We’ll have our humble pie, then eat it, too.
Icy, dry, and windy describe the last couple months here in the Rockies. Without much terrain that isn’t blistered by moguls or glazed over by ice and wind-pack, we have opted to imagine back into existence our youth through riding parks. The video is so raw it could give you digital salmonella. But I’m putting … Read more
Groomer Sessions at Ski Loveland
After gouging our gear and bodies on granite stones at Guanella last week, Steven and I opted for some manicured groomers at Loveland this week. I am a Loveland pass holder, but Steve is still drinking the corporate Kool-Aid that Vail Resorts pours him every winter. Though there are many more skiable acres beyond that … Read more
Early Season Ski on Guanella Pass
Ah. It’s that time of the year here in Colorado where there is just enough snow to tease then coax the snow-deprived into packing their gear up a hill only to destroy the goods in one run. Steven and I, without many 14ers we feel comfortable to climb right now, decided to head out to … Read more
Snowshoeing Tanglewood Creek in the Mt. Evans Wilderness
The Deer Creek/Rosalie/Tanglewood trails have been a go-to for my wife and I anytime we need a quick wilderness tour and don’t have a lot of time to travel. The view from Tanglewood’s summit yields unique views of the southern Front Range and the undulating expanse of the Great Plains. The trail becomes faint in … Read more
Where to Buy Outdoor Gear Online…with a Student’s “Salary”
When I see photos of grizzled mountaineers on top of Denali or Rainier in what appear to be burlap sacks, leather moccasins, and heavy, inefficient wool jackets, I wonder if they survived the trip down. Of course, many of them did–albeit with less digits and limbs that were claimed by Jack Frost. Nevertheless, the fact remains that their gear was, … Read more
Mt. Harvard: Less Gentry, More Dirtbag
We wanted our second ascent to be more challenging, but still within our expanding skill levels. We originally chose Mt. Columbia because it offered a vista that we imagined would be as eye-dazzling as Quandary’s, but which was twice as long a climb with a step up from cat. 1 (Quandary) to a cat. 2. … Read more
Quandary Peak: The Quandary of Stewardship, Recreation, and First Ascents
One of my greatest fears when Fall semester begins is the inexorable aggregation of fat around my midsection and the phlegmy hacking that comes from unused lungs. Much of this is due to the lack of an active community who pushes the members to physical limits all year round. Thankfully, I met a peer who … Read more
A Road Less Travelled: The Flat Tops Wilderness (Wagonwheel Trail-Days 6-7)
Everything in the world is beautiful, but Man only recognizes beauty if he sees it seldom or from afar.-Vladmir Nobokov from “Gods” We left the Holy Cross area by mid-morning. Car after car cut through the cakey dust, sending helical plumes into the still air over Homestake Creek and onto it’s riparian shoulders. We left … Read more
Cost-Counting and the Delusion of Free Car-Camping (Night 5)
“If we make that shift toward a life simple in means but rich in goals, we are not threatened by plans for saving the planet.” -Arne Naess After leaving the South San Juan Wilderness, my wife and I went north to backpack in a less monsoonal climate. When we arrived at Minturn, hoping to camp … Read more
Desperate for Snow
Posted by sainteterre on January 22, 2012 · Leave a Comment
This video of smashed together clips documents some solo riding I did over the holiday break. The snow was scant and the resorts were chocked full of hyper tourists and anxious locals, so I drove out to Guanella Pass and found a tree that had released its roots after a gnarly windstorm. With about 6 … Read more
Filed under Prose, Review & Commentary · Tagged with GNAR GNAR, travel