Photo Gallery: Endless Spring

“May finally brought massive amounts of snow and winter weather to Colorado,” says Boulder-based photographer Fredrik Marmsater. Numerous upslope storms filled in the Front Range, bringing the snowpack from low-tide conditions to around 150-percent of normal. For his part, Marmsater calls it one of the best springs in recent memory.

“We had a significant avalanche cycle during these storms, but once that started to settle, Colorado skiers had the rare opportunity to ski steep alpine lines in powder with a stable-ish snowpack,” Marmsater says. For him, that meant winter-camping trips and steep-skiing missions into the Mosquito Range, south of Breckenridge, and into the Independence Pass area between the Elk and Sawatch Ranges as the weather transitioned from full winter to spring.

“My favorite line of these recent shoots was an unnamed couloir off the ridge leading up to Pacific Peak,” Marmsater says. “It was right over our camp—a classic line splitting the ridge—and was so good and filled back in during our trip that we skied it twice.”

Here’s a gallery from Marmsater’s last few weeks in Colorado.

Eric Poore and Jason McGowin in Colorado’s Mosquito Range. [Photo] Fredrik Marmsater

Morgan McGlashon, Jason McGowin and Eric Poore head toward the summit of Pacific Peak. Mosquito Range, Colo. [Photo] Fredrik Marmsater

Morgan McGlashon, Jason McGowin and Eric Poore head toward the summit of Pacific Peak (13,957 ft.). Mosquito Range, Colo. [Photo] Fredrik Marmsater

Morgan McGlashon triggers a shallow, soft slab on her first turn from a ridge in Colorado’s Mosquito Range. [Photo] Fredrik Marmsater

Eric Poore finds mid-winter conditions in an unnamed couloir in Colorado's Mosquito Range. [Photo] Fredrik Marmsater

Eric Poore finds mid-winter conditions in an unnamed couloir on Pacific Peak in Colorado’s Mosquito Range. [Photo] Fredrik Marmsater

Chase Demeulenaere right on time for the corn harvest, Independence Pass, Colo. [Photo] Fredrik Marmsater

Chase Demeulenaere is right on time for the corn harvest. Independence Pass, Colo. [Photo] Fredrik Marmsater

“It’s been pretty much one of the best springs in recent memory and—a rare occurrence these days—not much of the dreaded dirt layer,” Marmsater says. Whit Boucher laying trenches into some dirt-free corn on Independence Pass. [Photo] Fredrik Marmsater