Black Diamond for everything climbing and skiing.    Dynafit -- Speed Up!    Tracker beacons, Stash packs, shovels, more more more.    Terrific deals on randonnee AT rando backcountry skiing gear.    K2 has the skis that stay true to earning your turns.    Garmont boots -- excellent choice for backcountry skiing.

Huntsman Ridge has the Goods – Colorado TR

Bookmark and Share            By Dave

This last weekend we saw the avalanche danger decrease a little bit in our neck of the woods. That meant one thing, everyone had big plans for the weekend. After hearing a lot of talk of Marble (and having seen a few mega-group pictures since) we decided on a path slightly less taken. Lynn Sanson offers us his short take on the day…

By Lynn Sanson
Saturday dawned clear and cold in the vicinity of the WildSnow HQ, so while our mentor was still going Euro and slamming pastries, Dave, Tobin and I decided on a tour along Huntsman Ridge. Huntsman is the long ridge that extends seemingly forever northward from the top of McClure Pass.

The ridge is characterized by primarily low angle aspen glades to the south and west, which can be fun, but our destination was the more engaging terrain off the east side of the ridge.

Pleasant skinning lead up to the ridge proper giving up fabulous views of Mt. Sopris, the Marble backcountry and the always impressive Chair Mountain. While there are a variety of shots to choose from, we headed for some moderately angled glade skiing known as Riley 1. These glades have a nice northeast aspect that we anticipated would hold some nice powder. A short clip of what we found…

All in all it was a great day out touring with my son Tobin and neighbor Dave.

Posted by Dave on January 15, 2009 | Filed Under Backcountry Skiing, Lynn Sanson 

previous post: Ortovox S1 – Avalanche Beacon Review
next post: Aspen — Everest Skiing Movie will Benefit Injured Couple

Comments

14 Responses to “Huntsman Ridge has the Goods – Colorado TR”

  1. ScottN January 15th, 2009 3:50 pm

    Hey Lynn – off topic but…. Noticed you are signed up for the 24 Hrs Sunlight. I haven’t registered yet as I was hoping to find a room in the condos to share on Saturday night (mainly for my wife and maybe one other, who would be providing support for me the whole time). Condos are booked, so thats why I’m looking for a room. I live locally and know Lou a little and did the event last year. Email is nelson67@comcast.net. If interested let me know. Sorry for taking up space on your blog Lou for a personal request.

  2. dave downing January 15th, 2009 5:30 pm

    I just want to say that I think Tobin an AWESOME job editing what was a very limited amount of video footage. I’d love to see a full movie intro from him some day…and think that’s entirely possible.

  3. Lynn January 15th, 2009 6:11 pm

    Dave, here is a link to some work Tobin has done for Jaywalker Lodge, scroll down to the Expedition Recap, click and play.

    http://jaywalkerlodge.com/

    The kid has skills!

  4. GeorgeT January 16th, 2009 6:12 am

    Quiver Question: I am considering the Dynafit Seven Summits in 178 or K2 Superlights in 174 for peaks and huts. Which would you recommend for Colorado (Aspen to Marble)? My current setup is 175 Salomon Pocket Rockets, Freerides and Scarpa Matrix boots, which work great but are a little heavy. I have Dynafit TLT Speed bindings waiting for the skis and want something matched to my Scarpa Matrix boot. I am 6′, 170 lbs and a smooth skier rather than cliff hucker.

  5. Mike Traslin January 16th, 2009 8:58 am

    Seven Summits!

  6. Lou January 16th, 2009 10:04 am

    Dang George, that’s like choosing between two brands of quality hefe-weitzen! I’d just get the one that you can get the best deal on. It’ll be a great setup.

