Category: Backcountry Skiing

TR: Kicking Horse (2/24/2010)

Posted by Brittany – March 9, 2010

After a great day in the slackcountry of Fernie we packed up our things and hopped in the car for the 4 hour drive to Golden. The long day in the slackcountry definitely had made us weary and the drive was a bit harsh. But, we arrived in Golden safely, ready to check out Kicking Horse the next day.

Ethan was our local guide for the day, who had also shown us around Whitefish just a few days prior.

Kicking Horse ski area, as seen from town. This mountain has an interesting story. A little over 10 years ago kicking Horse was a tiny ski area where only locals skied. But, a Dutch company came in and expanded it, as part of a settlement for a contract to build a bridge in the Maritimes.

So, Kicking Horse lies as it is today, largely unvisited, with fantastic terrain.

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TR: Fernie (2/23/2010)

Posted by Brittany – March 8, 2010

After crossing the border into Canada, the mountains suddenly seemed more interesting.

The drive from Whitefish to Fernie took us less than 2 hours. We were there with plenty of time to grab some dinner and drinks.

The views of the ski area from town are stunning.

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TR: Scarps to Peeler (3/6/2010)

Posted by Brittany – March 7, 2010

Since we returned from our road trip to Canada, we’ve had a lot of sunny days here in Crested Butte. March bluebird days get me in the mood to get up high in the alpine, on long tours. Of course, work often gets in the way of this sort of thing. But, Saturday, things came together. Frank and I headed out for a long day on Scarps and Peeler with our friends Ben and Carol visiting from Montrose and Durango.

The snow was most excellent.

And the views made me hungry, like a bowl full of chocolate.

Now that you’re hungry too, check out Frank’s trip report :)

TR: Whitefish, MT (2/21-2/22/2010)

Posted by Brittany – March 6, 2010

Frank and I enjoyed our two days in Whitefish. Sunny, bluebird skies are rare there. And we enjoyed them like a rare jem, admiring the views from Glacier National Park from a distance. Someday we will get back there to tackle some of these amazing peaks…

But, for now, enjoy Frank’s trip report from Whitefish.

Other Montana-Canada Road Trip Blog Posts
Road Trip Update
Itinerary
Bridger Bowl

TR: Bridger Bowl (2/20/2010)

Posted by Brittany – March 4, 2010

Our road trip to Montana and Canada was amazing. But, like all good things, it had to come to and end. We are back in Crested Butte, and finally have some time to put up the TR’s from various segments of our trip.

Our first ski stop was Bridger Bowl. Bridger has a lot of steep terrain similar to what we have in Crested Butte. A good area for some playing :)

We had our friend Tony show us around and he showed us the goods!

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Road Trip Update

Posted by Brittany – February 24, 2010

As many of you know, Frank and I are on a two week long road trip enjoying skiing in Montana and Interior British Columbia. For our itinerary click here.

We’ve been busy skiing, traveling, and enjoying our experience on this road trip, so sorry we haven’t been posting much. But, tonight we had a bit of free time and I thought I’d post up a few pics of our trip so far.

Stop 1: Bridger Bowl, Montana. We enjoyed spectacular terrain and good snow.

Stop 2: Whitefish, Montana. Two days of skiing the resort and slackcountry allowed us to explore some good terrain.

But, we also enjoyed the lofty feeling (town of Whitefish and the lake below)

And we admired the peaks of Glacier National Park, with hopes of coming back some spring to check this area out further.

Stop 3: Fernie, British Columbia. The skies couldn’t be more blue, which is typical in Colorado, but not so much in BC.

Our friends took us out on a good backcountry tour, where we slayed these lines.

Stop 4: Kicking Horse. Only 10 years old and this resort has a lot to offer. I was impressed over and over by the terrain choices, both in and out of the ski area boundary.

Areas like these were plentiful.

And we hit up a nice backcountry couloir.

So far, it’s been an awesome trip :)

Our trip continues to Roger’s Pass, Revelstoke, and Red Mountain. We’ll do another update or two along the way. And stay tuned for full TR’s from each segment of our trip!

Other Montana-Canada Road Trip Blog Posts
Road Trip Update
Itinerary
Bridger Bowl
Whitefish

Vacationing in the White Room

Posted by Brittany – February 15, 2010

Saturday I had one of those days that I’ll remember for a very long time. With powder so deep, I could barely breathe. I think I ate about 10 snow cones by the end of the day. A great crew and fluffy white silky powder are the recipe for a day that’s this high on the stoke meter. I needed a vacation in the White Room :)

A couple of photos of me from our friend Chris Webster.

For Frank’s TR click here.

