One more little video to enjoy from a great month of sun and powder. who knew
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Not many words here, just a fun little video of the last week with friends. Enjoy.
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Friday morning began like they all do, a 7 a.m. alarm chirped to life and I began to high five the snooze button like the good game march after little league. There’s no sense in leaving pre-dawn when you’re only driving five minutes. My roommate and I managed to match days off and decided to start exploring what the nearby backcountry had to offer.
There happen to be many resources for Teton pass; several books, topos, and guide services will take you exactly where you need to go. Scott and I being more determined to save money than survive had none of above, but managed to glance at some nice pictures online before leaving. The destinations chosen were North Woods, KB Ridge, and Bear Claw, runs that seemed to hold the steepest most interesting terrain.
We started the morning with a gear check and made sure to get it right, with this being an exploratory mission everything from a tripod to flashlight and binoculars were included. I don’t know how much my pack ended up weighing but it was enough to pop my hydration pack and tack on about a pound of useless discomfort. No matter how many water containers I purchase it seems I always go back to the Gatorade flavored water bottle.
We got to the pass by 8:30 and caught the boot pack up Teton ridge before mounting up for touring. From the ridge you can connect to a virtual highway of skin tracks scanning the whole range. If you play it safe you almost can’t get lost. Teton pass is one of the most traveled backcountry areas in the country for skiers and there’s still untracked to be had, not a bad excuse to get an AT or tele setup. After the first hill the trail split into smaller veins, many heading in our general direction of travel. Scott and I waddled in different directions to see what there was to see, we lost each other within 20 minutes of leaving the car. I can only speak for myself but I took the trail with the snowy trees in a circle three times, I think he did to.
When we finally crossed paths we also intersected a “Teton pass ambassador” who was happy to screw our heads on. We got full directions, trail names, and future suggestions for exploring the pass and bounded off with an uncommon competence, for us at least.
The first run was in the bear claw, a steep tree filled section with chutes and cliffs peppered in for your enjoyment. The snow was awesome, settled enough to stay put, but cold enough to splash against our chests when the speed picked up. We found some great features and made sure to stick them on the GPS for future shredding.
When it all flattened out we decided to call it a run and search for a skin track to the top. I popped off my skis and opened my pack for the skins and a snack. As my feet sank in to the snow I stuck my apple in my mouth and flailed around for balance while trying to tame my climbing skins in the wind. Meanwhile an older gentleman swooshed in next to us and quickly swapped out skins and layers like a swiss army knife. “How ya boys doin” he said in a heavy Irish accent, “just hangin out” I replied.
As it turns out, Agnes, a seventy three year old man, had been skiing here for forty years. The trip to the top quickly turned in to a history, avy awareness, geography, and snow condition lesson with a side of humiliation. I don’t want to get in to details, but neither 22 year old led the pack up the steep 2000 ft climb. We mentioned to Agnes that we figured we should get a guidebook for the area. “Wha, Huh, No you don’t need that” and he rattled off every run on the pass in order. Apparently many runs up here are named after him-a fact he was proud of-however it seemed nobody else knew it. Either way he was here first so he’s probably right.
From the summit we took a steep set of trees through north woods descending into an untracked chute and later some nice size cliffs. Two runs were enough for the day and we decided to find our way back. The skin track eventually led to old pass road and provided several miles of “just steep enough” descending to town. Once we hit the bottom and made our way to the side of the road sticking our thumbs at just the right angle got us to the top in 10 minutes. Day done. It easily ranked in the top five for life.
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I hate to say, but it’s been a while since I’ve been in the backcountry, with finals, work, and an impending move I haven’t done much skiing at all. Finally however that’s all cleared up, like a blue bird powder day I’m free to do whatever I want, stress free, no repercussions. This is of course because I no longer do anything. No school, barely any work, and no worries about getting to “the mountain”. I am officially a ski bum. Its taken some time and preparation but I’m finally ready for the daunting task, I have a case of beer and a four day old beard (ok 10, but it looks four) and its time to rock. Where have I moved to? Jackson hole.
My temporary career consists of skiing and half assed cooking. If all goes well I will ski the next 10 out of the next 10 days, maybe even 20 for 20, in bounds mostly, but with ample time to discover the J-hole BC. Did I mention I live 1.5 miles from Teton pass. So really this post is to bridge the gap and say there will be good stuff coming. To those living in CO your about to get hit with record snowfall, stop reading and go skiing. And while you’re out there write up some trip reports to share so everyone can ski all the great stashes the Rockies have to offer. More to come soon and with a new home base, new video camera, better skiers, just kidding, it should be pretty good.
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Crested Butte Colorado has once again started the year in an epic way, with over 90 inches of snow coming down in November alone mother nature must have a soft spot for this rugged resort. The talk of the town was a ridiculous opening day, face shots all around. In true form however the storm came earlier than expected while I came just a bit too late. It always surprises me how so much snow can get squished into a corduroy strip, it started so fluffy? No matter, with buy one get one tickets and early season prices I’m happy to work on my mini park 360’s.
