Purple Peak “S” Couloir and Some Bonus Hucking 3.16.11

(Last Updated On: March 21, 2011)

I decided to take a short break from my Pemberton, BC trip reports and do something a little more recent from little ‘ol Colorado. It’s prime time right now, with a lot of the area’s best lines proudly signed off with ski tracks right now. Hopefully we get a nice re-fill tonight…

Tom Runcie, Rob Dickinson and I headed up towards Purple Peak and we were able to get nice and close with the snowmobiles, followed by a short bootpack.

Photo Tom Runcie:

Tom got the first drop:
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Rob dropped in next but he went so fast all the photos were blurry. Or else the photographer just needs some work. The chute had just a touch of windcrust in it, but otherwise it was in great shape. Our tracks and part of the line, as seen from below:
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Mount Owen continues to look caked, though the cornices guarding it are getting a bit excessive. I went back to this area on 3-19-11, and some of the cornices had indeed failed and there was some debris in the runouts of these lines, so we went elsewhere. Rob likes:
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Since Purple went so quickly, we decided to do some mini laps with the sleds in a nearby zone. Frank:

Photo Tom Runcie:

Rob:
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Then Rob and Tom decided to start hucking. Tom:
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Tom, starting to realize that despite his best efforts, he’s about to land in Rob’s bombhole:
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Ouch.
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Then Rob decided to go for the slightly higher take-off. And he pointed it a little higher. And there was a bit of a windlip that acted like a kicker. And the result was one of the bigger airs I’ve seen in a while.
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Doesn’t look that big, eh? Try Tom’s view:

Photos Tom Runcie:

He’s just now landing…

All in all, a good day back in Colorado.

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)

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.

2 thoughts on “Purple Peak “S” Couloir and Some Bonus Hucking 3.16.11

  • March 22, 2011 at 11:07 pm
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    Sweet, Frank. I see you’re not wasting any playtime either! Hope to get out with you and Brittany this spring.

  • March 24, 2011 at 10:21 pm
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    This is awesome, Frank. Thanks for sharing. Looks like he sailed a good 50+ feet off that thing. I love big long airs like that. Purple Mountain is so sick, always stoked when you ski that.

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