October Stoke From ’06

We’ve been getting a fair bit of snow so far in ’09 and reports of good skiing have been coming in from all over. It’s still a little thin for my tastes here in Crested Butte, but it will be here soon enough. That doesn’t mean I haven’t been daydreaming about skiing all the time, and the turns we made in ’06 were some of the best. These are some old TR’s that I though were worth re-posting as we wait for the base to build…

Yet another storm hammered CO friday night (10.21.06), and by saturday morning we decided to fire up the sleds and see what was out there. What we found was a supportive 3 foot base, with the top foot being rather blower pow. Every time we’ve been out this fall, I keep thinking that it’s the best October day I’ve ever had, and yet it just keeps getting better.

It feels good to be sledding again:

Jon is a much better snowmobiler than I will ever be (of course, an ’06 Arctic Cat M7 is a lot better than a ’98 600RMK)

Things were looking pristine:

Sadly, on the way up for our first run, my trusty 5 year old Fritchis took a hit. The heel piece was a bit frozen, and I got a little aggro flipping the riser up, and the next thing I know, it’s broken. No worries, nothing a little duct tape won’t fix for the ride down:

S Face, S Maroon, already looking filled in:

The skiing was excellent, no matter what month, let alone October. Non-mag Luke:

Susan:

Jon:

Frank, finding a fun logride:

Brittany:

Kind of a short TR, but the photos tell the story: winter is here. We’re going back tomorrow…

Saturday (10.22.06) brought us good skiing in the Elks, so we decided to head right back to the same spot. Susan, Nancy, and Jay stayed in the same zone we had played in the day before, while Luke, Jeremy, Brittany and I went a little higher to a little more open area.

Nothing like the smell of 2-stroke in the morning

OK, we’ll let you in on our secret. Everytime we ski here in CO, we toast to Ullr. That, or Susan has a lot of wine leftover from her wedding last month. Jay toasting Ullr:

The other secret is being goofy. Jeremy just got back from a trip to the big city to see Spearhead, and decided that Halloween should last all month long.

Snowmass Mountain:

It’s not often that I feel good enough about an Oct. snowpack to get some air.

We got into some more open areas than we had on Saturday. It felt really good to let ’em run a little.

Jeremy:

Luke:

Brittany

Everybody but Brittany and I left after just one lap, but with conditions like this, we want back for seconds. Brittany got most of the photos, since I was still getting used to a new camera.

• About
• Latest Posts

Frank Konsella

Frank loves snow more than anything... except his wife.  He ensures his food is digested properly by chewing it 32 times before swallowing.He is a full-time real estate agent serving Crested Butte and Gunnison and would be honored to send you his monthly newsletter.

Latest posts by Frank Konsella (see all)

• Bluebird Backcountry Ski Area - February 14, 2020
• Gear Review: Smith 4D MAG Goggles - January 6, 2020
• Gear Review: LEKI Tour Stick Vario Carbon Ski Poles - December 9, 2019