  7. dave January 16th, 2009 10:15 am

    Since when are “smooth skiers” and “cliff huckers” separate styles? I’ve seen plenty of smooth huckers and non-huckers who weren’t smooth :)

  8. chris kruthaupt January 16th, 2009 11:54 am

    I’ve got an older pair of tlt classics – pink, purple and green variety. The climbing post on the top plate of heel piece finally broke. Wanted to replace it with a similar 3 screw top plate from the same era binding. Purchased a newer plate, but worried that it won’t fit as the newer models have 4 holes and seem a little larger. Wanted to see if anyone had an old pair that has been scrapped and would be willing to part with the top plate of heel. If so let me know and I’ll forward contact info and some $ or beer. Chris

  9. Patrick January 16th, 2009 3:35 pm

    Sweet fluff!

  10. GeorgeT January 16th, 2009 4:13 pm

    Lou: I appreciate the weissbier comparo. How about a picture of a Kristallweizen which of course is lighter and an Austrian specialty. More bier pics which are worth a thousand words and mouth full of saliva.
    Dave: Sorry your striped pants distract most of us from seeing smooth instead of power. Perhaps my style is more smooth finessed meadow skipping compared to your smooth huck power. So your recommendation– 7 Summits or K2 Superlights?
    Mike: Thanks for the input.
    Best, George

  11. dave January 16th, 2009 4:59 pm

    @George — Can’t we all be smooth? :) I’m going to let Lou make the call between the 7Summits and Superlights as I haven’t skied either.

  12. Lou January 17th, 2009 1:28 am

    In this case, I’d say a demo might be called for….

  13. GeorgeT January 17th, 2009 7:45 am

    Lou: Thanks 7 Summits purchased, based upon weight, versatility, solid construction and price. Stores are starting to dump inventory early this year.
    Thanks, George
    PS Maybe I can find some striped pants like Dave’s on sale. Ya think? (grin).

  14. GeorgeT January 17th, 2009 8:23 pm

    7 Summits @178 cm = 6.39 lbs or 2,898.45 grams according to scale at Ute City Cycles, Carbondale, CO. So nearly identical to Manaslu in weight at same length.

Got something to say?





Anti-Spam Quiz:

:alien: :angel: :angry: :blink: :blush: :cheerful: :cool: :cwy: :devil: :dizzy: :ermm: :face: :getlost: :biggrin: :happy: :heart: :kissing: :lol: :ninja: :pinch: :pouty: :sad: :shocked: :sick: :sideways: :silly: :sleeping: :smile: :tongue: :unsure: :w00t: :wassat: :whistle: :wink: :wub:

Due to comment spam we moderate most comments. Please do not submit your comment twice -- it will appear shortly after we approve it. Once you've had one comment published, your comments will be pre-approved and appear immediately if you're using the same computer and not blocking browser cookies. NOTE however that ALL comments with one or more links in the text will be held for moderation no matter what, again for spam prevention.
Welcome to Louis (Lou) Dawson's backcountry skiing information and opinion website. Lou's passion for the past forty years has been alpinism, climbing, mountaineering and skiing -- along with all manner of outdoor recreation. He has authored numerous books and articles about backcountry skiing and is well known as the first person to ski down all 54 of Colorado's 14,000-foot peaks, otherwise known as the Fourteeners! Books and free back country information here, and tons of Randonnee rando telemark info.

All material on this website is copyrighted. Permission required for reproduction, electronic or otherwise. That includes publication and display on other websites by whatever means. PLEASE SEE OUR COPYRIGHT INFORMATION.

Backcountry skiing is a dangerous sport. You may be killed or severely injured if you do any form of randone, randonnee and randonnée skiing. The information on this website is intended only as general information. While the authors and editors of the information on this website make every effort to present useful information, due to human error the information, text and images contained within this website may be inaccurate, false, or out-of-date. By using, reading or viewing the information provided on this website, you agree to absolve the owners of Wild Snow as well as content contributors of any liability for injuries or losses incurred while using such information. Furthermore, you agree to use any of this website's information, maps, photos, or binding mounting instructions or templates at your own risk, and waive Wild Snow its owners and contributors of any liability for use of said items for backcountry skiing or any other use.