{"id":419943,"date":"2016-03-16T18:05:48","date_gmt":"2016-03-17T00:05:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/14erskiers.com\/blog\/?p=419943"},"modified":"2016-03-20T17:28:25","modified_gmt":"2016-03-20T23:28:25","slug":"tr-little-agnes-12-feb-2016","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/14erskiers.com\/blog\/2016\/03\/tr-little-agnes-12-feb-2016\/","title":{"rendered":"TR: Little Agnes Mountain Ski (12 Feb 2016)"},"content":{"rendered":"

After a month of good snowfall up north, Frank and I headed up to Steamboat to check out some of the backcountry zones back in mid-February. It had been over 10 years since I had been in Steamboat, and over 20 for Frank. And although I’d skied there many times, I’d never ventured into the backcountry.<\/p>\n

But, in researching the Steamboat backcountry zones, Little Agnes Mountain seems like it was a good one to put on the hit list. So, when my friend Marko offered to change up a day of work to show us around the Zirkels along with his friend Larry, I was ecstatic. Who doesn’t love exploring cool new places?<\/p>\n

We used snowmobiles to access Little Agnes, shown in this photo.
\n\"Little<\/p>\n

Frank models his Big Agnes jacket in the shadows of both Little Agnes and Big Agnes mountains.
\n\"Little<\/p>\n

The area surrounding Little Agnes is scarred with a magical forest of skeleton trees. The forest died as a result of a combination of forces including a blow-down in 1997, drought, pine beatles, and a fire in 2002. But, what’s left behind is perfect for us skiers!
\n\"Skeleton<\/p>\n

We skinned the ridge to gain the summit of Little Agnes.
\n\"Skinning<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\"Skinning<\/p>\n

The boys on the summit!
\n\"Summit<\/p>\n

Big Agnes taunted us from afar. I need to come back for that one some day….
\n\"Big<\/p>\n

The snow looked creamy on the northeast bowl.
\n\"Backcountry<\/p>\n

Larry dropped in first.
\n\"Larry<\/p>\n

And it became evident that the snow was actually more variable than anticipated.
\n\"Larry<\/p>\n

Me.
\n\"Brittany<\/p>\n

\"Brittany<\/p>\n

Marko.
\n\"Marko<\/p>\n

\"Marko<\/p>\n

\"Marko<\/p>\n

Larry.
\n\"Larry<\/p>\n

\"Larry<\/p>\n

\"Larry<\/p>\n

Marko.
\n\"Marko<\/p>\n

Me.
\n\"Brittany<\/p>\n

\"Brittany<\/p>\n

A view of the northeast bowl.
\n\"Northeast<\/p>\n

Making our way out the Agnes Creek drainage, we saw all kinds of great skiable terrain.
\n\"Agnes<\/p>\n

\"Backcountry<\/p>\n

But the true north side of Little Agnes was the money.
\n\"North<\/p>\n

But we still had a ways to go…. Frank enjoying turns in the burned forest.
\n\"Frank<\/p>\n

Me.
\n\"Brittany<\/p>\n

Larry scoping for more goods.
\n\"Larry<\/p>\n

Marko was doing quite well with the splitboard-ski technique.
\n\"Marko<\/p>\n

The exit got a little flat….
\n\"Marko<\/p>\n

But, we went back for more. We found ourselves again on the northwest ridge of Little Agnes.
\n\"Big<\/p>\n

And we enjoyed a few more laps through the burn. Me.
\n\"Brittany<\/p>\n

Frank.
\n\"Frank<\/p>\n

I’d heard about the Zirkels for years but knew nothing about them. It was great to finally venture a bit into the Wilderness and enjoy some turns off a cool peak and into the burned forest. Sweet scenery for sure, and Little Agnes Mountain is a backcountry skier’s paradise! Can’t wait to head back for more!<\/p>\n