A big thanks to Ortovox for making these post happen. Check out Ortovox's mountainwear for your next backcountry adventure.
John Denver sang it. We keep singing it. Central Colorado is off the hook and it’s “good to be back home again.” Aspen recently got a 100-year record storm that dropped about three feet in that many days. Marble area in the West Elk Mountains has quietly followed along. After a fun but tough traveling journalism trip in the European Alps, we’re enjoying the fluffy powdery quieteness of a real winter in our home place.
WildSnow Field HQ, snowpack here is around 6 feet (2 meters) deep, 7 or more feet on the mountain above. Our trailer hut is built for this kind of snow, as is our tool shed (the blocky structure to left), but the past few winters have left me wondering why I'd spend the extra time and money for stronger structures. This winter offers the explanation. February and March are usually our biggest snow months, so this is just the beginning.
We did ski, but this trip was more about doing some maintenance on the solar system and making sure we kept on top of the shoveling. Quite a bit of avalanche danger from recent storms, hopefully the storm slab will settle out and the entire snowpack will start doing some bonding once warmer February temperatures set in. Been cold lately so the process is delayed.
Thanks Joe Risi and Blake Gordon for help with the shoveling!
WildSnow.com publisher emeritus and founder Lou (Louis Dawson) has a 50+ years career in climbing, backcountry skiing and ski mountaineering. He was the first person in history to ski down all 54 Colorado 14,000-foot peaks, has authored numerous books about about backcountry skiing, and has skied from the summit of Denali in Alaska, North America’s highest mountain.
10 comments
Now that’s more like it !!
Wow, this looks wonderful.
Snow completely ignored my area this year…. It is nice to look at pictures when you dont have the real thing.
Regards from Croatia
Good to see more hut pics.
Any chance of getting a more detailed layout of the surrounding area and skiing access from the hut? Maybe I’m just dense, but I have a hard time getting an idea of where the skin tracks leave from the hut and where you ski back down.
Just look for the hovering black helicopters when you’re up there….
Multiple points of access off the quarry road, typically right next to a pullout. Look at the link to marble colorado skiing for some specifics.
Heading up Saturday night to shovel and shovel and shovel…
You are a smart man to have a small and totally functional deck.
Excuse me for sniveling about shoveling instead of celebrating, I stand self-corrected.
Have you ever considered adopting a 43 year old, bald , english son ?
There are many positives for all concerned.
I get to use your ski hut and you can enjoy my impersonations of Prince Charles – win / win !
Awesome….We could use some of that in sunny California!
Three feet in 3 days is a 100 year record?
I think the record was the amount that fell in one 48 hour period during the storm, or something like that. And remember this is Colorado, not Mount Baker. The large amounts were more west of our cabin, in the area closer to Aspen. For example, our spring skiing fav haunt Indy Pass is at something like 120% of average, which for up there means it could be really good skiing in June, depending on dust layers.
How come we got a thousand year minimum this winter? 🙂
The warmest winter ever, unfair ….
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