GET YOUR SIGNED COPY! After 2 seasons of research, and one year of a lot of writing and editing, Backcountry Ski & Snowboard Routes: Colorado, was released in October, 2017! Published by Mountaineers Books, a foreward by Chris Davenport, and featuring 102 routes, we think you're sure to enjoy it. Buy your copy here and we'll personally sign it for you!
For all the skiing I’ve done in the Steamboat Springs area, I haven’t given the riding much justice. So, after our friend Larry visited Crested Butte, he insisted I come up to Steamboat and sample their goods. He had a special ride planned out for us. We would ride from Rabbit Ears to Soda Mountain and then back to town…
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We like showing visitors around to the best mountain biking that we have. So, when our friend Larry came from Steamboat to check out the riding in Crested Butte, we put on a good show. Just a 2.5 weeks prior, Larry and I stood on top of Condundrum Peak, about to ski down the long-lasting couloir. From the summit, I pointed out Star Peak and told him about the superb mountain biking just on the other side of it. I told him he needed to go there. So, Star Pass became a destination for his Crested Butte trip…
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Riding the Monarch Crest used to be at least a yearly experience for me. But for the past several years, we haven’t done the classic Crest ride. There are several reasons- finding the time, finding the motivation to drive to a trailhead when we have single track right outside the door, or just wanting to ride new trails. On top of that, it’s tough to decide what the best trail on Monarch pass is. Is it Agate? Starvation? Fooses? Greens? Ask 10 people and you may very well get 10 different answers…
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401 is always on our list to ride during the season. Yet, it’s easy for us to scoff at it too as it is typically overrun with tourists. Still, Trailriders 401 is popular for a reason, and it’s a reason that I remember every time I start riding among towering wildflowers while I descend into the emerald green landscape of the valley below, with majestic mountains rising in the distance. The beauty of 401 is hard to parallel. It doesn’t matter how many tourists are there. I smile every time I ride it….
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Mid June skiing on Apache peak in the Indian Peaks Wilderness on the front range of Colorado! Apache doesn’t require the longest of approaches, it’s still a 13 or 14 mile day, and most of that was spent with the skis on the back. It would be a bit shorter if the road was open past Brainard lake, but unfortunately it’s almost always closed there- at least when the skiing is still good. At least the trail was heavily trafficked and in good shape, so we made good time to Lake Isabelle…
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As the snow finally starts losing the battle with summer, I find myself less and less inclined to ski. Not because I don’t enjoy it- I still do. And summer snow can be really fun. But hiking for miles and miles just to reach the snow starts to lose a lot of allure for me. Brittany, on the other hand, will keep going until the snow gets really bad. With this in mind, we chose something with virtually no approach- Sundance Mountain…
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Skiing in late spring can be incredibly fun – especially because access can become much easier. Suddenly, a peak that is tucked miles and miles away up valley during winter might become nearly effortless to access as dirt roads melt out. Once such example is Emma Burr Mountain. Yep, that’s right Emma Burr Mountain. Most of you have probably never heard of it. No, it’s not this huge ski mountaineering destination. But, tucked away in the middle of the Sawatch Range, Emma Burr Mountain can hold its own. We certainly had some fun skiing there….
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Rising 13,000 feet straight out of the Prince William Sound, it turns benign southerly winds into storms, storms into blizzards, and blizzards into monsters. There are so many stories: 11 days in a snow cave, snow caves filling in too fast to dig out, time to dig mansions underground. So, when forecast run after forecast run showed a strong high pressure window forming, the destination seemed obvious. Next up was putting together a last minute team with the requisite rope, glacier, skiing, and avalanche experience for a smash and grab mission….
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In early June, the snow was transitioning from a spring snowpack to a summer snowpack. East and south aspects were
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