14erskiers.com

Author: Brittany Walker Konsella

Backcountry Skiing
Brittany Walker Konsella

TBT: Flat Top Mountain (21 May 2016)

If you’re a backcountry skier in Colorado, you might have an idea of where the Flat Tops lie geographically within the state, but unless you’re an adventurous soul, chances are you’ve never actually skied there. Appropriately named after its flat mesa tops, this range is fairly remote and difficult to access most of the winter, especially without the aid of a snowmobile. The Flat Tops peaks have largely short vertical, but what’s there can be quite steep. It’s a range meant for the adventurer, for backcountry skiers willing to explore.

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Backcountry SkiingGore Range
Brittany Walker Konsella

TBT: Peak C – CC Rider Couloir (14 June 2016)

The Gore Range is a bit daunting. Rugged and rocky, this range was largely devoid of precious metals and minerals that stole the attention of early miners. As a result, not many roads were built into this range, and access is more difficult than many other Colorado ranges. Many of the peaks are not named on topo maps, and Peak C is among them. Although it had been on my hit list for close to a decade, admittedly it took some research to find out exactly where that peak was, and exactly what aspect the CC Rider Couloir faced.

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Biking
Brittany Walker Konsella

Best Desert Rides in Colorado (West of the Continental Divide)

The desert is the best place to play on a bike during the shoulder seasons in spring and fall, and Colorado is full of desert – some of it high desert, of course. Although Moab seems to come to most rider’s minds when they think of riding in the desert, Colorado can hold it’s own. And every time I look, there’s some other great desert ride I didn’t know about. Here’s our favorite list of best desert rides in Colorado.

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Backcountry SkiingMountain Lessons
Brittany Walker Konsella

Mountain Lessons: Summer Skiing Slide for Life

I looked down at Diamond Lake below. Then I looked ahead. Boy this snow is slippery, I thought to myself. I looked down at the snow that led almost all the way to the lake below. At least if I fall, I have a clean run-out.

One, two, three, maybe four steps later…. Woosh! One foot slipped, then the other. I tried to use my ice axe to self arrest but by the time I even had a chance to think about it I was flying down the snow on my back, with my backpack weighing me down. I could not flip over to use my ice axe to self-arrest.

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Backcountry SkiingFront Range
Brittany Walker Konsella

TBT: Skiing Fletcher Mountain Northeast Couloirs (24 June 2016)

The calendar read that it had recently turned to summer, but there was still some good skiing to be had, especially if you looked in the right places. The Fletcher Mountain Northeast Couloirs are one of those places that hold snow late into the year, along with its neighboring Atlantic Peak. Although I have skied Fletcher from the west side, I had never skied it from the east, though it had been on my list for quite some time. I was able to rally my friend Natalie into joining me, as well as my friend Jess, who invited her friend Chad. We were a foursome that started early in the morning from McCullough Gulch Road.

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