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Colorado Backcountry: Steamboat Kifaru Trip - 12.29.06 - 01.01.07

Submitted by jp on Tue, 01/02/2007 - 21:27

The Kifaru trip was out of this world. Big thanks to Will and Dave (STE) for setting up the trip and getting things rolling. I can't think of a better way to spend the last few days of 2006 and the first couple days of 2007.

We spent New Years sled access snow camping in the Steamboat backcountry. Although the snow wasn't very good for snowboarding, it was great for snowmobiling and camping. As we arrived at the trailhead in the morning we were quickly greeted by US Forest Service officers and members of Routt County SAR. Turns out a crew of snowmobilers from South Dakota are lost and spent a cold night out in the backcountry. SAR told us they were looking in the middle fork drainage, but Will, STE and I had a different idea of where they were. The previous day, STE and I spent the afternoon breakin' trail to the camp site. We finished up around 2pm and made our way out, this group from SD followed our single track trail to our camp site and got stuck. It seems they left two sleds at the top of the drainage and took two sleds down a very gnarly 1500ft tree filled face. In the meantime, SAR is looking in Middle Creek for the SD crew and as we roll up to setup camp in the morning we find to sleds completely cold at the top of the ridge, a shit ton of tracks and posthole marks heading right down our ski run. We geared up and followed them down. Evidence of a very long night trying to get the two sleds down was clear. Once we got to the bottom of the drainage we found Adam's sled, from here we could tell that the party split up with two members heading down stream towards town and the other two members with the last sled heading up stream. At this point we decided to skin up stream and follow the trail, we went for maybe a mile or so and it became clear that we needed to get this info to someone who could contact SAR or the Routt County police. After skinning back up to our camp site, Will called his buddy via cell phone to relay the current information. Click here to see the Steamboat Springs Pilot article, and click here, here, here to see a few of our pictures.

One lesson here that was hopefully learned, don't follow other peoples skin/snowmachine tracks.

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