So, I’ll admit it. I’m not a huge fan of snowboarders- in general. But, there are some that have excelled and pushed the sport of snowboarding to a new level. For these people I have nothing but ultimate respect. Many of you know our cohort, Jarrett Luttrell. But, Crested Butte is home to two top female boarders as well- Susan Mol and Mary Boddington. There is a fundraiser to support these two ripping riders happening this Thursday at the Brick. Details below. For Mary, this fundraiser will help her pay for her North Face Masters tour. And for Susan, this event will give her a financial boost in order to pay her medical bills after breaking her femur early this season.
So, CB locals, come enjoy some beer, some pizza, and a great raffle. And, support some local ripping chicks too!
Chris Davenport is making his way to Crested Butte this weekend for a book signing of his new book which came out this fall, 50 Classic Ski Descents of North America. Dav’s latest movie, Australis will be showing as well.
Though I haven’t had my hands on Dav’s book as of yet (I’ll be buying one this weekend!), it’s destined to be a classic, as the title portrays.
Video by Art Burrows
A great review of Dav’s book is provided by Lou Dawson, who says it’s “not a book, it is an icon”.
Davenport has also been promoting his movie, Australis: An Arctic Ski Odyssey. I have this very movie sitting on my shelf right by my television. But, I’ve refused to watch it until I have seen it on the big screen. I’ve been anticipating this movie now for over a year, ever since I saw the first trailer. Here’s a peek.
A detailed review of Australis is done by Steve Romeo on Teton AT.
Australis is showing at the Mountaineer Square ballrooms at 7 pm on Friday. Wendy Fisher will give a brief intro. Davenport will also be available for a book signing at 4pm on Saturday at Thin Air, also located in Mountaineer Square. Both events are FREE!
Many skiers are finding themselves venturing more and more into the backcountry. Sometimes, these newbies find it difficult to find the money to spend on an expensive avalanche course. Well, here’s a great alternative! Aspen Mountain Rescue is offering an avalanche awareness workshop for the budget price of $30. So, backcountry newbies- go do it! Yeah, yeah, you don’t live in Aspen and you say hotels are expensive in Aspen… So, stay in Carbondale or Glenwood. Gather your newbie backcountry friends to tag along with you and share a room. Or sleep in your car! We’ve done it But, either way, your life is important and you and your buddies deserve avalanche training. Take advantage of this offer!
Fall seems to be going by so slowly. I’ve been riding my bike religiously since mid-June. That’s four months on two wheels with only a couple of days of skiing in mid-June and July. I’ll be honest- I used to love the bike more than I do now. I don’t love it like I once did. Four months on two wheels is plenty and it’s time to move on. It’s time to ski!
We woke this morning up to our first real accumulation of snow on the ground here in Crested Butte. While it won’t stick around here in town, it will be contributing to our base up higher. I was happy to see the snow, but sad to see it melting away as I type this very blog.
I’ll go ahead and say it. I’m antsy. Full of anticipation. I’m tired of the bike. I did my 100-mile bike race and rode to Aspen and back- my two big goals for the summer. I even spent two weekends riding in Fruita, Grand Junction, and Moab. Now I’m ready to move on to bigger and better things. I’m ready for snow. If I can’t be downhill skiing I at least want to be cross-country skiing. I want to be doing something other than riding my bike.
I’m excited to say that skiing can and will happen soon. Loveland ski area will be opening tomorrow, two day’s after Maine’s Sunday River. (Wow, is the East Coast set up for another big winter?) While I won’t be at the Luv tomorrow, I’ll surely be there next weekend. And I’ll be all the happier to be on two planks instead of two wheels. Pray for snow!
Mother Nature is undoubtedly beautiful. She inspires many, and gives solace to other. Still, every now and then I am in awe of the destructive forces Mother Nature can also exhibit.
In the last few weeks, Colorado has experienced a lot of rain, resulting in numerous washouts and landslides. We saw one on our own local 401 trail earlier this week.