After our day lapping groomers like a yo-yo we decided to take the party to the backcountry. The mountains around CB are notorious for serious snowfall, almost twice that of the resort, and some good stuff was bound to be lying around for the taking. We set our alarms for first tracks and got to discussing the plan. The avalanche forecast suggest moderate danger, west facing slopes held the safest snow, we passed around beers. Beacon, shovel, and probe packed, how bout a drink. A round of ramen noodles? a round of PBR? Then we were at the bar. Then we hitch hiked a ride from a cop. Then we poached a hot tub. Then it was 8, and some trickster put my phone alarm on turbo loud.
The 15 minute car ride got us to the base of a great open field a few miles up kebler by noonish. Some early rising snowboarders stomped down a nice boot pack and we abandoned our skins for a bit. The trail cut up through the open field and then across the top tree line. Several jumps were set up launching from the woods into the open. We decided to take it a little farther and skinned up in to the trees. The slope began to settle down and we decided it would be a good place to start the decent, a full 0.2 miles from the car, just over 1000 horizontal ft. When the skiing is good all the way back to the car though you don’t have to walk 10 miles, so don’t judge.
We each took three runs, picking the best slots through the trees and skiing far left and right of the lower field. The snow was great, especially with the abundance of new flakes. Each hike up our boot pack was nearly filled in again. Very light on top and a soft base encouraged some tumbles but it was always easy enough to hike back up and try it again. Anyway, I have a new trip to plan. So get out there and ski something.
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Dendrite studios, a new film production crew out of whistler BC, has finally released their first ski movie. I can tell you this is something I have been waiting for since I first laid eyes on their epic trailer. I can remember the day vividly; the fall chill had made its first appearance in boulder and I was officially done doing anything non-ski related. While at work I aimlessly bumped around youtube following the trail of any “ski” affiliated videos when I hit it like a brick wall, the best trailer I have ever seen. Hands down. If you haven’t checked it out, do it; if you don’t ski, watch it and you will start.
Last night I finally got the chance to download the HD film right to my computer from their online store. This video is a steal with revolutionary pay what you want pricing, but trust me, the more money you give them the better video they can put up next year. I didn’t go to business school but I’m pretty sure that’s like an investment in your enjoyment.
The video starts with a rather long intro, but for a video highlighting the lifestyle of its riders it will keep you interested. It’s pretty clear these guys are all about the mountains, at all costs. In the opening scene you get a view of all the riders and their gear, their daily paces, etc. It’s refreshing to see what under-sponsored riders choose to stand on, dps, kastle, and plenty of bro models cover the lineup instead of the team ski under every foot.
The first skier to hit the screen is Brett Crabtree, a little life history shows you how he got where he is, and how to score free eggs. Next he falls for a while until the real skiing starts, and it rocks. He and the whole team navigate cheese grating BC lines with the ease of seasoned vets. This flick is mostly about big mountains but when riders like Chris Turpin and Jake Cohn hit the screen there’s no shortage of flipping spinning sickness. Jon Larson may have the best section in the video, it made me need to ski. The music picked up and he shredded some of the best lines in the video. The best shot though has to go to Ian “cheddar” Watson who nearly straight lined the scariest chute I have ever seen, but I guess why turn around the hard stuff when you can skim over it.
Numerous POV shots and a couple great night scenes keep the filming interesting and personal. Without big money heli shots and award winning film crews it’s easy to feel like your watching a video your friends put together, but in a good way, not a “ oh cool dude, no I don’t need to watch it again” way. The only problem with the video is that I may go pretend I can do what they do, wish me luck. I could go all day on this video, but it would be quicker if you watched it, and with the name your price option you can’t not. Have Fun.
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A new product from FloWorks Design in Nelson, BC is set to revolutionize the use of skins for backcountry skiiers.
Clip Skins change everything you know about ski skins. No more glue, no more frozen fingers battling the elements to remove or re-apply skins. Just clip on, and go. Ready to descend, clip off and go!
Clip skins are available directly through the Clip Skins website. The cost is $150 U.S. and that includes free shipping anywhere in North America!
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Night Skiing, What could be more exciting. Quietly shushing your way down a grey and black field of snow. Just you ,the stars, barely hidden rocks, and hopefully a really nice headlamp. But of course we don’t all have this luxury. For me, my night skiing set-up consisted of a smattering of bike lights/flashlights/ and lightning bugs taped to my gear. Although It didn’t do much for visibility I heard it at least spurred some fond memories of the school bus rambling down the street through a cold dark morning. This was the first night I can say I had officially night skied, discounting of course Friday night high school trips to PA’s largest hill or the agonizing hut trips where I misjudge my speed and fortitude and hike all night. This trip was actually at night on purpose, and if anyone wants to complain about working 9-5 and missing great skiing, well you need to man up, unless you’re a girl, but do the equivalent.
This train left Boco at 6pm, nonstop to Berthoud pass. Well we actually couldn’t skip 7-11…. but then nonstop to Berthoud pass. I couldn’t help but watch the temperature plummet as we hauled up 70, and by the time we hit the pass it was a balmy 10. And we still had to drive the pass, soon we got to the summit and found 0 degrees, there were no degrees anywhere. And you better believe it was windy. But this is why Berthoud has a warming hut, and we used the sh*t out of it.
