Current Colorado Backcountry Ski Conditions

Well, the switch has been turned to ‘ON’ and the snow has been coming down in piles as of late, which is good news for backcountry skiers across the state. A lot of folks were getting nervous and anxious through much of November as high pressure and dry weather dominated much of Colorado during the month. In comes the Thanksgiving weekend snowstorm, which left upwards of 4′ in several areas, and all of a sudden everyone is forgetting the dry and snow-deprived start to the season.

I haven’t been getting out as much as I would like as of late, mostly due to work and poor conditions, but since the big storm I’ve been poking around the usual spots close to home to see what Mother Nature has been up to. At first glance I have to say that conditions are pretty decent out there right now. Many areas still need a good 2′-3′ on top of what they already have, but at least terrain is skiable and enjoyable now.

Last week before the big storm, Mark and I went up to Uneva Pass for an afternoon of some pretty good skiing on the east side. Considering it hadn’t snowed in 10+ days prior to this outing, conditions were fairly good with some recycled powder. Few pics below:

Click on images for larger view

Partner in crime:

Skinning back up for another lap:

A few days later the snow started to fall….and didn’t stop for 3.5 days straight. We quickly transitioned from early season scrap skiing, to full on pow charging within a few days. Amazing what the Colorado weather can do to lift the spirits and motivations of backcountry skiers! On one of the storm days we hit up the south side of Uneva and hit the jackpot. The snow wasn’t as light as I thought it would be, but I wasn’t complaining as we needed a good wet/sticky/basebuilder type of storm. Putting the skintrack in:


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Published:
12.04.08 / 5pm
Category:
backcountry snow adventures