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Hump Day Movie: Skiing Snodgrass

December 9, 2009 Ski, Wild No Comments

Here’s a fun, short clip of backcountry skiing on Snodgrass Mountain, near Crested Butte, shot last March by Salt Mountaineering guide Mark Smiley. This small peak is the site of a controversial proposed expansion by Crested Butte Mountain Resort—a proposal that the U.S. Forest Service formally refused to consider last month, which quashes the plan for good unless threatened lawsuits are successful.

Snodgrass

Snodgrass Mountain, the forested peak in the foreground, seen from Crested Butte Mountain Resort. Photo by R. Scott Rappold / The Gazette

The expansion plan and the Forest Service decision have roiled the ski industry and the town of Crested Butte, which is split between those who believe the proposal is essential to the ski resort’s—and thus the town’s—long-term prosperity, and those who prefer Snodgrass and Crested Butte as smaller, quieter places. Last Sunday, the Gazette in Colorado Springs published a good balanced story about the controversy—the report and the three pages of comments are both worth reading.

Meanwhile, enjoy this video of Snodgrass as it skis today.

Crested Butte’s Red Lady Bowl

November 28, 2009 Classics, Ski No Comments

"Straight down the gut of the mountain." CrestedButteGuides.com photo

"Straight down the gut of the mountain." CrestedButteGuides.com photo

Jayson Simons-Jones, owner and lead guide of Crested Butte Mountain Guides, sent us this description of a favorite local stash: the Red Lady Bowl. “You can see tracks on it from anywhere in town, so it’s no secret,” Simons-Jones said. However, he added, “There are a half-dozen other, lesser-known routes up there that I won’t divulge unless I’m hired as a guide.”

If you visit Crested Butte and only have time for one backcountry ski tour, this is the one to do. A locals’ favorite for decades now, 12,392-foot Mt. Emmons, with its broad, flat summit and eye-catching, southeast-facing bowl, towers above this tiny ski town. A fiercely special peak in the hearts of this small local mountain community, Red Lady has been the target of one of the longest-running mining vs. preservation battles in the country.

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  • Pat: Amazing photo, thanks so much!...
  • Mike McClaskey: It's the old St Marys Glacier ski area...
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Rarities: Wolf Moon, Arapaho Peaks

February 5, 2010

Rarities: Wolf Moon, Arapaho Peaks

Photographer James Beissel sent us this fantastic dawn-patrol shot of the full moon setting over South and North Arapaho in the Indian Peaks, shot from Flagstaff Mountain. Said Beissel: ”The first full moon of the New Year is often called the Wolf Moon. The name comes from Native American culture, in which it was associated with [...]

New Deal for Great Sand Dunes

January 20, 2010

New Deal for Great Sand Dunes

By Bob Berwyn
Stakeholders in the San Luis Valley have taken a giant step toward protecting Great Sand Dunes National Park from mining, energy development, and water exports. Lexam Explorations has agreed to sell its mineral rights if a $9.7 million deal can be finalized by May.
Great Sand Dunes National Park was created by Congress [...]

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The News

Coloradans strong in ski mountaineering worlds.... Telluride plan for guided backcountry tours raises controversy.... Local skier killed by avalanche south of Aspen.... Avalanche triggered by rope-ducking skiers partially buries Aspen patroller.... Skier rescued from backcountry west of Eldora.... CO's Vermillion Basin is in leaked list of possible new national monuments.... Avalanche watches and warnings for much of state.... Fatality, injuries in San Juans avalanche.... $30 million to help Colorado clear beetle-killed forests.

Firsts

New Route Likely Platte’s Hardest

February 14, 2010

New Route Likely Platte’s Hardest

Jason Haas, who’s working on a new guidebook to South Platte rock climbs, has just redpointed what’s likely the Platte’s hardest pitch, a roof seam that’s protected with removable pro and might be 5.14a. The new route, Comprometido, took about a year and a half to complete. Here, Haas tells the story.
While researching routes [...]

Fun New Mixed Routes in Vail

February 7, 2010

Fun New Mixed Routes in Vail

Let’s say you’d like to try some sport-mixed routes, but you aren’t into fruit boots and cranking figure-nines. Until recently, your options have been limited at East Vail, the mecca of modern mixed climbing. But this season, several new climbs have been added to the Firehouse West and Spiral Staircase areas, and at M6 to [...]

Wild New Route in RMNP

January 25, 2010

Wild New Route in RMNP

On Saturday, Andy Grauch and Chris Sheridan completed a wild line on the south face of Mt. Otis in Rocky Mountain National Park—almost certainly a new route. Chockstones of Unusual Size (C.O.U.S.) is a three-pitch route (plus snow slogging) that surmounts two stupendous blocks by tricky dry tooling: III M6/7. We asked Andy Grauch to [...]

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Classics

Lake Agnes–Seven Utes Loop

February 19, 2010

Lake Agnes–Seven Utes Loop

Kevin Landolt is a skier/climber/student, based in Fort Collins, who writes the fun Alpine Ambition blog for the Mountain Shop. Here, Kevin describes a favorite midwinter ski tour near Cameron Pass offering a little of everything.
Trailhead: Lake Agnes Road, 2.5 miles west of Cameron Pass
Tour Distance: 7.3 miles
Total Vert: ca. 2,900′
Season: Midwinter to spring; two [...]

Mr. and Mrs. Mesa

January 28, 2010

Mr. and Mrs. Mesa

Two of the wildest and most difficult water-ice pitches in the state are in plain view from Highway 50, en route to Ouray and Telluride from points north, plunging down the sheer face of Grand Mesa. Yet few people notice them, and far fewer have climbed them. The routes are tough, to be sure, but [...]

East Ridge of Mt. Bancroft

December 28, 2009

East Ridge of Mt. Bancroft

Mt. Bancroft’s rocky east ridge is a terrific mountaineering adventure for Front Range climbers, beginning less than an hour from Denver. The 13,250-foot peak is relatively close to the road, and avalanche danger can be easily managed, making this perhaps the most accessible technical winter summit on the entire Front Range. The east ridge offers [...]

The Redline

December 15, 2009

The Redline

Michael Barton of Mountain Goat Ski Guides in Silverton offers up this classic route off Red Mountain Pass. It’s more of an early-spring route than a midwinter tour, but now you can put it on the hit list. How good is this route? Says Barton: It’s out of my permit boundary, so I don’t [...]