posted by Frank – May 21, 2012

The snow line may be creeping upwards, but that doesn’t mean the quality is correspondingly heading downwards. On the contrary, the skiing remains unexpectedly excellent, especially in the steepest most protected couloirs. Searching for something we could ski in a daytrip from Crested Butte with a minimum of hiking, American Basin immediately came to mind. With a plowed Cinnamon Pass road, access is as good as the multiple couloirs that spill off the ridge of American Peak, a high thirteener that just misses highest 100 status. Mike Kingsbury had been trying to get a weekend day off to join us and finally did, and meanwhile Jarrett Luttrell decided he could make the short drive over from Silverton (just 15 miles away via Cinnamon Pass, whereas we came up from the Lake City side). Four people, and four couloirs- coincidence? We thought not.

American Peak and three of the four couloirs- Traitor, Independence, and Patriot from Left to Right:

Jarrett one-upped us all, sporting a windbreaker befitting the peak we were climbing.

We climbed Patriot first, and made the quick hike to the summit from there. Brittany and Jarrett, ready to drop in on run number one:

Wetterhorn with a dusting of snow:

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Farris Creek TR and CO conditions update

Posted by Frank – May 17, 2012

For the second time this week, I found myself back on two wheels rather than two skis. I tend to struggle mightily with my biking motivation in the springtime, and this year has been no exception, especially since the spring ski season has been so uniformly good to great this year. On Monday, I rode the Buffalo Creek section (segment 3) of the Colorado Trail with Adam and his father, Jeff- which means I’m at 4/27 rideable sections of the CT. The last time I rode this area, my riding partner was having trouble with his Onza clipless pedals, which a small percentage of you might actually place as about 1994 or so. Conditions there were nearly perfect after some recent snow and rain, since the gravelly soil there is best right after rainfall. Buffalo Creek is a great day trip from Denver or as a quick stop between Crested Butte and Denver (located off 285 between Bailey and Conifer). Gunnison riders will feel right at home, as it is somewhat similar to Hartman’s Rocks but with trees). Check it out if you get the chance.

Today’s ride was upper-402-fourohFred-Farris-Canal-upper, and it was likewise in terrific condition.

Good as it was, I was struck by some things. Primarily, of course, is that it is dry. Even the marshy areas were bone dry- not surprising when the snowpack in the area is at 5% of average, but still eye opening. A fire ban will soon take effect here in Gunnison county, and water restrictions might not be far behind. Riding right now feels much more like fall than spring- the trails are open so early that many of the aspen trees haven’t even budded yet. In any case, here’s some photos of Pete Sowar on Farris:

Quite a few trails are already open- check out the CBMBA page as well as the 14erskiers guide. For those of you looking for some ideas which aren’t on the CBMBA page, here’s a few suggestions: lower 401, 401 as an out and back, Roaring Judy from Jack’s Cabin, or even Texas ridge as an out and back. The sage grouse closures at Hartman’s are done for the year, and Doctor’s Park will be open in a few days as well (closed for sheep currently).

All that said, we’d rather be skiing. Those of you who hung them up long ago might have trouble believing this, but this spring has been excellent- and surprisingly better than last spring in some ways. CO seems to be getting a storm once a week or so, and these small storms have been keeping the snow consistently smooth unlike last season when we kept getting hammered with big storms that would slide out as soon as the sun came out. The best bets right now are high northerly aspects, which doesn’t leave a lot of choices here in Crested Butte other than perhaps Copper Creek. Better choices include San Juan classics like Yankee Boy basin, American Basin, and Cinnamon/Engineer passes, all of which are plowed and open. Independence Pass is open now as well, although the terrain there leaves a bit to be desired. This spring’s MVC (most valuable couloir) might be Mt Hope’s Hopeful Couloir, which has been cranking out great reports all spring. The venerable Dead Dog couloir on Torrey’s has been excellent as well, including last weekend when Brittany skied it with several inches of fresh snow (TR coming soon).

Mark dropping into Dead Dog:
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The final conditions report for this area is Cottonwood Pass- yes it’s open but the construction between Jack’s Cabin Cutoff and Taylor Reservoir is pretty substantial- Monarch is a better choice currently.

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More from Silverton

Posted by Frank – May 15, 2012

We had so many great photos from Silverton that we decided another post was in order.

