Blogs

Colorado Backcountry: iskibc’s Year In Review Video - 05/06

Submitted by jp on Fri, 07/28/2006 - 18:46




Check out iskibc's Year In Review video. Tons of deep powder riding from the Colorado crew. Backcountry locations include Jones Pass, Vail Pass, Gore Range, Summit County, Loveland Pass, Berthoud Pass and more! Lots of suffering via the 10 mile traverse, cliff drops, hucks, hut bombs, pow turns and even a snowmobile or two.

Year In Review (right click - save as)

Colorado Backcountry: E. Rollins Pass - Skyscraper Glacier - 07.22.06

Submitted by jp on Mon, 07/24/2006 - 14:22

E. Rollins Pass to Skyscraper Glacier - 07.22.06

Skyscraper Photo Set @ Flickr

Andy, Dave and I met up in Boulder early on Saturday with a general plan to head toward Rollins Pass and hit any lines we could find. We made our way up the 4x4 road past Yankee Doodle lake to the dead end near Needle Eye tunnel. We didn't see any worth while lines on the east side of the pass so we decide to bushwhack over the top toward King Lake, Skyscraper and the parking lot on the Winter Park side.

Once at the top of the ridge we are happy to find a few different options:

King Lake:

Skyscraper Glacier:

We decided to drop into the drainage next to King Lake and hike over to Skyscraper Glacier from there and start the climb up. We had a few nice warm up turns on a small patch near King Lake:


Andy on the warm up patch:



JP:



After a few quick turns we started the slog over to the base of Skyscraper Glacier:

Dave starts the climb:

Andy and Dave coming up:

Colorado Backcountry: Slednecks - 2007 Yamaha Phazer Mountain Lite

Submitted by jp on Tue, 07/18/2006 - 12:22

I've been looking for a few years now and the day has come! I bought a 2007 Yamaha Phazer Mountain Lite sled last week! I won't be able to put my fingers on it for another month or so because they haven't even been completed at the factory yet. This is the first sled I've owned and it's going to make for a wonderful season I'm sure. I went with the Yamaha because of the 4 stroke engine technology and the sled's light weight. It's a deep powder sled with 144" track, 2" paddles and an 80HP 4 stroke power plant. Low pollution and quiet engines work well in the backcountry.

"These design goals allowed the Yamaha engineers to develop a very nimble package. They began with adapting their proven dirt bike engine technology into a unique, lightweight 2-cylinder engine and proceeded to build the sled around it. The compact chassis is constructed with their exclusive Controlled Flow die casting technology that allowed them to build a very rigid chassis without a lot of weight. That rigidity allowed the suspension engineers to develop a very precise handling suspension setup."

"Yamaha’s fourth objective was to build a sled that was fun to ride; for everyone, from novice riders to experienced veterans. Not “kid fun” like a 20 hp one-lunger, but the kind of fun you can go out and enjoy with anyone. The Phazer is light and nimble with a broad and user-friendly power band that you can’t help but have fun on it. Yamaha wants to expand the market and appeal to newer, younger buyers and this sled will do that."

Snowtech Magazine Review

Colorado Backcountry: Peak C, CC Rider Couloir, Gore Range 7.13.06-7.15.06 by iskibc

Submitted by jp on Mon, 07/17/2006 - 19:26

Peak C, CC Rider Couloir, Gore Range 7.13.06-7.15.06
by iskibc (iskibc's blog)
photos: iskibc (iskibc's blog)

Location: Peak C--Mt. Powell Basin, Northern Gore Range
When: 7.13.06-7.15.06
What: CC Rider Couloir, Peak C and Powell Basin snowfields
Stats: 13.5 miles, 7,000' vert climbed, 87 mosquito bites, 12 goats acting as guides, and 2 summits.

12 minute long vid JP shot from the trip, 'save as':
http://weknowsnow.com/blog/images/gore-peakc.mov

The heart of the Gore Range is by far one of the most beautiful. lush, rugged, remote, and tranquil spots in all of Colorado. The majority of the peaks in the Gore are nameless on USGS maps and many of them don't have trails or even cairns leading up to the summits. The Gore is a Mecca for backpackers seeking solitude, skiers seeking steep and technical lines, and mountaineers looking for new challenges. Peak C and Mt. Powell stand at the northern end of what locals call, "ripsaw ridge", a narrow and super rugged ridgeline extending several miles along the Gore. Here's a small photo of part of the ridgeline:

Colorado Backcountry: Radiobeacon, Forest Lakes Cirque - Rollins Pass

Submitted by jp on Tue, 06/27/2006 - 07:50

Rollins Pass - Radiobeacon 06/24/2006

Flickr Photo Stream: Click Here
Andy's TGR Report: Click Here



Andy, Lawrence and I met up in Boulder for a mellow day up on Rollins Pass. The goal of the day was to drive as far possible on Rollins Pass Road and make our way to Radiobeacon. The pass road was snowed in at Yankee Doodle Lake making the short one or two mile hike up the road to Forest Lake Cirque a breeze.


After a short discussion we picked out our line and started the bushwhack. We ended up climbing these two shorter couloirs with an enterance right off the ridge of Radiobeacon -- once at the top of the climb we continued out of the couloir up the snowfield on Radiobeacon's ridge.



After a short lunch we dropped into nice soft corn and wide open turns down to the enterance to the couloir and a small choke. Inside the first couloir the snow was very consolidated and firm, only the top inch or so was soft making it almost like a no fall zone.



Colorado Backcountry: Cameron Pass - Lake Agnes - Mt. Mahler Couloirs

Submitted by jp on Tue, 06/13/2006 - 13:06

jp
Mahler Couloirs - The Line

Video Download Link (right click - save as)

This last weekend we opted for an easy approach and exit so we made our way up Cameron Pass to Lake Agnes. Happy to see the gate to Agnes trail head open we paid the US forest Service fee and drove all the way to the cabin. The destination was the couloirs off of Mt. Mahler over looking Lake Agnes.

jp
Lake Agnes - Mt. Mahler

We hoofed up the trail about a mile or so to the lake and decided on the approach options, we skirted the southeast side of the lake and boot packed our way up the snow field and saddle between Mt. Mahler and Mt. Richthofen. Once at the top of the saddle we had a beautiful view into the heart of the Never Summer range. The Never Summers are one of my favorite ranges here in Colorado. Dave and I continued up toward the summit of Mahler looking for a good way into the chutes. Unable to drop into our first line we discussed options like tunneling through the cornice, but it was soon realized that if that was successful we would be stuck under some gnarly hangfire on a 60 degree slope -- not the safest. We made our way further along the ridge line and finally Dave spotted a place where we could drop in. Accessing this couloir was a bit of an issue as we had to down climb a cliff and then make our way back up to the enterance.

jp

Syndicate content