NOW AVAILABLE! Yep, we've been hinting at it for a long time. We have been writing a guidebook. After 2 seasons of research, and one year of a lot of writing and editing, Backcountry Ski & Snowboard Routes: Colorado, is finally done! Published by Mountaineers Books, a foreward by Chris Davenport, and featuring 102 routes, we think you're sure to enjoy it. Buy your copy here and we'll personally sign it for you!
Marjorie’s was good. We knew that another lap or two in Marjorie Bowl would be the best skiing, but we’re suckers for a good aesthetic line. So even though Shit for Brains couloir looked a little worse for wear, we decided to head up it for our second lap of the day.
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What we found actually surprised me. With the low snow, I was expecting pretty technical conditions in the steep upper portions of the bowl. Surprisingly, the low snow conditions made a planar face, rather than flutes and spines like we normally get.
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Keller Mountain is one of many Gore Range peaks that beckon backcountry skiers from CO-9, south of Silverthorne. A north-facing couloir strikes down from Keller Mountain’s ridge, and I studied this couloir every time I traveled between Steamboat and back. I meant to ski the Keller Mountain North Couloir a few years back while researching routes for our guidebook. But, the timing never quite worked out. So, there it stood – waiting. But 2018 is a good year for the Gore Range. And it was time to go ski that line that struck me during all those trips to the northern part of our state.
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East Partner Peak (Peak V) holds a special place in my heart. It was my first “Gore Range Mission”, and I skied it back in 2006 with some of my favorite backcountry skiing partners – Mark Cavaliero and Dave Bourassa. Since over 12 years have passed since we skied this route, I don’t remember exact details. In fact, only some of the details came alive when I started sorting through the pictures again. But, I do remember we started in the dark, and I remember it was a long day – probably the longest day I’d had in the backcountry up to that point. I also remember the exhilaration and excitement I felt exploring a new area on skis, and the potential for lines everywhere.
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2006 was also the year that Dave, Mark and I skied Peak V together, otherwise known as East Partner Peak (look for a Throwback trip report later this week). That was my first Gore Range expedition and the last for many years as I undertook my goal of skiing all of Colorado’s fourteeners. Devoid of higher elevation peaks, the Gore Range sat waiting for me until I finished my goal. But, in recent years I’ve enjoyed exploring this unique and hard to navigate area. Earlier in the week, I had mentioned to Dave that Frank and I were hoping to head north for some skiing in the Gore Range as they were holding a decent amount of snow. Mark had the week off too, and it only seemed fitting to ski West Partner Peak, completing the Partner pair, with some of the best partners I’ve had in backcountry skiing.
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The account below is one small piece of a series of posts documenting our road trip to Montana and interior British Columbia in February, 2010. Stops included Bridger, Whitefish, Fernie, Roger’s Pass, Kicking Horse, Revelstoke, Whitewater, and Red (Rossland). This unforgettable adventure was made possible by the generosity of strangers – now friends – who time and time again let us crash on their floors or in their guest rooms, and then guided us around some of the best terrain that they knew. We were lucky to have this in almost every place we stopped.
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Tony Saracelli was the quiet confident sort. Despite his Italian heritage, he was not the boisterous kind. He was humble beyond words. And liked to share his world with others. A pizza delivery guy by night and ski bum by day, Tony was a fantastic ski partner and took precautions to keep everyone safe – more pre-cautions than I have seen the average backcountry skier take. He was far too well aware of how dangerous backcountry skiing could be. But he was incredibly generous and loved skiing more than life.
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The only times it wasn’t sketchy were when the whole snowpack was rotten from top to bottom. For the most part, everyone did an admirable job of dialing it back this season, thankfully. But springtime eventually arrives, and with it, the chance to ski some steeper lines.
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We left the Playground reluctant to head into work, with smiles on our faces, and happy to be able to venture safely into a little more aggressive terrain. Here’s to a great start to spring skiing!
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