Bizzard '06 excellence!

Chainsaw throwing down some excellent turns in the deep heavy snow of the '06 Bilzzard at Eldora. Tons of progress even from the end of last season has us super psyched!

Caribou concrete

Chainsaw leads on the wicked ascent above Caribou during a quickie local outing before the Twelve Twenty shenanigans. Conditions were firm to the point of bullet proof but the day was beautiful and there was a lot of drinking ahead to prepare for...

Strap 'em up!

Perched high above Caribou (at least 20 minutes climb) Highroller ponders the lesser of two weevils...

Classic Norweigan Death-carcass technique on the concrete runnels

Highroller stylin' the styrofoam!

The crew gathered for last weeks expedition to St. Mary's. Lee chauffeur'd us all up in the mini van which allowed us the grab the last late-riser parking space. Cheese-O was about to blow his bindings but luckily some spare skis were available and the warm weather and lack of wind made for a great day to climb the glacier. The old concrete windblown snow made it a tough day on the descents but fun nonetheless!

Pretty barren in spots on the hump up to the lake.

Thar she blows! Let's get it on!

Awwww, mountaineering class. I'll be seeing you guys later!

The ladies enjoy the splitter skies and warm sun on the ascent.

Well this is going to suck! Frozen death waves in the concrete portend a painful descent for THIS rookie...

Strangely enough not a wishper of wind today

Lunch break at the tippy top of St. Mary's Glacier on the dry steppe. So this is where all the snow gets blown from...

Beautiful day!

Cheese-O starts things off on the death sastrugi nicely framed by James Peak

Cheese-O drops in smoothly above St. Mary's Lake

Highroller's descent route involved blowing his second or third turn coming into the drop, sliding headfirst out of control right into and thru this cluster of mountaineering students and scattering crampons, packs and ropes the rest of the way down the slope...nice!

Chainsaw, Lee, Cheese-O and Allison head up for another run while Highroller drags his battered pride up Fox Mtn

My left foot, high above St. Mary's Lake

Finally! The summit of Fox Mtn is mine, all mine!

Pete's backcountry escape to Steamboat over the weekend...the 'mobile might be cheating but it's tough to argue with the view. Uno finishes off a run in the untouched...

Could that be Uno throwing down some AT turns in the luscious pow?

Yep, that's pure midwest style right there!

Looks nice!

Horses for courses

Bring on the pain! www.cosmicski.com

Arapaho Lakes tour

A nice day out with the typical first outing minor mishaps - frozen hydration hose, cold fingers, forgotten equipment - but a nice taste of cold air, wind, new snow, and a good group. Didn't make it up to Arapaho Lakes - that will wait for a day with less wind and more fitness.


Matt on the dreaded bridge traverse

Out in the sun (of which there was not much) on the south facing traverse on the Forest Lakes trail


Matt trying to follow the vicious skin track set by John. Up and up towards Arapaho Lakes...

Rose navigates the heavy snow with determination



Telemark poetry in action...

December 3 and we make our first tele outing of the season on a stellar tour up to Arapahoe Lakes from the East Portal TH. Steve-O and John joined Chainsaw breaking trail under splitter skies and minimal wind in the trees. I managed to remember a few things from last season but the rust was plentiful! We're aiming for 12+ bc outings this season so strap 'em on and join us!

Early morning chill as we head for sunlight

Steve forges ahead on the traverse up towards Forest Lakes

Spindrift in the sun but we were pretty sheltered in the trees. Breaking trail earned us some solitude and fresh tracks on the descent.

Chainsaw leads Steve-O up the steep hump to treeline near Arapahoe Lakes...need to get heel lifts!

Turns officially earned, now time to drop in...

Banzaii! Chainsaw digs deep to avoid pitching into the tree well. Thick heavy snow and some tight trees made crankin' my 191s around a bit of a struggle but everyone avoided eating bark so we'll call it a win

Big dreams!

http://www.elkmountaintraverse.org/index.html

Fruita came up there in early April and it was all biking after that but now reports arise that the white stuff is coming once again! This here is Berthoud Pass on 9/23/06...2 feet! Holy crap! Time to break those sticks out again and get 'em waxed up. We're upping the ante and getting Loveland passes this season + a couple new pieces of gear to make backcountry excursions better and looking to go after it hard this year!

Caribou!

Chainsaw starts heads up under beautiful skies. Snow was super-firm styrofoam but tough not to smile on days like these...

And up...

Break time!

Sheltered from the wind, well some of the wind, we take a breather on top.

Caribou townsite across the valley as we prepare for a VERY firm downhill...gorgeous! May head back up there next weekend in search of freshies if'n you're interested...

Double-blacks as far as they eye can see? No problem, my health insurance is current...

Chainsaw busts thru ORCS!