The Durango-Silverton Railway experienced this, causing the passenger trail to come to an abrupt halt:
Anyone trying to play in Colorado’s mountains in the last couple of weeks has probably been a bit frustrated by the weather. A shift in the flow to the south and southwest, carrying copious amounts of tropical moisture, has created a classic wet monsoonal weather pattern. In some cases, these heavy rains have even caused flooding and landslides, as seen here on the Durango-Silverton train route:
A recent internet discussion finally confirmed a few things for me which I had long wondered about. NWS weather forecasts mention a probability % of rain or snow on most days, but what does that mean? As it turns out, a 70% chance of rain means that if you had 10 nearby weather stations, 7 of them would record measurable precipitation, and 3 would not. It does not mean that there is a 70% chance of rain, and a 30% chance of no rain. Here is what Stan of the Pueblo NWS office had to say: Part of the confusion is due to (IMO) an unfortunate policy of the NWS to mix Probability with Spatial characteristics in defining what constitutes a POP. For example, usually in the first 12-24 hours, for thunderstorms, the 3% or 60% refers to a spatial distribution So, if there is a 30% chance of rain for the Sangres for example, that means that 30% of that total area will see measurable rain, the rest will stay dry. (In contrast, a probability forecast of 30% would suggest that 3 out of 10 times its going to rain over the whole area. Confusing, if you ask me. Regardless, either way there is a 30% chance if you are in that area of seeing rain. What bugs me is when I see statements to the effect of “Well, the forecast called for 30% chance of rain, but it poured all night, so the forecast was wrong” THAT is wrong. First off, that person is not looking at a map of rain gauges, or a radar image of accumulated precipitation, so he/she has no clue what percentage of the area got rainfall. Rainfall in rugged terrain is extremely variable, it can be pouring in one location but totally dry a mile away. Of course, the complainer never recalls the 7 out of 10 times that it was dry when the forecast was for 30%–he/she only recalls the time it poured. If, like me, you were forced to actually look at the hard data for verification, you would see that the forecast, over time, is statistically quite good, better than you might expect. In short, it’s not something to ignore.
Another interesting tidbit from Stan: As an experienced climber (not much of late due to a bad back) I am fully aware of how radically different weather conditions can be in the alpine zone. Weather forecasting is largely a matter of applying personal experience to scientific data, so someone with the personal experience of relying on forecasts for ventures above 12000 feet is going to have a better understanding of the rules that apply there. Since we (NWS) are a team of forecasters (10+ per office) and offices (4 in Colorado, numerous surrounding) the forecast is a collaborative effort and sometimes it goes the way of the “lowest common denominator”. In other words, if from ones personal experience one knows that the chance of it raining in the mountains is 80+ percent, unfortunately if the other forecasters don’t have that experience and think it will be lower, to maintain a consistent product sometimes the compromise results in a ‘watered’ down forecast (pun intended). That is probably why some of you in the thread i referenced note that POP (Probability Of Precipitation) forecasts are sometimes underdone for the summer monsoon season–the same is true during orographic (terrain-driven) snow events in the mountains. I can’t tell you how many times Ive been up at 10K+ feet in the Winter, and it’s dumping like mad, chains required, when the official (sometimes mine!) forecast calls for 20 percent chance of snow or some similar smallish number.
This quote confirmed some of my other observations as a keen weather observer (at least in the winter, when my mind constantly thinks SNOW!). It can be quite informative to look at two nearby forecasts, each forecast coming from a different office (i.e. Grand Junction, Pueblo, Boulder, as Colorado examples) Even if they are just a mile apart and similar in elevation and aspect, the forecast are often quite dissimilar. Sounds to me that different forecasts can easily be chalked up to differences of opinion in the forecast offices.
Hopefully that clears a few things up for people, as there is certainly a bit of confusion on the subject. Weather forecasts for the Crested Butte area can always be found on the right sidebar here on 14erskiers. The weather for the next week looks good, by the way, so get out there!
his blog has been silent now for over a week. Last week, I attended a Wilderness First Aid course (more on that later). But, this week, we are mourning the loss of our beloved friend Lacy Meadows.
As I was driving back to Crested Butte from the Denver area on Sunday, I quickly checked Facebook on my phone and learned that Lacy had gone missing. On Saturday he had headed out for a solo ski trip in Rocky Mountain National Park. He was supposed to check in with our friend Kim Ross when he returned. But the check in never came. On Sunday morning, rangers at RMNP were alerted and Lacy’s car was found. So, Search and Rescue was then sent out. They found Lacy’s body below a snowfield above Cony Lake in the Hutcheson Lakes drainage near the southern boundary of the park, about 10 miles from the nearest trailhead.
News spread quickly, mostly because 9News reported it in their evening report. And all who knew Lacy were devastated.
It always seems like the mountain takes the good ones, doesn’t it? After loosing our friend Jack Hannan in an avalanche this past March, this all just seems like too much. Times like this make me contemplate what we are doing in the backcountry. Yes, I feel like Frank and I make generally safe decisions, but risk is still there. Still, there is just as much risk in driving your car to and from work every day. We can’t live our lives in some over-precautionary mode. If you do, then you’ll never really enjoy the life you have, even if it lasts a long time. Lacy lived every day of his life to the fullest, packing more in his 40 years than most do in a lifetime. His death is a painful reminder to enjoy every moment of your life, and to appreciate the time you have to spend with your friends or family- because you never know what can happen – to anyone.
In the Edge of Never, Anselme Baud talks about the death of his own son. “It’s a beautiful life. And the mountain is here. You have to take the best of the mountain and follow life.”