Locked and loaded we started our journey up the sledding hill west of the lot, its an old cut run from when the pass actually held a resort, and we were happy to borrow the visibility the reflective snow strip offered. The walk went quickly, but whether it was actually short or my brain was numb is unknown, we hit our target turnaround in around 10-30 minutes. Run one of not very many was chosen as our up route and it went great. I took a few turns leaning back like I was in the national limbo championships but when I realized this was actually going to work I brought down my knees and took off into the dark. Sick.
Run one done we ventured into the woods more north towards the lift gully, lower 90’s, and the roll. Stoke was running at a high and we jogged this ascent yelling about randonee-ing across france in strange accents. We came to the top in roughly the same spot as the other run but with some important knowledge of the lay of the land below. The snow below was light and deep, completely wind loaded, but soft like butter. I skied through some light glades singing T-swift to keep the rhythm going. At one point I even found the courage to take a rollover into an opening with some speed , after momentarily falling with grace I hit the snow and stumbled in to the white room. The snow pocket was so deep I wasn’t even sure if I was moving and I certainly couldn’t see. Eventually I got a cue from gravity that my feet were above my head and when I looked around I was at the bottom of the run, that’s one way to do it.
The last true pitch cut across some iffy avalanche terrain, not wanting to test our luck we picked the safest direction and straight-lined to the field below, which brought my gps to its top speed of 26mph. My gps unfortunately doesn’t say how quickly I went from 26 to 0mph but core shot canyon and my broken toe would say very very quickly. Too bad, I was hoping the season’s first front flip would be more graceful.
We took the old chairlift track out and down to the road, skies in the car and heat on high we thawed our bodies and Ryan drove home. I on the other hand had a sip of whiskey and immediately fell asleep.
Photo courtesy of friends of berthoud pass http://berthoudpass.org
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VAIL, Colorado — With nearly 3 feet of snow in the last week, Vail Mountain’s operations teams announced today that the resort will open on Friday for the 2010-11 season with 1,150 acres of skiable terrain and nine lifts — nearly double the skiable acres reported late Monday.
“This opening scenario is probably better than we even dare to hope for and it doesn’t happen very often,” said Chris Jarnot, chief operating officer of Vail Mountain. “We’ve been blessed with some of the best early-season snow we’ve ever had, and our crews have worked incredibly hard to prepare as much terrain and as many lifts as possible. I know everyone in town and certainly everyone at Vail Resorts is excited to kick off Vail’s winter season on Friday.”
Beginning at 9 a.m. on Friday, skiers and snowboarders will have access to the following lifts and portions of terrain in these areas on Vail Mountain:
• Avanti Express Lift (No. 2)
• Wildwood Express Lift (No. 3)
• Mountaintop Express Lift (No. 4)
• Game Creek Express Lift (No. 7)
• Born Free Express Lift (No. 
• Northwoods Express Lift (No. 11)
• Little Eagle Lift (No. 15)
• Vista Bahn Express Lift (No. 16)
• Eagle Bahn Gondola (No. 19)
Additional terrain will open to the public as soon as conditions and weather permit. Both the Lionshead and Vail Village base areas will be open including lift ticket/season pass and ski school offices. The Small World Nursery will be open at the Golden Peak Children’s Center.
Eagle’s Nest, Buffalo’s, Wildwood and the Look Ma level of Mid-Vail will be open for on-mountain dining beginning Friday. Express Lift at Mountain Plaza will also be open.
As usual in the early season, Vail Mountain lifts will open at 9 a.m. to accommodate early-morning operations.
Paid parking in the Town of Vail’s parking structures and outlying lots resumes Friday, Nov. 19 at 6 a.m. For more information on parking, visit www.vailgov.com/parking or call the Town of Vail parking hotline at (970) 479-2104. Parking is also available at Solaris and valet parking is available at the Arrabelle at Vail Square.
For more information about Vail Mountain, including opening day, terrain updates, snow reports, events and lodging and vacation values, visit www.vail.com or contact the Mountain Information Center at 970-SKI-VAIL (754-8425).
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VAIL, Colorado — The Vail Nordic Center is open for the 2010-11 season offering approximately 13 kilometers of terrain.
The entire track is set to open by this weekend and offer 17 kilometers of groomed trails, plus 10 kilometers of separate snowshoe trails. The Nordic Center, which is located at the Vail Golf Club, is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily with on-site rentals for skate and classic skiing, plus backcountry skis and snowshoes. The Nordic Center also offers daily lessons for classic and skate skiing. Season pass prices are as follows until Nov. 20 when prices will increase:
• $80 Adult Season Pass
• $70 Vail Resident Pass
• $50 Student Season Pass (scholarships available)
• Children under 12 are free
After Nov. 20, pass prices will increase $10. Day use prices will be $8 all season long.
The track is maintained daily by the Vail Recreation District. Snowshoers, ice climbers and walkers are asked to follow the signs and utilize the snowshoe trail. Dogs are only allowed on the snowshoe trail and must be leashed to avoid collisions with Nordic skiers.
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