I had just gotten back into service after a week on the river when Mark mentioned the idea of getting our with Parker for another ski objective. I was immediately excited, and while I didn’t have any planning done for any particular ski line we had had success with last minute planning previously and I was stoked to get back on snow. We decided to ski Star Mountain, a popular peak amongst skiers off of independence pass, known for its many destructive avalanche chutes. Looking forward to a shorter objective, we decided to meet later than we usually do, aiming READ MORE
Category: Ski Mountaineering
The Refrigerator Couloir: Ice Mountain
An aesthetic and intimidating couloir, the refrigerator cuts down the north face of Ice mountain in the Sawatch range. The group of peaks in this area–Mt. Huron and the Apostles to name a few– create dramatic and rugged ski lines, beckoning us back for more. After quite a few skis just the two of us, Mark and I were excited to get out with out good friend Parker for the first time this season. We decided to meet early so that we had good lighting for Parker to take photos and plenty of time to make it to the top READ MORE
The Crack Couloir on Tweto Peak
We woke up tired from our big effort on Huron, but Mark and I were ready to rally when our alarms sounded, not wanting to get caught up in the same warming snow we had seen the day prior. Mark and I had decided to take advantage of my last few days in Leadville to ski another nearby objective, Mount Tweto. We had first spotted the peak a few years before when we first exploring the areas around Leadville. This rarely discussed peak sits in the same drainage as Mount Arkansas, just a short drive up Fremont pass. It’s obvious READ MORE
Skiing Mount Huron’s East Face
Back in Leadville for one more weekend before making my transition down to Salida, Mark and I decided to make the most of it by attempting a few nearby ski objectives. Huron had caught our attention when we were skiing the Colorado Trail last Spring, and just a little ways south, it seemed like a great option. We made an early start knowing that it was a bit of an approach to get to the peak, but an emergency poop and a rougher than expected dirt road had us getting to the trailhead already behind schedule. In the springtime, the READ MORE
Buffalo Buffalo Buffalo Buffalo Buffalo.
Our ski mountaineering had come to an abrupt halt when Mark when back to work the first of May. I reached out to all my ski partners, but to my dismay they all had jobs and were busy at work. I took the time to myself to get back on the mountain bike and make plans for Mark’s first weekend off. Thankfully I didn’t have to wait too long to get back on the skis; when Friday rolled around Bart, Parker and I set off to ski Buffalo peak. Buffalo peak is a prominent peak in the southern end of READ MORE
Steep and Rocky: Skiing Mt Arkansas
In what was shaping up to be one of our best ski mountaineering seasons yet, Mark and I were excited to see another day of stable conditions before he started work for the summer season. We had enjoyed a great two weeks off together and were glad that we would be able to end it with another ski. Mount Arkansas sits at the top of the Arkansas river drainage, with a steep, skiable north face dubbed the “moonshine couloir” that is just a short jaunt from Leadville. Mark and I were excited to be attempting an objective close to home READ MORE
X Rated on Sayers Benchmark
After a few days of skiing the storm snow at the resort, Mark and I decided to venture into the backcountry to see if we could find a safe objective to ski in the stabilizing snow conditions. We looked towards independence pass where it had snowed less over the previous few days and we had a better chance of finding safe conditions in steep terrain. We had first laid eyes on Sayre’s Benchmark when we skied La Plata a few years prior. This ski lines shares a trailhead with the popular 14er and the parking at the trailhead was full READ MORE
Springtime Skiing in the Desert
Mount Tukuhnikivatz and Lil Tuk While the Colorado snowpack remained questionable amidst an unstable weather pattern, the La Sals in Utah boasted great conditions and classic ski lines. One of our close friends was heading out to Moab to spend the weekend mountain biking, so Mark and I decided it would be a perfect opportunity to ski some new mountains and spend some time with an old friend. Our first objective was Mount Tukuhnikivatz: the most prominent peak in the La Sal’s outside of Moab. One of the “50 Classics of Ski Descents in North America,” we found ourselves with READ MORE
A Look Back at the Pearl Couloir
All of the photos in this post were taken by Parker Yost When Mark and I got done with the Colorado Trail last spring, we were looking forward to spending some time with our friends who we hadn’t gotten to see much over the previous month. Mark had been back to work in Aspen for a week when we decided to take advantage of the remaining snowpack to go ski mountaineering with our friend Parker. The Pearl couloir is a dramatic ski line off of Cathedral Peak near Aspen; accessible and aesthetic, it makes for a popular objective and seemed READ MORE
The Swan Dive: Mount Guyot
Mark and I decided to rally for a quick ski on our way to Denver as we kicked off our time off together. Guyot is an accessible peak outside of Breckenridge that is a popular ski due to its visibility from many local ski areas. The Swan Dive couloir curls off the North face of the summit amid a rocky, but relatively gentle face. Mark and I drove up from Leadville early in the morning to French Gulch, where we hiked along the frozen dirt road until the turnoff for the trail up the Northwest face of Guyot. We climbed READ MORE