Thanks AMGA/Arc'teryx

A huge thanks goes to the AMGA and Arc'teryx for selecting me as the 2010 scholarship recipient. I received full course tuition for the Ski Guides Course, which I just completed in Salt Lake City, UT!

Ski Tours

This past week 2 other CMS Guides and I were fortunate enough to go on a 4-day hut tour in the Aspen area. On day one, we skinned from the Ashcroft trailhead to the Lindley Hut, situated at 10,480ft. The skin was relatively straightforward, on a forest service road. Lindley is one of the more popular huts in the Braun System and rightly so. It was fully renovated in 2002 and now accomodates 18. We arrived early and went on a quick tour to break trail for the following day.

On day 2, we skied from Lindley and over Pearl Pass that separates Aspen from Crested Butte at just over 12,000ft. Our descent took us down a 1500ft South Face and straight to the door of the Friends Hut at 11,370ft. That day, making it hut to hut in 4 hours we were able to go on a "satellite tour" and skied a 1,000ft west facing shot on on sub-ridge of Star Peak.

Day 3 was a relaxing morning sipping espresso in our backcountry "condo." This day was spent touring around the cirque. With some others who had been there before, we skied a powder stash on some North Facing aspects just south of the hut. Temperatures warmed into the 40's and foolishly none of us brought/drank enough water for our tour and were left dehydrated.

The final day was a pre-dawn start so we could ski out the 11 miles before the afternoon sun warmed some hazardous slopes. From my lack of water intake the previous day, I found it hard to recover during the grueling final day. Our exit involved skiing the Southeast Col of star peak, descending into the Taylor drainage, then over another pass on the Taylor Ridge and a long descent back to the car. Despite the long distance, we covered ground quickly and arrived back at the car around 11am, and were eating pizza in Carbondale by 1230pm!

Over the course of the 4 days we logged around 15,000 vertical feet and skied over 20 miles. This was a fantastic weekend spent with great company.

A New Decade

Skiing, skiing, skiing..............So far in this new decade, I have been on skis more often than not. The snow hasn't been falling but that has not deterred me from skiing as much as I can. Trying to find good snow that has fallen is more difficult than it sounds these days. Rocky Mountain National Park has been windy as usual and not much more than a few inches has come from the sky over the past 2 weeks. I have now been directing my attention more to the Summit County zone as there seems to be more snow there and new terrain (for me). Most of my focus has been in preparation for an upcoming AMGA Ski Guides Course in March that will take place in Salt Lake City. Some other guides and I have been out practicing the beacon drill and sled rescue components of the course and exam so hopefully when the time comes, it will be a review.

Aside from skiing, I have been taking my usual abuse from the Alpine Training Center here in Boulder. Full time training, a few days of skiing, guiding, and some ice climbing thrown in, I'm feeling strong for the upcoming course and spring trips I have planned.