Road Trip: La Sal Ski Descents

Jonathan Kriegel near the summit of Haystack Mountain. Northern La Sals in the background. Photo by Stan Wagon

The La Sal Mountains, just over the border in Utah, had nearly 150 percent of their average snowpack in mid-March, and that’s when Stan Wagon, a Summit County resident and avid ski mountaineer, headed toward Moab to sample the goods.

By Stan Wagon

On Friday, March 19, 2010, Jonathan Kriegel and I headed up the Geyser Pass Trail with large packs (55 pounds) to set up a camp for three nights at the pass. Conditions were stormy (and the drive up difficult in 6 inches of new snow), but the storm was ending and so it seemed perfect, with a forecast of sunny days and lots of fresh snow. We got to the pass in just over two hours and set up camp. We headed north for a short ski tour in the late afternoon but got a little lost on return, having to climb 200 feet to return to camp.

On Saturday we went for Haystack (11,640 ft.), which we failed on two years ago because of very firm snow and no crampons. This year, armed (footed?) with the proper tools, we easily cramponed up the steep east ridge and enjoyed some fine summit time. We could look down the large north face, which would have been skiable, but we stuck to our plan of skiing the south face.

Kriegel points out the pair's route on the beautiful north face of Mellenthin. Photo by Stan Wagon

The descent of the south face was not great—firm and uneven—and we had hopes for better on the north-facing slopes of Mellenthin (second-highest peak in the La Sals). In the afternoon we investigated the route to Mellenthin (12,645 ft.) and set a useful track to the base of the wonderful north face. Looking at things up close, it seemed like the left-hand ridge (the northeast ridge) would offer the best way to the summit, and there appeared to be a rock-free way down from the summit area to the center of the face we wanted to ski. Jonathan had skied this several years ago, in a lower snow year. Snow conditions this year were amazing, at 146 percent of normal….

Read the rest of this story at Summit County Citizens Voice. Click here to visit Stan Wagon’s website, where you’ll find more photos from this trip as well as dozens of Colorado ski descents.

Truly Tested: Stoic Bombshell

Cold day at Hidden Valley, RMNP. Photo by Doug Schnitzspahn

By Dougald MacDonald

I’ve been wearing the Bombshell Jacket, the flagship waterproof-breathable shell from Backcountry.com’s new Stoic line, for much of this winter. And after months of backcountry skiing, mountaineering, and a bit of ice climbing, I’m definitely impressed.

At first, I wasn’t at all psyched with the jacket’s fit. At a trailhead in the Indian Peaks, as I pulled on the coat, my female skiing partner gave me that look I know oh-too-well from my wife—the look that says: “You’re not going to wear that, are you?” Don’t get me wrong: The jacket looks sharp. Mine is black with turquoise highlights, and the cut and detailing are fine. The problem is the super-trim fit around the waist, which would have looked great when I was a 145-pounder in college but looks and feels a bit snug as a 162-pounder (OK, 164-pounder).

I almost always wear a medium jacket, and the Bombshell fit me perfectly in the chest, shoulders, and arms; if I sized up, I think there would be too much fabric bunched around these areas. I grew to appreciate the trim cut on long ski tours and while climbing; the jacket fit great under a harness, for example. But it limits your options for layering. If you wear your jacket as a true shell, over multiple insulating layers, think about a larger size. If you wear the shell over light inner layers while moving and throw a puffy over the top when you stop, as I increasingly do, this fit might be perfect. If you’re just thinking about taking up ski touring to lose a few years of accumulated paunch, consider another coat.

Despite my quibbles about the fit, the Bombshell hits nearly every other note perfectly. … Continue Reading

Crested Butte Extreme Telemarking

Crested Butte hosted the 14th U.S. Telemark Extreme Freeskiing Championships last weekend, with 62 free-heelers competing in six divisions. A snowy day on the Headwall gave good conditions but caused one men’s run to be canceled. On Saturday, the action moved to Sock-it-to-Me Ridge on a cold, clear day. Sydney Fuller took the adult women’s crown, and Mark Robbins topped the podium for the men. Read a first-person account by Candace Horgan at Westword, check the results at Telemark Skier, or watch this video from Day 2:

Truly Tested: BCA’s Tracker2 Beacon

By Rob Coppolillo

More than a year has passed since we began itching for a look at Backcountry Access’ newest beacon, the three-antenna Tracker2 ($335). Production delays kept us guessing, but the gang at BCA said it was all to get the new Tracker2 just right—and for the most part they’ve done just that.

BCA introduced the first two-antenna beacon, the Tracker, more than a decade ago (still available for $290). Suddenly, avalanche transceivers were easier to use and more accurate when searching for burial victims. European manufacturers followed suit, launching two-antenna beacons of their own and kicking off an arms race to see who’d develop the first three-antenna model. Turns out the Euros, like Ortovox, Pieps, and Barryvox, beat BCA to the punch, but that certainly doesn’t mean anybody’s been KO’d.

Why does anybody need three antennae, you might ask? Three is better than two because they make beacons easier to use and more accurate when searching for a buried transceiver. Without getting too geeked out, the three-antennae models give more accurate information, especially with a deep burial and when “pinpoint” searching just before probing and digging. Bottom line is you want your buddies using a three-antenna rig if you’re buried beneath the snow and counting the seconds. … Continue Reading

Avalanche Near A-Basin Kills Snowboarder

The Steep Gullies, about a mile west of Arapahoe Basin, in a photo from 2000; Steep Gully #1 is on the left. Photo by Bob Berwyn

By Bob Berwyn

A snowboarder died March 10 in the backcountry near Arapahoe Basin after triggering an avalanche in what’s known as the First Steep Gully, just outside the ski area boundary. It was the fourth avalanche death of the season in Colorado. On average, six people die in avalanches in the state each year.

According Dan Burnett and Becky Baylor, coordinators with the Summit County Rescue Group, the snowboarder triggered the avalanche and was swept about 1,000 feet over the steep, rocky terrain. Burnett said the snow only piled up 18 inches deep at the bottom of the avalanche, so the victim likely died of trauma suffered during the slide. Officially, the cause of death has not been announced, pending further investigation.

Read the rest of this story at Summit County Citizens Voice, the website created by longtime Colorado journalist Bob Berwyn. According to the Colorado Avalanche Information Center, this slide was powerful enough that it broke trees six inches in diameter. The CAIC also reported that there was another, remotely triggered avalanche on Wednesday morning in Steep Gully #4, and a skier-triggered slide in Steep Gully #2 on Monday.