Many of the trails here are smooth and fast, so they’re more fun if you pedal hard and keep your momentum.

Great views of the nearby mesas. You could also see the snowcapped La Platas to the east.

Other areas of Phil’s World, however, featured the same sandstone rocky outcrops that we’re used to seeing in Fruita, Moab, and even parts of the front range.

This recent forest fire burn area marked the farthest point away from the trailhead, on the ledges trail. It was also the highest and greenest part of the big loop.

More Ledges Trail:

After the Ledges trail, you would normally go to the Stinking Springs trail if you were doing the big loop, but the trail goes through private property so it is closed right now. So we skipped that and found ourselves on the crown jewel of Phil’s World- Rib Cage. This trail is so fun- basically a roller coaster that makes your stomach drop repeatedly as it goes up and over several dirt ribs. If there is one reason to visit Phil’s World, this is it.

We finished up the ride on some easier trails- Hippy House and trust Loop, which were fun in their own right. I got a little artsy:

We had a good time at Phil’s World, but decided to check out Boggy Draw and the new McPhee Overlook trail the following day. Both areas were great, and I think we’ll be back, especially since it’s so easy to add on more choices in Durango, too. Check it out if you get the chance.

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Boggy Draw is easily the most technically easy riding I’ve ever been on. There are probably sections of trail where you can go a mile without seeing a single rock or root. But it was also really fun, flying through the Ponderosa forest.

After miles upon miles of easy riding, we found ourselves on the slightly harder Bean Canyon trail, which was a great descent before the McPhee Overlook trail.

Eventually, we found ourselves on the new McPhee Overlook trail, which follows the shoreline of McPhee Reservoir for most of its length. It’s predominantly a cross country trail, so if you’re looking for a huge downhill, this isn’t it. The scenery, though:

At times, the trail leaves the shore. This felt more like mountain biking in Kansas, I would suppose?

Eventually, the McPhee Overlook trail makes a few switchbacks and drops you right into the town of Dolores. And yes, they do have a brewery, which is a good thing since this ride ended up being close to 40 miles.

Here’s a map of our route for the day – over 40 miles of riding, and about 37 of it on singletrack!

We had a great weekend in Dolores, and found the riding at both Phil’s World and Boggy Draw to be well worth the trip. Several riders also mentioned Sand Canyon as another area to check out in this part of Colorado. Maybe next time..

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Red Mountain Pass is one of the hot spots of backcountry skiing in the San Juans, and Red Mountain 3 is one of the more traveled peaks in this area. So, one fine March day, Frank and I went to go check it out!

“Red 3” is one of several peaks that sit on the east side of Red Mountain Pass. With a meager elevation of just under 13,000 feet, this peak still stands with grandeur, just south of its sisters Red #2 and Red #1.

Navigation from the summit of Red Mountain Pass to the summit of Red Mountain 3 can be a little tricky as there are terrain trap areas that should be avoided. But once above treeline, the route becomes simpler. Frank bootpacking.

Me.

The final push to the summit held the most beautiful scenery. Frank surrounded by the majestic San Juans.

Lots of eye candy from the summit.

We then dropped in on the opposite side for some decent turns. Frank.

Me.

After our descent, we had to skin traverse back to our parking area, and we were joined by some people that we met while skiing that day.

All in all, it was a fun day. Though this is a Throwback report, conditions in the San Juans sound like they are off the hook right now. Their snowpack was not impacted by the fog and temperatures that caused the surface hoar layer that is wreaking havoc on the pack throughput the rest of the state. So, if you’re looking to get out and get after it, you may want to venture to the majestic San Juans!

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Local skier and Fort Lewis alum Andy Sovick released his second edition of his Silverton backcountry skiing book: Off-Piste Ski Atlas Silverton, CO. Like the Crested Butte version, this guidebook is a Cliff Notes version for backcountry skiing in the area. Each section contains the basics: the trailhead, elevations, aspects, an amazing aerial photo, and a brief description. The rest is up to you.

The San Juans are one of my favorite ranges for backcountry skiing anywhere. Lots of vertical, plentiful snowfall most seasons, and terrific access thanks to the miners of the late 1800’s. Silverton lies in the heart of the range, and if you haven’t been, you should go. Most of the Silverton backcountry that we’ve done has been centered on the alpine peaks away from the highway 550 corridor. The Silverton Off-Piste Ski Atlas, however, concentrates on the popular routes with easy highway access, though there are a couple of new ones off of county road 2. Many of these routes are suitable for mid winter powder skiing, rather than limited to springtime descents.

I like the style of this book. The routes in this book are for somewhat experienced backcountry skiers- and for those users the basic information that the book provides should be enough. Like the Crested Butte book, the Silverton Off Piste Ski Atlas also codifies the run names- an important consideration in the event of an accident and a call to Search and Rescue.

The book is small and lightweight and is meant to go with you in your pack. Like the Crested Butte version, the second edition is made of weather resistant paper, so you should be able to leave it in your pack without it getting ruined from the elements. One of my complaints in the last version was that the action photos didn’t always match the route. In the updated version, that isn’t a problem anymore. Way to fix those issues, Andy!

