Alpine start for our annual Mt. Sopris attack.
Waking up at 3:00 am is rarely easy. But the groaning rollover ends when you notice the temp is below freezing and large Mt. Sopris is gleaming white in the moonlight right outside your bedroom window. Get out there and it might be one of those perfect spring days. I’ve enjoyed fabulous ones. This weekend added another. The lack of dust on our local peaks is making backcountry skiing on the western slope of the Colorado Rockies the best in years. With our thin snowpack, it won’t last long. This weekend we climbed Mt. Sopris and everything — weather, views, snowpack, friends — made it one of those memorial spring days of WildSnow backcountry skiing.
Local skimo champ, Pete Gaston with his friend Jordan cruising up the saddle below the peak. ‘Cruising’ has another definition for these guys.
Bill Shepherd celebrating his 70th birthday WildSnow style.
Recap of WildSnow.com posts from week of April 6 thru April 10:
Quarry Saw — UpSki Carbon Fiber Snow Saw
Cycles of the Storm Days — Glacier Camp Alaska
Glacier Bay — Skiing The Weather Window
2 ‘Accident’ Book Reviews — And 10 Essentials
Atomic Backland Ski Touring Boots — Review
The day inspired Lou to work on his online Colorado ski touring guidebook, Sopris Chapter. Not sure if or when he’ll ever get that thing done, but slow progress is being made.
4 comments
That looks fantastic. The Thomas Lakes trail is great regardless of whether you get to the summit (my primary mode of transport is running), but I do look forward to getting to the top some day, probably in the summer. Well done.
Glad you are enjoying the lack of dust. I was skiing in Nth French alps last week and they seemed clear of dust too. Got back to London on Friday and air quality warnings were in place due to continental pollution and Sahara dust that have been transported and mixed with the UK’s own pollution. Have skied on orange snow in the alps from Saharan sand before – Amazing how far that dust will travel.
Dust doesn’t work in the spam question… ;o)
That’s what it’s all about!
Plenty of dust in the Tetons this year… seems to be much more abundant here in recent years.
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