January was a month to remember during the 16/17 winter season. Zach Griffin and I were lucky to get a rope drop or two after some serious accumulation stacked up the alpine bowls of Breckenridge Ski Resort. Song: The Soft Walls – House Concern
The 16/17 season delivered an amazing amount of snow in January which set Colorado up with a relatively stable snow pack. This area not too far from home delivered some great lines on days like this throughout the rest of the season. Song: Friendo – Oversees
Some fresh snow from the previous evening allowed Pat “Perry” Johnson and I to shred the Coin Slot Couloir in the morning and round out the day with the Dirty Books Couloir in the afternoon. A stable February snowpack helped 2017 shape up to be a great year for splitboard mountaineering!
Fritz Sperry and I climbing and ski/snowboarding the Minturn Couloir aka Minturn Butt Crack on a spring day. We encountered 3 sections of ice with difficulty ranging from WI2 to WI3.
As Fritz Sperry and I approached the traverse to the Hourglass Couloir for a ski/snowboard attempt on Little Bear Peak we were turned around by rapidly warming south facing snow. A spicy entrance to this north facing couloir was a good consolation prize.