The first edition was published in 2014, but the 2016 version adds a few new routes, as well as pertinent avalanche information – like what avalanche rating is acceptable to ski each route and and important hazards to be aware of. So if you have the old one, it might be worth upgrading.

The Off-Piste Ski Atlas can be found in our store:

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Word on the street was that the Sherman climb outside Lake City might be climbable, not to mention it was free of snow so we wouldn’t have to stress out about avalanches either. So Ethan Passant and I headed down there early in the morning and sure enough, Sherman was “in but thin”. From what we could see, most other ice routes in the area were just starting to form, so we may have had the only game in town. Ethan approaching the route:

Three moose were guarding the willows below the climb, so we gave them a wide berth and they ran off into the forest- thankfully. We’d see them again later… We made short work of the first two pitches:

The third pitch was pretty thin, and definitely steep, and definitely wet. I sure wasn’t going to lead it (I can barely lead anything), and Ethan didn’t want to have anything to do with it either, at least not today. So we rapped back down to the start of the second pitch and climbed a couple of steep ramps in the forest to get above the third pitch. This route was clogged with downed trees and wouldn’t be any fun at all with snow on it, so I wouldn’t plan on this option being viable most of the time.

The next pitches were a ton of fun- and I hadn’t been this high on Sherman before. There was plenty of low angle ice and short solo pitches, too. Fourth:

Fifth:

The fresh ice was really interesting, so I took a break and took a photo:

Looking across the valley at the 14er Sunshine Peak:

We were able to walk around the fourth pitch, rather than rapping it, which gave us a nice view of the upper route:

We finished the last rappel in the dark, and those moose were right back in the willows. Ethan’s light lit up their eyes, but this time they stayed where they were. We were both waiting for an angry moose to decide it was time to stomp on us, which was probably the scariest part of the day. We got some food at the Packer Saloon, which may be the only restaurant open in Lake City this winter. Even the gas station is closed, except for pay at the pump. So if you visit Lake City, don’t forget to spread a little money around…

A few days later, we climbed more ice, just a half hour away from Crested Butte. I was at work, so I don’t think we even started until 3pm. I wish this ice stayed this accessible all winter, even if it isn’t the greatest ice in the world.

There were no moose to bother us after this climb. With all the recent snow and cold temperatures, the ice climbing choices are undoubtedly more diverse. The best thing about Colorado ice climbing is that it’s good especially when the skiing isn’t…

Backcountry.com has all the products you need to start climbing:

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My friend Will lives in the area and was happy to show me around for a couple of days. His friend Don also joined us, as we made our way towards Tomahawk Basin.

We were lucky enough to have a decent freeze, so we decided to do a warm-up run on the eastern facing part of the basin. From the ridge, we looked out towards southern Utah- there are no more mountains from here.

Better yet, this vantage point gave us a great view of a dogleg couloir on Babcock Peak that looked like fun:

We found great corn on our first run:

Next up, we headed towards the aesthetic couloir we had just been looking at. Will took the lead:

The snow was decent, although it was probably great springtime powder just a couple of days earlier. It still skied plenty soft for Will:

Don:

There was a fun little side exit at the bottom of the couloir, too. Will:

Day 2, More Skiing in the La Plata Range

The next day, it was just Will and I, and we headed to the basin just South of the one we were in the day before. Once again, we were greeted with a basin full of skiing opportunities. It doesn’t look like it, but the couloir just right of center was actually much longer than it looked from here.

Will, once again in the lead. The guy is strong:

The funny thing was that when we topped out on this couloir, we were at the top of the exact same line that we skied the day before, just from the opposite side. Deja Vu. There was a strong breeze that kept things cold so we hung out for a while. the true summit of Babcock requires some loose class 4 scrambling, but we were content to wait for the snow. Will:

The basin held some of the best corn I’ve skied this year. It felt so nice to just go fast, whichh is exactly what good corn allows you to do. Will again:

Overall, I’d have to say I was pretty impressed with my first foray into the La Plata range. Besides, Durango is a great town (or is it a little city?) It feels like one to me. If nothing else, I’m itching to get back to Zia Taqueria, that was one of the best burritos I can remember. There is probably some eye candy that will bring me back as well:

Hopefully EMS survives their restructuring. If not, there might be some good deals:

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Like the route the day before, we had great views of Telluride and the box canyon that it sits in:

The route passes by mining ruins before reaching the summit of Ajax. Clouds were starting to develop, so we didn’t have great visibility but conditions were pretty prime corn skiing. Brittany:

The Dream Stream is a pretty spectacular spot to make some turns, the views don’t get more spectacular. Frank:

Eventually you hit the actual slide path and begin making your way down as far as you care to. The route ends in a cliff, so we turned around and reascended Ajax.

Back on the other side of Ajax, we found similarly good corn skiing, though it was a bit past its prime at the bottom. Brittany:

A slight detour at the bottom of our route led us to Bridal Veil falls and the power station.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again- miners were way crazier and tougher than any of us. So cool to make turns while feeling the spray of the falls:

Another great line in the San Juans- thanks to our new friends for showing us around!

Great deal from The Feed:

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