Tuesday, December 22, 2009

Powder Skis (or lack thereof)



Of recent, I've heard a lot of complaining about the absolute lack of snow that the Front Range mountains seem to be experiencing, and granted, that compared to the last two years at this time we are way behind on our expected snowfall, when I look back on my season so far I find it hard for me to complain too terribly much except for about the rotting snow layer at the bottom of the snowpack that seems to be causing slides on an almost unprecedented level. I got powder turns in November, did a hut trip last weekend where it snowed a foot and a half on us, have done about 50 percent backcountry days and already have 27 days on skis in for the season. And it's not even Christmas. So while the WROD at Loveland has definetly gotten a little old, I know that some good snow is going to be coming and it's most likely just around the corner. Let's hope that it doesn't come while I'm home for Christmas.
These shots are a wrap of last weekends trip to the Eiseman hut. While the first part of the skin in definetly highlighted the drastic need for snow, (we had to take our skis off for a portion!), the deeper into the hills we got the deeper the snow got! For those unaware, the Eiseman hut is part of the 10th Mountain Division Hut System and sits about 7 miles outside of the town of Vail. I'd jumped on this trip as a spot had opened up on what seemed to be an annual voyage to the hut, and if the opportunity comes up I'd more than love to jump on it again! Saturday was pretty much spent skiing into the hut (7 miles with a heavy pack is usually a full day thing) while Sunday and Monday were spent reaping the goods that Mother Nature had blessed us with while we were toiling to get to the hut. Sunday, according to a rough guesstimate, Vela, Dobish and I probably logged about 6000' of vertical in both the up and down through the tree shots right outside the hut. Couple all of this powder snow with delicious food and good friends (and a lack of bacon. :() and you've got a fantastic time! Here's some pictures!





















So I think I'm just going to let everyone else keep on complaining and I'm just going to keep on being patient. Because, if you know where to go, even 4 inches of snow becomes a powder day. And if that 4 inches becomes a foot and a half and you've got 20 friends in a backcountry cabin, well, your more than lucky enough.
Stereo- Blitzen Trappen

Oh and since my track record clearly shows that I probably won't post again before Christmas, Merry Christmas!