After a winter seasons work Mark and I were ready for some time off to play outside and see some friends. I spent another winter as a ski instructor in Leadville, while Mark helped his mom and niece move into a new house, buy a new van and adjust to some other changes in their household. Once his mom was moved and her old house sold, Mark was able to start focusing on himself more. With our work wrapped up, we marked our calendars for “Nic and Mark Party Time,” and took two weeks to have fun together before Mark READ MORE
Blog
Skiing the Box couloirs: Mt Elbert
The first winter I moved to Leadville (2019-20) Matt White and I were one another’s main ski partners, logging many early mornings on Chicago ridge near Ski Cooper and exploring Leadville east. That was my first winter backcountry skiing, and Matt and I learned a lot together. After a few winter’s away, Matt moved back to the area and we are both excited to be skiing together again! We’ve spent quite a few ski days together this season: a few moonlight skis, some resort days at A-basin and Copper Mountain, and some incredible powder tours on Chicago ridge. With the READ MORE
Podcast Release!
About a month ago, Mark and I did an interview with Mason Gravely from “The Adventure Sports Podcast” about our ski traverse of the Colorado trail. The episode was just published and you can listen to it on the podcast website, adventuresportspodcast.com, or find episode 882 The First Ski Traverse of the Colorado Trail – Nicolette Jones & Mark Johnson of The Adventure Sports Podcast on most streaming services. If you want to learn more about our experience, you can read my blog post about it here and find a piece I published in Wild Snow here.
A Bike Ride Through New Mexico
The past couple years, as I have gotten into a routine of the seasonal work schedule, I find myself missing many of my close friends and family during the work season and doing my best to play catchup in the off season. This year is no different, and I am thankful to be able to devote some time to personal adventures and the people I love in this shoulder season. This fall, I have been spending lots of time in between with Mark and his family in Denver, along with the friends who have come to visit us there; I’ve READ MORE
A Big Effort on the Colorado Trail
I usually start my mornings slow when I’m backpacking: waking up whenever my body chooses and letting the sun warm the air before I start moving. When I started hiking the Colorado Trail this time around, I knew that would not be the case, I was trying to cover more miles than I usually do in an attempt to finish the 485 mile trail in 14 days. Early starts were a must, and I while I was pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed the predawn starts, the long days were challenging. I ended up completing the trail in just READ MORE
A Spring Ski Traverse of the Colorado Trail
On April 9th Mark and I set off from the Waterton Canyon trailhead to attempt a spring ski traverse of the Colorado trail. Less than a month later on May 6th, we arrived at the southern terminus of the 486 mile trail in Durango! The most remarkable part of this experience is that there is no brief way to describe it, thus the lengthy blog post. (Take note of the different pages on this post and be sure to click through all of them to see photos from the whole trip and read about it from start to finish!) At READ MORE
Let’s go for a walk in the snow: Mark and I set out to ski (and hike) the Colorado Trail
Mark and I are setting out to do a ski traverse of the Colorado trail: a 486 mile trail that stretches from Durango to Denver. We will resupply every 3-5 days with the help of some friends who have graciously agreed to help us out. We are planning about 25 days total from start to finish. Although Mark and I have both done long distance treks before, the snowy element provides an extra challenge on this endeavor. We have spent this winter refining our winter camping skills and dialing in gear to use on this trip. We have been planning READ MORE
Sleeping in the Snow: Some More Experiences Learning to Winter Camp
Mark and I have spent a couple more nights in the snow as we continue to refine our winter camping system. While we won’t say winter camping is easy for us just yet, every time we go out it feels more manageable. Right now, the biggest challenge that we have been encountering is balancing comfort at camp and the weight in our packs. Winter camping requires a fair bit more gear than summer backpacking, but we are doing our best to keep pack weight to a minimum to make it easier to hike faster and spend more time in the READ MORE
Back to blogging!
After a longer break than I expected, I am restarting my blog. I have even put a little more attention into my site this time! If you followed my Continental Divide Trail blog, I hope you’ll enjoy what I have to offer here too! I also hope you continue to read along as I grow this website! A quick update on me: Right now I am working as a ski instructor and enjoy lots of time hiking and skiing in the snow. Besides AT touring, I was gifted a pair of skate skis to use for the season so I READ MORE
Raft guiding Browns Canyon
Last summer I worked as a raft guide on the Upper Arkansas river in Salida, Colorado. While I had been introduced to whitewater in college, I came into the job with very little experience rafting. I started working after two weeks of guide training, but the training never ended. Like many things, the more I learn, the more I realize I have to learn! I’m looking forward to the upcoming summer to continue developing and improving upon some of these skills. I had a great go as a first year guide, keeping busy at work and enjoying the company of READ MORE