Had a nice weekend of skiing. Saturday we accessed the backcountry skiing goods at a private cabin near here (Carbondale), then Easter Sunday went for a bluebird day on Aspen Mountain ski area — the last day of lifts up there, always a fun vibe to be part of. But the views from Aspen Mountain thrust your spirit into the heart of the Elk Mountains, and wow it looks good out there! I’d say we’ve got a few weeks of perfect spring backcountry coming up here in central Colorado, but a dirt layer lurks in the snowpack. When the brown shows its ugly mug to the sun all bets are off, as the pack will melt like crazy. Till then, we’ll be there… After that, perhaps someplace like Mount Shasta would be the ticket?
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| Boone gets his April powder fix. The snow was dense but nicely skiable, you’d just bounce through it like hopping on a trampoline. Fun. |
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| Git sum Louie! Note: Dynafit FR10 skis. (Click photo to enlarge.) |
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| Our friend has a snowcat he uses for backcountry skiing cabin access. A former trash hauler for Snowmass Ski Resort, the feline now gets to live in the wild. Sometimes it sleeps and has to be revived with tender care. |
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| TLC for Holly carb on the big block. We earn our turns out here, but welcome mechanized access for the snow covered road. |
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.
