While Coloradans complained incessantly about our non-winter, Frank and I decided to grasp what we DID have. Instead of starting to ride our bikes in March along with everyone else, we kept on doing what we do best, and we skied. And as it turns out, the skiing was just getting good. No joke. We had some of the best spring skiing we’ve ever encountered in April and May.

That being said, I was able to pull off 120 days of skiing this season – which is a record for me. In a year that will be deemed forever as having a non-winter, I still had a pretty darned good ski season. So, I put together a little slideshow video to highlight the season’s goods.

120 Days from 14erskiers on Vimeo.

My season won’t stop at 120 days. As I write this, I recently skied Mt Shasta, CA and I am gearing up for my next skiing adventures in Oregon and Washington.

Here’s to the season that was only as bad as your attitude- and a reminder to appreciate the season’s that ARE good

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Strangely, we haven’t been to this summit before, even though it isn’t far from Crested Butte’s version of the sheep pen- the Anthracites. In fact, although these lines frequently get favorable comments from ski tourers when seen from the top of the Anthracites, I can’t remember ever seeing tracks there or hearing of parties making it out there (which isn’t to say it hasn’t been skied, but is rather a comment on Ohio Peak’s relative unpopularity). We skipped the snowmobiles, since Kebler Pass is currently plowed to the “Y”, intending to make our way up the established Anthracites skin track, and follow the NE ridge from there. Luck was on our side this morning, however, and we were able to catch a snowmobile ride far above Floresta thanks to a cabin caretaker.

Ohio Peak actually has two summits. This one is marked on topo maps as Ohio Peak, at 12,271′, and the couloir that drops from the summit caught our eye:

Meanwhile, the North face of the higher, but unmarked, 12,290′ summit was really calling my name:

Needless to say, we stayed well away from the cornices on the ridge:

We reached the top of the line and enjoyed the sights from our new vantage point. This line looks amazing, but access would make it a difficult day mission…

The Castles never get old:

I dropped in first:

Brittany followed- still finding plenty of powder:

We had originally considered skiing this couloir, with the distinctive “Moose’s Tooth” feature at its top, but it is pretty short:

The face off the higher unnamed summit was still calling my name, and since we had such great conditions on our first run, we headed up the aesthetic North ridge for a second run.

We had a great view of our tracks from the ridge:

Once again, we stayed tight to the ridge:

I would really like to ski the pyramid peak in the center of this photo, though I’m not sure how to do it without an overnight:

Once again, I got first tracks down this beautiful and interesting face:

Brittany makes her way down the face:

Video from both runs. My second run was nearly a disaster thanks to a zipper faux pas… I got really lucky…

A quick traverse and skin brought up to the top of the Anthracites’ Northwest Bowl…

One last look at our tracks on the face:

This line in Northwest bowl is another one I’ve looked at for a long time, but hadn’t yet skied (Brittany):

First non-powder turns of the day:

A day well-spent:

View of the two Ohio Peaks from Irwin the following day:

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And of course, you can wear flip flops after shredding pow in April…

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First, pick up a pair of these skis. AT $199, plus a free ski bag, plus free shipping, plus no tax in most states, how can you not?

Then, basking in the glow of your purchase, check out “The Ordianary Skier”. I really enjoyed watching Seth Morrison getting his ski mountaineer on in Chamonix. Great Flick- free right now on hulu. Enjoy:

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The parking lot was busy, filled with like-minded mountain bikers, trail runners, and dirtbikers. If someone told me it was October, it wouldn’t be hard to believe. Conditions were incredible- every trail is rideable and the short sections of snow have been ridden enough that they’re barely noticeable. If this winter stays like this, I’ll be back. Here’s a short video, with a few photos mixed in as well:

Biking was fun and everything, but I’ll still be thinking snow:

The post Making the Best of No Snow: Hartman’s Rocks 1.5.12 appeared first on 14erskiers.com.

So, when the weather window looked like it was going to open, I called Jordan White– our faithful Aspen-valley friend. He provided me with the necessary beta regarding the Maroon Lake road as well as his opinion on the local snowpack. We rounded up a crew- Matt Kamper, Caleb Wray, and Frank – an excellent mix of strong climbers and strong skiers. And my thoughts were consumed for days about skiing this peak. Am I ready? Because of repeated storm systems, I’ve had so few ski mountaineering days this year…. I can count the times I’ve boot packed this season on one hand and my crampons have been used exactly twice.

On Tuesday, we decided Thursday would be the day. And of course, my mind would not stop racing. I woke up at 3 am on Tuesday night in a cold sweat and was unable to sleep the rest of the night, much to my disappointment. I knew I needed the sleep- I did not want to repeat my first Pyramid attempt where I was forced to turn around because I was falling asleep while climbing. That’s why I nearly cried when Frank and I packed up the car at 6 pm on Wednesday, knowing it would take over four hours to get to Aspen and we had a 1:00 wake up time. Do the math for that one and you’ll find that there are less than 3 hours of time built in for “sleep”. But, who can really sleep the night before a line like this. “I don’t know if I can do this on three hours of sleep in two nights,” I said to Frank. “But, you have to.” “Okay.” I knew he was right.

Of course, everything took longer than it should have and we didn’t even make it to Aspen. We pulled over somewhere on the road west of Carbondale and “slept” for a couple of hours there before waking up at a time that most people call night, but we were calling it morning. We met up with Jordan, Caleb, and Matt at Aspen Highlands and made our way to the trailhead.

Snowmobiling on a road in the dark is one thing. But, snowmobiling for a mile and a half on pavement with plowed banks beside you is not only frustrating, but silly. Overheating was an issue and we were thankful when we reached unplowed road.

