The coolest thing about the trip was being able to ski with Rick Borkovic, a prime figure in the revival of using the telemark turn for backcountry skiing. In the 1960s and 1970s Rick was a ski patrolman and guide in Crested Butte, Colorado. With his nordic as well as alpine skiing expertise, in 1971 Rick (along with a few other Crested Butte locals) began experimenting with using nordic ski gear to make turns on steep alpine terrain. Rick’s group, along with concurrent nordic downhill experimentation in the Northeastern U.S. and in California, led to the modern free-heel skiing industry.
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Last of the Ski Bums is the highlight of all this. What a movie! Made in 1967 for only $12,000 and distributed as a feature film, this flick was to my generation what Blizzard of Ahhhs was to the current “freeride” crowd.
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Giving Thanks for Rock Climbing and other Backcountry Gifts
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Click image for details. We’ve had an amazing influx of Latinos here in Carbondale, Colorado over the past decade. In fact, our town is now about half Latino. As a result we’ve got quite a variety of excellent Mexican food…
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Spent the weekend down around Lake City, Colorado. Mr. Guidebook Writer got in some trail research. This is the intersection of the new CFI (Colorado Fourteeners Initiative) Wetterhorn trail with the main Matterhorn Basin trail. I’m logging the GPS data for an update of my
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So many backcountry skiing blog items, so little time to write up the news about ski touring.
