One of my friends had been handed an entry, and talking to him about the race, Vapor Trail 125 sounded like good fun. I was coming off a strong ride on the Colorado Trail Race, and two weeks after my winning finish, my legs were feeling surprisingly spry. The registration had been full for month’s, but the word on the street was that people were “dropping like flies.” Indeed only 98 of the 125 registered participants started. Only 58 of those finished. After learning that there were still a few entries available, I emailed the race director and asked nicely READ MORE
Tag: sawatch range
Colorado Trail Race 2024
Time: 5 days 12 hours 21 minutes Total miles ridden: 544.24 Elevation gain: 74,533 ft (22,717 meters) First woman to cross the finish Line! 10th(ish) overall (there were a couple of DQ’s in the men’s field, but I’m counting them as finishers) I went into the race with the hopeful goal of winning the women’s field. Being on the other end, having accomplished that goal, nevertheless feels a bit surreal. Reading about the race and the finishers has been a favorite hobby of mine since I learned of the event, and it seems odd to finally be writing about my READ MORE
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
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
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