We left our snowmobiles a little bit before 4 am at Maroon Lake and made our way toward the couloir that led to the northern amphitheater on Pyramid. The skies were clear and it was cold. “You’re moving fast,” Jordan commented. “Well yeah, we gotta DO this thing!” I knew today was going to be the day. Three hours of sleep for the last two nights didn’t matter anymore. I’d found some strength deep inside that I didn’t know I had, and it was carrying me through this. It was my dream to ski this and I was living it. I was dreaming and living at the same time.

First light hit on our way up the couloir, as we were transitioning from skinning to boot packing.

Booting was frustrating up the northern couloir. The snow pack had not yet transitioned to spring. It was still winter there. The first sunlight that pierced the north face of Pyramid was alarming.

Photo courtesy of Jordan White

And we cruised through the amphitheater. We found better snow on the northwest face and made good time gaining the northeast ridge.

Photo courtesy of Jordan White

Frank and I reaching the saddle of the north east ridge.

Photo courtesy of Jordan White

The saddle offers the first view of the Landry line itself. Last year, I stood on this saddle in mid-May but was forced to turn around due to uncooperative weather. I was hoping it would look less intimidating this time around. But that was not the case.

At the saddle, we sadly said our goodbye’s to Caleb. Today was simply not his day, and he opted to turn around. But, he kindly hankered down for a bit and took some great pictures. Thank you Caleb!

Jordan, leading the way.

Photo courtesy of Caleb Wray

We were only 1000 feet from the summit, but we still had a long ways to go. First, the knife edge.

Photo courtesy of Jordan White

Photo courtesy of Caleb Wray

Photo courtesy of Caleb Wray

Photo courtesy of Caleb Wray

The knife edge almost broke me. The exposure to the northwest (1000 foot cliff) was unnerving. I have the boys to thank for help keeping me level headed. I was glad when we paused for a short break before attacking the east face itself.

Photo courtesy of Jordan White

Matt.

Jordan and I making our way to the face.

Though steeper, I was much more comfortable on the east face. Maybe it’s the fact that I have only one way to fall down instead of two

Making our way to the crux of the route. The rock band was laden with crumbly stones and sugary snow.

Photo courtesy of Jordan White

Jordan and I rounding our way up to the summit.

Frank and I- happy to be together on the summit of the peak that is the reason we met. Long story short, Frank and I met in 2006 shortly after he skied Pyramid for the first time. I was looking for partners to help me ski the fourteeners and his name caught my attention after his Crested Butte crew made the third known full descent of the Landry line- Chris Landry skied this line in 1978, not to be repeated again (at least, that we know) until Chris Davenport and his crew descended it in 2006.

Jordan, with a different view of the Bells behind.

Frank, ready to ski!

And he led the way for us.

Photo courtesy of Jordan White

Me.

Photo courtesy of Jordan White

Looking down.

Matt.

Photo courtesy of Jordan White

Frank.

Photo courtesy of Jordan White

Photo courtesy of Jordan White

Photo courtesy of Jordan White

Photo courtesy of Jordan White

Jordan.

Me.

Photo courtesy of Jordan White

Photo courtesy of Jordan White

Photo courtesy of Jordan White

I couldn’t be happier as we approached the bottom of the 4300’+ line.

Photo courtesy of Jordan White

We sat there at the bottom of the East Maroon creek valley floor, relaxing, and admiring the line from below, in awe of what just happened. The Landry Line is in Davenport’s book the Fifty Classic Descents of North America for a reason. It is a classic line. A 4000+ foot sustained steep line like this is nearly unheard of in Colorado. But, here the Landry Line sits in all it’s perfection. I would gladly ski it again.

Our line.

Our tracks.

While I relished in the joy of skiing such a fantastic line, my thoughts turned back to my over-arching fourteeners goal. Pyramid was my second to last fourteener I had left to ski, and I had just skied it. In skiing it, I had overcome a hurdle that had been causing me far to much anxiety for the last year. The pressure, the stress – it all magically disappeared in this moment. I was elated. Yet I was sad that this magic moment was now over. Was it all a dream? It sure felt like one. We couldn’t have had a more perfect day.

The four of us- Jordan, Frank, me, and Matt. I cannot thank these boys enough!

While I wanted to sit and bask in the sun below the best line I have ever skied, magic moments, like all things, have to come to an end. Smiling, we packed our things, and made our way down the East Maroon Creek valley. We were already making plans for what we were going to ski next.

Frank’s helmetcam. It’s a little washed out and foggy, but still enjoyable for some.

Pyramid Landry Line 5-5-11 from 14erskiers on Vimeo.

The post TR: Pyramid Peak, Landry Line (5 May 2011) – My Second to Last Fourteener! appeared first on 14erskiers.com.

You were sittin’ home cryin’ on the internetz
While we were participating in some face-shots

First spot we hit was the big chute
I finally got all the powder that I could take

Red lights flashing, time for more
so we skinned back up and fueled the fire

Next spot we hit is called ziggens
it only took one turn to make the snow slide

Finally we got our own zone to play
where do you think I got this grin that I’m wearing today?

When we returned to the top to rip the skins again
It dawned on me that I need more pics like this

So once again we gorged on pow ’til we were full
Since that day my life’s been much more comfortable

‘Cause every ‘bile has had it up over the hood,
It’s getting deeper and deeper and deeper each and every year

Some kids went out into the forest
I saw him when he came out he was buried in powder

With apologies to Sublime, that’s all I got. Fair warning- A few “F” bombs in this song on this video. Enjoy the “Scorpion Cam”, as Ben calls it.

April 26, 2011 (It was Sublime) from 14erskiers on Vimeo.

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