April...Happy Birthday to Me!

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The video from April turned out really well...perhaps even my favorite so far (see below).

As mentioned in the video, I have some big plans for May and June, and they are not in Colorado.  So, I thought now would be as good a time as any to do a photo tribute to my season in Colorado.  Most of my focus this season has been on video, but we were still able to catch a few good pics here and there.

Thank you, from the bottom of my heart, for all of the people that made this season so memorable.  Skiing (at least for me) is about so much more than just sliding on snow.  The friendships forged and strengthened are invaluable.  I'm already looking forward to getting out with y'all next winter!

There were lots, and lots, and lots of turns like this.

Photo by Patrick Orton (www.patrickortonphotography.com)

A little later on the same air.

Photo by Patrick Orton (www.patrickortonphotography.com)

Photo by Patrick Orton (www.patrickortonphotography.com)

Photo by Patrick Orton (www.patrickortonphotography.com)

P gets more snow in his face than he bargained for...

Photo by Patrick Orton (www.patrickortonphotography.com)


Then runs down the mountain to tell everyone how good it was!

Photo by Patrick Orton (www.patrickortonphotography.com)

We were flipping off of natural features in December...pretty darn fun.

We hit larger cliffs early in the season that we had to wait all season for last year.

Photo by Patrick Orton (www.patrickortonphotography.com)

Maroney about to get some snow on his face

Photo by Patrick Orton (www.patrickortonphotography.com)

Traverse of the Gore Range:  Getting ready to descend.

Traverse of the Gore Range:  Palmer and I rockin the EHP's

Traverse of the Gore Range:  Bibeau films and skis like a champ.

Traverse of the Gore Range:  Doug is happy to be out of the office.

Artsy in EV

Epic pee shot.

CUFST atop Silverton.

Beautiful morning at 12,000 feet.

Artsy in EV again.

Approach to the Never Ending Couloir.

Eisman Hut:  Sunrise tour

Eisman Hut:  Cory's shenanigans

Green Wilson Hut:  Night shoot

Green Wilson Hut:  Night shoot 2

Green Wilson Hut:  Night shoot 3

Green Wilson Hut:  Night shoot 4

Green Wilson Hut:  More of Cory's shenannigans

Green Wilson Hut:  My lovely wife Kelly

Green Wilson Hut:  My lovely wife Kelly

Green Wilson Hut:  My lovely wife Kelly

Green Wilson Hut:  My lovely wife Kelly

Green Wilson Hut:  My lovely wife Kelly

New Years celebration in the alpine!


A nice little cliff.


And another nice little cliff.

Photo by Patrick Orton (www.patrickortonphotography.com)

Tim goes under.


I got some snow on my face.


Another backflip.


And another backflip.


Happy...

April Preview

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Here is a little preview of what has been happening so far in April.  More will come later...

Berthoud, Bad Snow, Backflips

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Title says it all.

March - Lamb to Lion

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In like a lamb, out like a lion...that sounds about right.

At the beginning of March my skiing crew and I were able to reap the rewards of late-February's powder in Colorado.  Once we had burned through most of it, the "lamb-ish" weather  at the beginning of the month changed things significantly.  High temps and scant snowfall nixed most of our cliff dropping and powder skiing.  Instead, I used this time to ski higher alpine lines with good friends in more of a ski mountaineering style.  We didn't climb/ski anything extremely technical, but the weather and snow conditions allowed us to make descents that would otherwise be too risky or too difficult to reach.

At the end of the month, March's "lion" showed.  Just as I had eased into a ski mountaineering mode the weather shifted and several storms and cold temps hit the state.  Right back into powder and cliff jumping mode!  Even though it came in late-March, the snow from these storms was some of the best of the season.

Have a look-see for yourself.

Here are some pics:

First drop of the month on the morning of March 1st!  I went pretty big and ended up landing well below and to the left the v-shaped tracks you can see below.

Biggest cliff of the month.  On this one I landed right by horizontal the ski track that you can see below.

Getting stuff put together.

After ~6 miles of climbing this was the first view of our goal - the "Deming Drop."

Pushing into the entrance of the Deming Drop is around a 50 degree pitch.  Very fun!

Once in between the rocks on the Deming Drop the snow was fantastic.  Lots of slough was moving which added to the thrill of the descent.

Getting artsy and creative.  This pillow wasn't supportive at all and I ended up punching the log with my skis.  It will make good blooper reel material for later.

One of the best cliffs of the year.  Not all that big (~25'-30') but the turns into it were insanely deep and the slough-water-fall coming down on skiers right provided a beautiful aesthetic.  The landing felt like being caught by angels.

A little break for lunch about 3.5 miles in.


Approaching.


Bibeau gains the ridge.


Just about there.


Doug.


Bibeau.


Gore.


Summit.


Scoping from a summit.


Relaxing on a summit.


Future lines?


Looking back.

March Preview

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March has been a mixed bag of ski conditions so far, but I've spent great days with great people.  Here is a little preview of what is to come from the month.

February...More Like Funbruary

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February brought with it a wealth of variety in the mountains of Colorado.  We had cold storms, warmer storms, windy storms, calm storms, a quite a bit of high pressure as well.  The skiing conditions changed quite a bit from day-to-day, but the good news was that there was always something to do and good company to share the experience with.  Lots of deep snow was skied, lots of cliffs were dropped, and quite a few alpine lines were shredded to boot!

The video and pics say it better than I can, so I'll just stop now...

Video:



Pics:

























For those of you paying attention, yes, I was skiing for the entire month with a broken thumb.  Fortunately, it is slowly getting better.  I'm not going to let a little thing like that slow me down!