Up there this morning backcountry skiing. Lots of suncups and dinner plates, key is to get perfect window for a given slope, when the sun has softened just enough to be good but not so much to create deep slush. A few fresh slabs have cut out, probably in the afternoons triggered by cornice falls. Coverage of Elks and Sawatch is still amazing. Capitol Peak got skied yesterday, for example.
Some of the larger suncups we skied over this morning, by exploring around you can find slopes that are smoother. Key is to get slope at just the right stage of sun softening. Quite a few skier cars parked, keep the faith!
Most years, by now we’ve had at least one high altitude snowstorm that smoothed out all this rough stuff. Hasn’t happened and is looking unlikely.
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.