Brittany and I have talked about our Trailquest goals quite a few times and one of the things that the game forces us to do is ride a little farther than we might otherwise. Our original plan was to ride the Timberline trail from the Tincup/ Mirror Lake area, and also add a couple of spur trails- Hillerton (632) and Sanford Creek (584). More on our change of plans in a minute…
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As with any trail in that area, info was sparse and we weren’t sure if it would work well as an uphill. We stopped at the Tomichi Trading Post in Sargents to get a couple of last-minute snacks and the owner took one look at our “pedal bikes” and thought we were nuts. Only one way to find out…
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From this angle, the couloir on Savage Peak practically looked vertical, not to mention it had a giant runnel running down the middle. We continued towards the summit, though no one was quite certain they would actually ski it. The good news on the ridge was that I found
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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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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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But there are other benefits to quickly drying out your gear. For one, moisture is a perfect way to encourage bacteria, mold, and fungus growth. That leads to stinky gear at best, and aggravated skin at worst.
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The Salomon Shift binding, as you can see above, takes those toepins and disregards them completely when in ski mode. The pins fold in, traditional alpine toe wings spread out, and you’re left looking at a touring binding that looks a whole lot like an alpine binding.
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In much of Colorado, we’re currently sitting high and dry, without much snow in the forecast. Northern Colorado is close to average, but central and southern Colorado are anywhere from 30-70% of average. Across the rest of North America, some areas are already having a year to remember, while other areas are just as dry as we are here in Crested Butte. So, what’s a backcountry skier supposed to do when there is no snow?
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