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.

Highland Bowl and Hunter Thompson (01-06-2005)

Bookmark and Share            By Lou

Wow, it’s dumping snow here in Carbondale, Colorado (one of the top 10 adventure towns of the U.S., according to some)! Took a walk last night and enjoyed the drifting snow flakes mixing with Christmas lights on Main Street. More importantly, when the weather hits here, it usually means that the Aspen area is getting hammered.

Speaking of the ol’ star studded mining town. Ski writer Jay Cowan is an old high school friend of mine. I always enjoy finding another one of his gems on the web. This time, in Ski Magazine he talks about Aspen Highlands ski resort and the front-country backcountry of Highland Bowl (where I had a little encounter with God some time ago.) Jay’s take is an excellent mix of insider knowledge and long-view opinion. I’m amused at how hiking a few hundred vertical feet to a steep bump run has achieved the status of high adventure. But not to get cynical — Highland Bowl really is a fun place, and yields some excellent avalanche-safe powder skiing after storms. That’s something the parent of a teen age powder hound appreciates..

My only beef with Jay is that he continues to work Hunter Thompson (who lives near Aspen) into his articles. Word is that Hunter appears to have some some real mental problems. When John Kerry visited Aspen during the campaign, one of the first things he did was climb into a car with Thompson. That little stunt made me ill. I felt sorry for Kerry. One can only wonder if Kerry tried to actually carry on a conversation with Hunter (who mumbles like some guy with an oatmeal necktie). Perhaps they spoke about the massive numbers of Hunter Thompson fans who would storm the polls after they knew Hunter would ride around in a car with Kerry? Democratic campaign mistake number 4,965?

In the amusement department, I have to call attention to the recent Consumer Electronics show where Bill Gates was showing off some Windows computing stuff, and it crashes! What bozos! (And rich bozos, at that…)Because of my eclectic work I’ve always been stuck with Windows. XP and 2000 can run pretty much crash-free, but they still frustrate when things go bad. And when that happens, there is nothing worse than knowing some guy is reaping money from the junk you can’t get working. On the other hand, if it wasn’t for the de-facto standardization of Windows and related software, we would not have the amazing variety of computing tools now available. So I also see the value in the Gates’ virtual monopoly. But I can still enjoy a warm glow as he deals with a Windows crash in front of several thousand people. I just wish I could see the company memos.

Posted by Lou on January 6, 2005 | Filed Under Backcountry Skiing, Mountain Culture, avalanches 

previous post: Backcountry Sking Stats and Numbers
next post: Avalanche Accidents

Comments

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.