I’ve heard of playing the race card and the enviro card as excuses for all sorts of things, but how about the avalanche card? They might be doing just that in Utah, where Alta ski area wants to build a new ski lift in an area that’s presently used by backcountry skiers. The proposed lift is said to be intended for avalanche control “snow safety teams.” Backcountry skiers might do well to play the enviro card and release some pet lynx in the area. Then sit back and see who wins in the ski touring wars.
It’s amazing how sometimes the wild swallows people up. Any mountain range in the world holds spooky tales of folks who went there, never to be seen again. One of Colorado’s stories is that of Michelle Vanek on Mount of the Holy Cross, and last winter I was wondering if two snowboarders near Wolf Creek would end up joining Vanek as forever lost. Thankfully their remains were found the other day, bringing what I’m sure is much needed closure for their loved ones.
Some of Europe’s glacier skiing is still happening despite global warming “shrinkage.” Check it out.
Back here in Colorado, the unusual opening for lift skiing on Aspen Mountain this past weekend was a big hit. We were trying to get up there but got sidetracked by the incredible snowpack on Independence Pass. Even so, just knowing people were skiing and snowboarding on Aspen Mountain brought a smile to my face.
Here at WildSnow HQ we’re making the transition to a few months of summer, before ramping up for skiing again in (hopefully) October. We’ve got some backpacking on tap, along with rock climbing, fourteener climbs, gear reviews and mods, automotive blogs, and plenty of website content creation to round out our vast selection of historical and how-to info. We’ll also be doing fieldwork for HutSki.com, as well as laying the foundation for more guidebook style websites.
And, we’re not done skiing yet!
With skiing in mind, no WildSnow News Roundup would be complete without comment about global warming. Not to make the mistake of taking weather for climate, I still can’t help but wonder if our cold wet winter represents a trend that shows a climate change. I don’t see any decisive conclusions out there, but how about some interesting reading? Looks to me like the issue is a lot more complex than the usual “it used to be cold, now it’s warmer, so the end is near” point of view we get bombarded with.
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.
