Backcountry Skiing

As May continues, access to backcountry skiing in Crested Butte becomes more and more difficult. In contrast, areas around Fremont Pass, like Climax Corner and the headwaters of the Arkansas River, offer parking at the snow level – and skiing that’s a good bang for your buck in late spring.

I had had my eye on skiing Mount Buckskin ever since I skied Tweto a handful of years back. The northwest face of Mount Buckskin is intricate and intimidating, and doesn’t always go. But, we knew with the northwest aspect that we were likely to find good powdery snow – leftovers from a storm earlier in the week. So, we decided to check it out.

I first laid eyes on Sayres X-rated in June of 2006 when I first skied La Plata Peak. Four years later I, along with my friends Lacy and Kim. decided that Sayres Benchmark might be fun to ski in mid-June. But, the line looked to no longer be in, and the bushwhack through the willows was intimidating. So we skipped it and went for La Plata once again. A month later, my friend Lacy would perish while skiing in Rocky Mountain National Park. Sayres Benchmark was beginning to seem elusive to me, and went a little by the wayside until May, 2018, when I skied it with my friends Larry and Dan. But, it had just snowed and we were a little worried about snow moving on X-Rated. So, we stuck with the mellower Grand Central Couloir instead. With a moderate spring like we’ve had this year, Sayers X-Rated seemed to be in order. Frank had yet to ski or summit the peak, so it was easy to get him on board.

Last year was an even better spring for skiing. A stellar snow year made for great coverage. The one caveat was having to travel through avalanche debris leftover from a historic avalanche cycle that rampaged across our state during the end of February and early March. After a May storm hit our mountains, steeper lines slid out from the new snow on the hard surface underneath. But, mellower lines were skiing well as the new snow didn’t slide. Mt. Aetna is one of those mellower-style lines, but offers a long descent with relatively easy access. There’s a reason the Grand Couloir is a classic. I’d never skied it, though it had long been on my list. It was time to check this one off.