It’s June, and maybe you’re still fighting the realization that winter is over. You’re probably mountain biking, or just twiddling your thumbs, questioning if it’s too early to start watching ski movies in anticipation of next season. But if you’re strong willed and willing to work for it (in some cases really work for it) you can find skiing all year without blowing your savings on a plane ticket to South America. “While nearly every ski option takes effort in the summer months, it’s that effort that drives the appeal,” says photographer Jason Hummel, who traversed Washington’s Northern Cascade Range for 16 days last June without hitting a rock.
Here’s the first installment of A Diehard’s Guide to Skiing All Year. All summer long we’ll be sharing the next destination you should add to your list of summertime snow stashes.
Mt. Epworth: Home of the Summer Dual Slalom
Mt. Epworth. [PHOTO] Courtesy of Doug Briggs
LOCATION: Rollins Pass, Arapaho National Forest, Colorado
HIGHEST ELEVATION: 11,843 feet
TYPICAL SUMMER SEASON: Late June or early July
MORE INFO: fs.usda.gov
“The race is usually the weekend after July 4th. The skiing is good anytime in the spring. They used to plow the road, but now you just wait until the snow melts in the end of June or early July. It’s just a snowfield off the east aspect of Mt. Epworth….tons of east-facing chutes with lots of great skiing.” —Andy Miller, Grand Huts Association, Fraser, Colo.
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