Eiffel Tower High

Snodgrass

I feel sadness that I don't have better photo documentation of the past week. It's been dumping - 1-2 feet, some sunshine, 1-2 feet more. I've been too busy getting knee deep turns and digging out the cabin and cars to pull out the camera. I finally put my camera case on my backpack shoulder strap and intended to snap some shots of Mark and Janelle making nice arcs through knee deep snow on Snodgrass this afternoon - but those two are way too fast to catch on film.

This afternoon we skinned up Snodgrass, taking a turn off of the snowcat path onto a nice skin-track through the aspens. It's my second winter trip up Snodgrass. If you don't live here on the West Side you may not know the current controversy. CBMR wants to put lifts on Snodgrass and develop the base of the mountain. I understand CBMR's drive to do this as Mount Crested Butte doesn't have a lot of terrain to offer to beginners....it's not an easy mountain to learn to ski, or to ski period. Snodgrass lives across the valley from CBMR and offers some beautiful low-angle gladed skiing at the top and mellow turns toward the bottom. The base is wide open and the views are nuts. It's a gem. I've been opposed to lifts on Snodgrass, but only from a theoretical standpoint. Wild places are disappearing and I feel like we need to be protective of what's left. I grew up in Fort Collins and I remember when Harmony and Timberline roads had unpaved sections. I also remember when the only thing between Boulder and Broomfield was Storage Tech tucked behind a hill off of US 36, and a gas station at the McCaslin exit (McCaslin was dirt south of US 36 and we used to target shoot where cookie cutter developments, condos, and malls now sit). Old Timers talk about forearm-length trout choking the streams above Denver before WWII. I've witnessed things go in a bad direction all over this state. The Western Slope is not immune. Anyway, my Snodgrass opposition was, as I stated, theoretical; a matter of personal policy. Then I got up on that mountain. I've been up there in the summer to ride and it's incredible - but winter, my friends, winter. Silent. Deep. Vibrant. It's place that brings deep peace. Sure, there are a lot of places in the valley that are equally amazing, but isn't the preservation of them all at least worth a shot? Am I expecting this blog to change opinions? You know what will? Skin up Snodgrass in the late afternoon under peaks pink with alpenglow, watch ermin pop out of the snow and run by, smile with your friends or enjoy the beautiful melancholy of solitude, rip those skins and float down through the aspens, pat some dogs on the head on the access road, make some new friends in the parking lot. Minds might get changed.

Full Moon

I've been cruising the same strip of hard packed, man made snow at CBMR for the last week in the name of getting my legs under me and getting used to new equipment. Bad skiing is usually better than no skiing at all (with the exception of windy days at Eldorko); but lapping 900 vertical feet shoulder to shoulder with a bunch of park rats and jibbers isn't ideal. We need snow. So, take that same length of styrofoam, add friends with big smiles on their faces, a full moon, and a pair of climbing skins...well, those runs are transformed into little bliss nuggets.

The moon was so bright that what I thought was a big rock poking through the snow was the shadow of the silent chair lift above me. The snowmaking crew and snowcat drivers would occasionally cruise by and give a quiet nod and a wide berth, neither surprised nor bothered.

Random Stuff

It's dry and cold in the Butte right now. There's enough snow to play on and hold my interest but I sure would dig a a little snow to freshen things up.

Thanksgiving was pretty sweet. Martin and Lisa came up for a weekend that we all agreed may have been too relaxing.

Martin and I found some snow on Ohio Pass below the Anthracites and made an attempt at a pre-emptive strike on the holiday gluttony.


More food than you can shake a fork at.


The Nordic Center opened up for the Thanksgiving Training Camp. The clinics were amazing. I took a classic clinic as well as skate. They did video analysis; it's amazing to see yourself ski. I learned a ton. The rest of the weekend was filled with friends, sweet potato pie, more skiing, and cherry wine. J-rod got out for his first time ever on the hill. It's fun to watch someone discover the joy of winter although it physically hurts to watch people fall when they are learning to snowboard. You'll be shredding in no time, brah.