The miners of the late 1800′s must have been both crazy and a whole lot tougher than we are today. There are roads and mining camps everywhere in the Silverton area, which makes for some great ski possibilities thanks to the access, not to mention an ATV/jeep paradise in the summer (or now, since the county has plowed a large number of dirt roads). Check out these buildings for an example of the lengths the miners went to in their hunt for wealth:

Don’t see them? It’s a game of Where’s Waldo? Maybe this will help…

[For those of you not seeing them, they're in the dead center of the face] It was hard not to look at these buildings and imagine them in Europe, where they would certainly be filled with skiers, climbers, and hikers relaxing in chalets after a long day in the mountains.

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Kendall Peak, Silverton (5.6.12)

Posted by Frank – May 11, 2012

After an amazing day on King Solomon, Jarrett threw out some more ideas and we eventually settled on touring around Round mountain and descending the North face of Kendall Peak. Kendall Mountain is the big massif that towers over Silverton, but the slightly higher peak actually hides behind it. The bottom half of the routes up and down, with Round Mountain in the center:

As with most of the Silverton area, mining ruins were everywhere. This would make a great tower for a chairlift, wouldn’t it?

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Owen’s Jenga Chute 4.29.12

Posted by Frank – May 4, 2012

After taking it pretty mellow on the Headwall the previous day, due in part to concerns about windslabs forming at the tail end of Friday’s storm, we were ready to head up in the alpine on Sunday. We were leaning towards skiing the S-couloir on Purple, but then we heard that a couple of different groups had already skied it, as well as parts of Owen. We turned our attention to other zones, but after contemplating the access issues we’re currently facing this accelerated spring, we decided that picking up the scraps in the Owen zone was still our best bet.

We set off from the “Y” on snowmobiles and quickly realized that this would be the last time the snowmobiles come out to play, given all the stretches of dirt we were riding. Last year, we used our snowmobiles into June. Once we got to Owen, it looked like our best choice was the Jenga chute, and we started booting up.

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Crested Butte Ski and Bike conditions update 5.2.12

Posted by Frank – May 2, 2012

Well, it’s that time of year again. Bikers and hikers are eagerly asking, “Is X open yet? Is Y open yet?” Skiers, meanwhile, are lamenting the lack of snow asking “How much of a pain in the butt is it to get to Z now?” Generally speaking, this season is 4-6 weeks ahead of schedule for snowmelt- which is of course great for the MTB crowd and horrible for skiers. In any case, I thought I’d pass on what I know- additional comments are always welcome.

Ski: The Crested Butte zone lacks good high trailheads and high peaks (most peaks in this area fall just short of 13,000′), making things difficult in late spring. The Irwin zone is currently a good choice, with the road through the townsite plowed and decent access (skins on at the car) to peaks like Owen. Snowmobiles are no longer warranted, unless we get a big dump. Kebler is closed but plowed at the “Y”- some work is being done on it and it won’t be open for a couple more weeks. Slate is open to Pittsburg and beyond, though you’ll be walking at first. The snowpack still looks good up at Paradise divide (despite the low snowpack, the remaining snow is actually quite good- not too runneled or dusty yet). Gothic road is now open to the bridge just before Rustler’s Gulch. Again, you’ll be walking. Those are currently the best access points around here. That said, we may take advantage of higher traiheads in the San Juans next weekend.

Bike: Hartman’s Rocks in Gunnison has been open for a while, with conditions reportedly “very dry and dusty”. The bigger rides South of the powerline, like Aberdeen, will be closed for another 2 weeks for Sage Grouse habitat. Open rides in Crested Butte include Upper, Upper Upper, Whetstone Vista, Lupine, and the Caves loop in CB south. 409 has seen tire tracks as well. Reports from Strand are of a muddy trail that isn’t quite ready. Snodgrass hopefully won’t be long. Trail conditions can also be found HERE.

That’s about it- if anyone has more info, please leave a comment.

New Page: The Colorado Trail Mountain Bike Guide!

Posted by Frank – May 1, 2012

Last year, while riding Cataract Ridge, we met a rider from New Mexico who was nearing completion of his goal to ride each section of the Colorado Trail (CT). His project planted a seed in my head and I decided it was a project that I too would like to someday complete. On the one hand, this project offers a lot of leeway, since sections can be ridden in multiple parts in either direction. On the other hand, I plan on being a stickler and riding every legal part of the trail, so there are a number of small sections that thru-bikers skip on the Wilderness detours. The CT mountain bike guide can be found HERE- or on the right hand side with the other 14erskiers’ pages.

The Colorado Trail guidebook lists 28 sections, although 2 of them are entirely in Wilderness and therefore aren’t part of this guidebook. Of the remaining 26 sections, I have completed 3, ridden some or most of another 11, and not an inch of the remaining 12 (as of today, 5-1-12). While I’m not making it a goal to finish this summer, it’s certainly a possibility given how long the summer riding season will be after the lackluster winter of 2012.