TR: Girls Just Wanna Have Fun, Part II

Posted by Brittany – February 11, 2010

After a fantastic day at the resort and a delicious dinner (see Part I), we headed out for some backcountry skiing the following day. I took these ladies to meet another lady- the Red Lady- Queen of Mt. Emmons. I chose to take these ladies to ski the Red Lady glades, as they were low angle, low avy-danger terrain suitable for our varied group. Some of our ladies were “seasoned” in the backcountry, for others, it was their first tour!

The ladies lined up for backcountry fun!

Ann brought her Ullr helmet for a visit, and I was honored to wear it. Ullr is the god of snow. The female equivalent of Ullr is Skade (also called Skadi), the goddess of skiing. She married Njord, who wanted to live by the sea. So, they divided their time evenly between the mountains and the sea. (Huntford, p. 28) I was Skade for the day :)

The girls kicking butt up the hill.

Ann on the skin track

Photo courtesy of Fast Froggy


Photo courtesy of Fast Froggy

With snow continuing to fall, and with thoughts of long drives ahead, many of the girls opted to turn around about 1/3 of the way up the mountain.

Lauren and Julianne getting ready to ski.

Amber and Andi.

Corien and Carol.

Ashleigh and Corien watching Carol lead the way through the glades.

Amber with a trail of pixi dust behind her!

Lauren skiing.

Photo courtesy of Julianne.

Carol skiing.

Photo courtesy of Fast Froggy

Only Sonya, Ann, and I were left, making our way to the top of the Red Lady.

Sonya, Ann, and I on the top of Mt. Emmons.

During her first backcountry outing, Sonya climbed and skied 3000 vert. Pretty kick ass for her first time out!

Skiing was creamy and good!

Ann

Sonya

Me. (Photos courtesy of Ann Driggers)

It was fun being Skade, even if for only a day :) Thanks ladies!!!!!

References

Huntford, Roland. Two Planks and a Passion: The Dramatic History of Skiing. Continuum. New York. 2008.

Silverton Backcountry Day 2

Posted by Brittany – February 8, 2010

Please check out Frank’s trip report for Day One of our Silverton Backcountry exploration.

Who doesn’t love an old mining town? Silverton is exactly that. And if it weren’t for the Durango-Silverton train and the new Silverton Mountain Ski area (guided-only for most of the season), this magnificent town would likely be a pile of wood and dust. But, this town is surviving, although not without it’s struggles. Old miners accustomed to the harsh winters are not about to let today’s slow economy hamper them.

Dinner on Thursday night brought us an eclectic collection of Silverton locals, Moroccan belly dancers, lamb stew along with Ingrid Backstrom and the whole North Face team who were in the area filming for the next big ski movie. Reports that Silverton Mountain was skiing poorly made us reluctant to spend $129 to have a guide take us through some crusty crappy snow for a grand total of 4 runs, so we decided to earn our turns again and find our way in the backcountry. After talking to some locals, we had a better idea of some great backcountry tours, but as we headed up Red Mountain Pass, we could see that it was socked in with snowclouds. Not wanting to find ourselves amidst a whiteout, Frank and I opted for some lower elevation terrain across from where we explored the day before- across the highway from Battleship and Ophir Pass road, we found ourselves making our way to the summit of North Anvil.

The views kept getting better and better.

Looking toward Battleship.

Nearing the false summit of North Anvil. The real summit is still a couple hundred feet above this.

Only about two hours of skinning brought us to the top of the summit.

The views were spectacular from the summit, allowing us to get a better feel for the available terrain in the area, and gave us a good idea of what to ski next time we return to Silverton.

After enjoying the summit views on a surprisingly calm day, despite the surrounding clouds, we enjoyed fantastic creamy snow on the way down.

Frank.

Brittany.

We were happy with our choice of line: good snow, and good terrain given the still unstable snowpack. We can’t wait to get back there for some more Silverton goodness!

Skinning up the mountain

Posted by Brittany – January 30, 2010

This year, I’ve done a lot of skinning up Crested Butte ski resort. I am extremely lucky to live across the street from this ski area, which I can call my playground. I’m also thankful that they allow people to skin up their slopes before 9 am and after 4:30 pm everyday. This has become my favorite form of easy winter aerobic exercise, free of worries of avalanche danger. Plus it has it’s social benefits, as I usually can recruit my friends Sydney or Heather to join me. Skinning up the mountain has allowed me to see several fantastic sunrises, and plenty of colorful sunsets, which I otherwise would have missed.

On Friday night, Heather and I headed out for our ritual skin. The full moon decided to join us and was glorious.

Everyday I’m in awe of where I live. I love it here in Crested Butte :)