Lacy was an amazing person. I’ll quote what I said to a Daily Camera reporter: “Lacy was an avid and passionate skier, both inbounds and in the backcountry. He had unending energy that resonated with each and every person he met,” she said. An honest soul and a great friend, Lacy lived and loved every day of his life to the fullest.”
My last ski trip with Lacy was last month, with Kim, on La Plata.
Lacy was stoked.
Even now, I still hear Lacy’s voice. I hear it when I sleep, I hear it when I ride, I hear it all the time. I can hear his laugh, and picture his quirky smile. I can picture him skiing, and I know that’s what he must be doing in heaven. RIP Lacy. You will be missed.
Lacy’s memorial service will be held Sunday August 1st at Loveland Ski Area from 10am-2pm. It will be a potluck. Link to the Evite
Also, we are selling commemorative stickers for Lacy. Check out Lauren’s website for the design options and contact me if you would like to purchase one. I particularly like the “Love like Lacy”- because Lacy loved every day of his life to the fullest, and it’s a reminder for us to do the same.
We will be doing more to help keep Lacy’s memory alive. Stay tuned.
Today, like most days after work, I cracked a beer and checked out the latest on the internet. It didn’t take long to discover the sad news that the ski world had once again lost a member, this time Arne Backstrom. While I didn’t know Arne personally, I’m sure we competed in an IFSA contest or two over the years. The news of Arne’s passing came not much more than a week after hearing the news that former Crested Butte resident Scott Murray perished in a kiteboarding accident in San Francisco. I used to ski with Scott back in the late 90′s when he was in Crested Butte- he was an amazing telemarker as well as a talented kayaker from what I hear, but what I remember most was how happy he was to be doing the things he loved doing.
A lot of people who really loved the things they do and lived life to the fullest have left this world lately. Sometimes I feel like I went through a long stretch of dodging bullets in terms of not losing anyone I really knew to these sports, whether it’s ski mountaineering, kiteboarding, mountain biking, climbing, hang gliding, or something else. These sports can be dangerous, and it’s really no wonder I’m starting to develop a long list of friends and acquaintances that have passed away. For a long time everyone I knew was just out there having a good time, up until a few years ago, but now it seems as though at least a couple people I know pass away every year. So I’m going to take a minute and think about my friends: Tobias Lee, Scott Murray, Captain Jack Carey, Billy Poole, and especially Jack Hannan. Not a single day has gone by that I haven’t thought of Jack- miss you buddy.
Sometimes I wonder if it’s time to take a big step back and chill out, and quit doing the sports I love. But the thing is, I just wouldn’t be “me” anymore if I tried to tie myself to a desk and do nothing more dangerous than the commute to work. That doesn’t leave a lot of options- be happy and be who I am, or play it safe and live a life I might not be that happy with. I guess I’ll keep playing, and try to stay safe the best I can. And remember my buddies that aren’t with me anymore.
After our attempt on Spider face on Sunday, I was itching to get something done. Our big ski lines had brought me too many failures of late- El Diente, Pyramid, and Spider Face. I was frustrated with failures and wanted to ski something relatively easy and fun- something I would enjoy and something that would end this streak of frustration and turn it around into success. I was debating which line to ski….
White Widow?
Or White Rock?
White Widow was obviously a more aesthetic line. But the skiing would likely be longer and better on White Rock. Both were accessed from the area that we call mini-Queen Basin.
I tried all week to find a partner, but had no luck. It seems that most people are “done skiing” for the season. Sensing my restlessness, Frank agreed to join me for a mid-week adventure, leaning toward White Rock as he had recently skied White Widow while I was off skiing Capitol.
Brittany and I first met Jarrett Luttrell on a trip to Chicago Basin, when we successfully skied and boarded Sunlight,Windom, and Eolus. Jordan and Brittany quickly headed back to the Front Range after we departed the train, while Jarrett and I headed to a Mexican joint to get some food and a well-deserved margarita. With only Harvard left before my fourteener quest would be complete, I suppose I was already contemplating what it would mean for me once that goal was complete. Naturally, our conversation turned towards Jarrett’s goal to snowboard all the fourteeners, and what that would mean to him.
What struck me most about that conversation was Jarrett’s genuine desire not just to be the first to ride the fourteeners, but to also “do it right”. “Doing it right” meant a lot of things for Jarrett, but certainly included sticking to the same standards as the skiers. I think he even said something to the effect of “I hope whoever snowboards them all first doesn’t cut any corners, and make snowboarders look bad.” Don’t worry Jarrett, your accomplishment stands tall, snowboarders and Crested Buttians are all proud of you. Congrats!
The following are some questions 14erskiers asked Jarrett after his final descent, Long’s Peak, on 5-16-10.