The value of this page will be greatly enhanced by comments from 14erskiers’ readers. For instance, I’m going under the assumption that ALL of the non-Wilderness miles are open to bikes, but unfortunately that isn’t always the case. So if you know that a section isn’t open to bikes, please leave a comment here so I can edit the page. Likewise, one of the draws of this project for me is that I get to pour over maps and attempt to discover the best way of riding a section- whether it’s an out and back, a shuttle, or a loop with other trails and roads. So if our readers know that a route I have proposed isn’t feasible or the best route available, please let me know by leaving a comment here.

A few shots to get you stoked on the CT:

Ohio Peak 12,271′ 4.21.12

Posted by Frank – April 25, 2012

Hands down, this was our best day of the year in Colorado this season. Granted, the bar was set pretty low this season, but honestly we skied two great lines in great conditions, so this day would compare favorably to anything we skied last season.

Strangely, we haven’t been to this summit before, even though it isn’t far from Crested Butte’s version of the sheep pen- the Anthracites. In fact, although these lines frequently get favorable comments from ski tourers when seen from the top of the Anthracites, I can’t remember ever seeing tracks there or hearing of parties making it out there (which isn’t to say it hasn’t been skied, but is rather a comment on Ohio Peak’s relative unpopularity). We skipped the snowmobiles, since Kebler Pass is currently plowed to the “Y”, intending to make our way up the established Anthracites skin track, and follow the NE ridge from there. Luck was on our side this morning, however, and we were able to catch a snowmobile ride far above Floresta thanks to a cabin caretaker.

Ohio Peak actually has two summits. This one is marked on topo maps as Ohio Peak, at 12,271′, and the couloir that drops from the summit caught our eye:

Meanwhile, the North face of the higher, but unmarked, 12,290′ summit was really calling my name:

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April delivers as always: Axtell 4.17.12

Posted by Frank – April 24, 2012

If there is one month of the year that is consistently the best in Colorado, it’s April. Whether you’re after the bigger alpine lines that finally come into play in April, or shredding stable powder after a spring dump, April’s your month. Even this season, which will go down as one of the all-time worst, is providing good turns now that it’s April. No pictures this day, just a quick video skiing the conditions most sorely lacking in 2012- powder.

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And of course, you can wear flip flops after shredding pow in April…

Turning Around: Thoughts

Posted by Frank – April 20, 2012

After turning around on Grand Teton last week, I’ve alternated between patting myself on the back for making a good call and kicking myself in the butt for bailing. In retrospect, we probably could have summited. But does that mean we should have?

It’s a fine line between “giving it your best shot” or “pushing your limits” or whatever other cliche you can think of and, well, disaster. The other side of the coin is another cliche- “The mountain will still be there” (Unless one tried to ski Mt St Helens in early May of 1980, and was hoping to give it another go in June, of course). Let’s go back to the Grand for a moment. Bill Briggs’ first descent was completed with a solo, thigh-deep slush ascent of the upper East face. Anyone with a passing knowledge of wet slides could argue that thigh-deep slush is a no-go. Of course Briggs did go, so we have a hero with a landmark first descent. But what if the slope had gone, would we just look at Bill Briggs as a cautionary tale in the history of ski mountaineering?

I’m not trying to “Monday morning quarterback” Briggs’ decision. I simply want to make the point that the line between success and failure gets very sharp as one gets to the upper end of things. People don’t push themselves, or the sport, or even simply knock off classic lines without some amount of risk entering the equation. Doubt will always creep into your mind, so when is the reason for turning around just an excuse that placates your fears?

Sometimes you’ve simply got to be bold if you’ve got big dreams. This is of course true not just in ski mountaineering, but in life as well. But as Kenny Rogers’ famously said, “You got to know when to hold ‘em, know when to fold ‘em, Know when to walk away and know when to run.” Well said, Kenny. How do you know? Experience and gut instinct, I guess. Which can still lead to giving up too early, or pushing it too far. Both lead to an unpleasant feeling in the pit of one’s stomach. Tough game to play, given the consequences. Palliative care workers say the terminally ill regret the things they didn’t do more than the things they did do. I’m not sure if that totally applies here, but I’ll throw it out there as food for thought anyway.

I would LOVE to hear from our readers on this one. One thing I hope to see more of here at 14erskiers is the great dialogue among our readership that other websites get. So please, if you have any thoughts on this, let’s hear them.

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