Crystal Peak will always be special to me. Back in April, 2006, my friend Dave Bourassa asked me to join him to ski the north face. When we arrived to the summit, the line had not yet softened. So, we had to bide some time for better conditions. Just below the summit sits a wind drift feature that typically forms and is a good place to seek shelter from the wind. We sat there for quite some time waiting for the sun to do its work, chatting. It was then that I confided to Dave that I was thinking of skiing all of Colorado’s fourteeners. I hadn’t skied a single one of them, yet though, and questioned whether a goal like this was even possible for me. So, I asked Dave if he thought I could do it, and he said he knew I could.

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.