{"id":420305,"date":"2016-04-09T19:44:53","date_gmt":"2016-04-10T01:44:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/14erskiers.com\/blog\/?p=420305"},"modified":"2017-03-27T10:42:25","modified_gmt":"2017-03-27T16:42:25","slug":"tr-birthday-chute-29-march-2016","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/14erskiers.com\/blog\/2016\/04\/tr-birthday-chute-29-march-2016\/","title":{"rendered":"TR: Birthday Chute Ski (29 March 2016)"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Gore Range is a bit of a mystery. Not only is this range difficult to find information on, access for skiing is typically long, and peaks aren’t well labeled on USGS Maps. So, skiing in this area takes a bit of research, or going along with someone who knows the area.<\/p>\n

After storms earlier in the week and with a new storm brewing, Larry and I decided to tackle the Birthday Chute which is considered one of the easier Gore Range lines.
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\"Birthday
The Birthday Chute trends right from the subpeak in the center of this photo.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/p>\n

We began at the Pitkin Creek trailhead, hiking at first on largely dry trail.
\n\"Hiking<\/p>\n

It wasn’t long before we switched to skins, and admired the valley views.
\n\"Skinning<\/p>\n

East Partner, Mount Solitude, and West Skier’s Point in the distance.
\n\"Pitkin<\/p>\n

We caught a glimpse of the Birthday Chute from below but decided to skin up through the trees on the left side of it, eventually entering the chute about 2\/3 of the way up.
\n\"The<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

The views as we skinned were spectacular. I believe these east facing lines across the way are called Little Skier’s Peak.
\n\"Little<\/p>\n

A view of West Partner (Peak U) on the left and East Partner (Peak V) on the right.
\n\"Partner<\/p>\n

Skinning up the Birthday Chute.
\n\"Backcountry<\/p>\n

The snow looked mighty tasty for the way down!
\n\"Backcountry<\/p>\n

Outpost Peak<\/a> looking grand across the way.
\n\"Outpost<\/p>\n

Looking over toward Skier’s Point<\/a>, a goal for another day…
\n\"Skier's<\/p>\n

But, this view is the best of all – Outpost Peak, West and East Partner Peaks, among others.
\n\"Outpost<\/p>\n

Big eyes for Big Horn.
\n\"Backcountry<\/p>\n

Larry, ready to go.
\n\"Larry<\/p>\n

Though a storm was moving in, a little bit of sun shined down on us as we began our descent of the Birthday Chute. Larry.
\n\"Larry<\/p>\n

\"Larry<\/p>\n

\"Larry<\/p>\n

\"Larry<\/p>\n

\"Larry<\/p>\n

\"Larry<\/p>\n

\"Larry<\/p>\n

\"Larry<\/p>\n

Overall, it was a long, fun line to ski all the way to the valley floor. We followed our skin track back to the trailhead.<\/p>\n

The Birthday Chute is one of the easier lines in the area, but is a great gateway into the Gore Range. So, get out there, and get exploring.<\/p>\n

One more thing I wanted to note – I forgot my Canon G16 camera this day. So, all my pictures were taken using my Samsung S5 cell phone. Not too shabby for a cell phone, eh?<\/p>\n