Louie starts in. The route begins with a rocky section off the summit, which dumps you onto this wide apron, which then funnels you into the couloir.
When the young college man shows up for spring break, the old guy has a tendency to come out of retirement. Into this past weekend it was pretty obvious our central Colorado 14ers were in excellent condition for early (not quite spring) ski descents. Avy danger was in the green zone, coverage was good — only concern being a warming trend. Indeed, knowing Jordan White and companions had recently nailed Mount of the Holy Cross and ever elusive Capitol Peak made me painfully aware our noble alps were caked and ready for the kiss of glisse.
Spring breaker enters the upper basin on north side of Castle Peak, Colorado.
The route. Summit is 14,265 feet, one of our higher fourteeners and a terrific ski peak.
Another shot of the start. Self discipline required to prevent publication of too many photos.
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| My favorite shot. In the couloir. Yeah, pretty similar to the photo up above. But that’s what happens when you’ve got a good skier in the lens — they tend to repeat the same moves. Please click image for massive enlargement. |
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These have become known as 'Davenport shots,' but I've got a few in my album that were taken when he was still a pup.
You need a lot of gear to do these things safely. We ended up not using our ice axes, rope or crampons, but we had it all. Our cord choice was interesting -- 29 meters of Blue Water Titan 5.5 mm Dynema, with a Yates screamer shock absorber on each end.
As I write this, a winter storm blows the last vestiges of spring away from our house and town. Spring will be winter by tomorrow — but what good is a spring break without some powder skiing to top it off?
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.
