“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.
BC BANTER: Black Diamond President Resigns, Avatech Expands, Winter Wildlands’ Conference, Patagonia’s Migrant Worker Standards, Colorado’s Wet Slides and a Scottish Ski Film
BLACK DIAMOND INC. PRESIDENT RESIGNS SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH Zeena Freeman resigned Thursday from her post as president of Black Diamond Inc. Freeman, a former executive at Sony and Gap, was named president in August 2014, we reported, and was expected to replace Peter Metcalf as CEO of Black Diamond at the end of June. […]
Skiing Yellowstone: Top Notch Peak
While Yellowstone National Park is familiar for its geysers, bison and the requisite family road trip, it also offers intriguing potential for backcountry skiers. With two million acres of terrain, easy access and a deep snowpack, it’s an alpine playground that skiers share only with grizzly bears and foxes. And on that mid-May morning, we had Yellowstone seemingly all to ourselves.
2015 Beer Test: Skintrack Suds
Like gear for any snow condition, there’s beer for every occasion. So this year, we organized our annual beer review by where and when our panel of home brewers, beer aficionados and a certified beer judge would prefer to drink them. The format is simple: Skintrack beers are lower in ABV and sessionable, Parking Lot/Après […]
BC Banter: Avy Closes Independence Pass, Centennial Skiers Complete 100th Descent and Colorado Cancels Summer
Avalanche Temporarily Closes Independence Pass LAKE COUNTY, COLO. An avalanche occurred just east of the Independence Pass summit on Tuesday, May 26, according to 9News. The slide, which resulted from a cornice fall, closed the road in both directions and was cleared by the Colorado Department of Transportation. On Thursday afternoon, another slide closed the Pass […]
Photo Gallery: Colorado’s Deepest Month
“Since the beginning of May, parts of Colorado have received over three feet of new snow, especially at higher elevations,” says Front Range-based photographer Casey Day. And, he adds, after a winter filled with hit-or-miss storms, skiers are rejoicing across Colorado and fully embracing mid-winter powder conditions in the backcountry this spring. “Multiday upslope storms rolled in one after the next, providing endless supply of moisture. We always seem to have great conditions in the spring here in Colorado, but it’s been years since we’ve had this much snow this late in the season.” Here’s a gallery from Colorado’s deep May, as seen through Casey Day’s lens.
Mountain Skills: Twelve Things I Learned at Icefall Lodge’s Ski Mountaineering Course
The annual Spring Mountaineering Course is taught at Icefall Lodge by owner Larry Dolecki, a certified IFMGA mountain guide of more than 20 years who built his ski touring lodge near the western border of Banff National Park in 2005. “This should be a great week in the mountains, filled with lots of learning and great lines,” Dolecki wrote in the course intro packet. It certainly was.
BC Banter: Independence Pass Reopens, MSR Recalls Avy Shovels, Mt. Moran Avalanche Claims Two and Alpinist Releases 50th Issue
Independence Pass Reopens ASPEN, COLO. The Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) reopened Independence Pass yesterday at noon, as 20 cars waited at the gate for the opening. The Pass, which runs along the Continental Divide and connects Buena Vista and Aspen, is closed every winter and must be bombed in late spring to bring down slides before plowing and […]
Mt. Moran Avalanche Claims Two
An avalanche on Sunday on Mt. Moran, Wyo. claimed its second life late Tuesday night. According to the Jackson Hole New and Guide, Stephen Adamson Jr. died at 10:34 p.m. on Tuesday, May 19 at the Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center in Idaho Falls. Jackson resident Luke Lynch, 39, died in the Sunday avalanche.
ASCUTNEY ASCENSION
In 2010, after more than six decades in operation, central Vermont’s Ascutney Mountain Resort stopped spinning its lifts. The existing infrastructure was left to rot and rust, the trails have grown into a mangled mess of brush, and the closure dealt a serious blow to the area’s economy. Now, a group of impassioned townspeople, skiers and mountain bikers are working to buy back and revitalize their ski hill. And backcountry skiing and riding is part of their plan.
