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What an amazing trip! Spending
four days skiing the backcountry of the San Juan Mountains in Colorado
was an unforgettable experience! Silverton Mountain is the antithesis
of developed resort skiing and not for the faint of heart.
Every morning you check in at the tent/basecamp which is crowded with
skiers and guides getting ready for the day. After getting your zip
tie (lift ticket) you grab a seat as close to the woodburning stove
as you can to keep warm before you walk out in to the cold Colorado
air. The altitude at the tent is about 10,000ft. You can either walk
or boot-slide (a favorite activity of the NASTC crew & guides) to
the base of the lift; where you meet your guide, go over the safety
precautions and outline the game-plan for the day. You ride a double
chairlift up 2000ft to the staging ground. Once you are at the top of
the chair, the view that is before your eyes nearly takes your breath
away, we are surrounded 360 degree by snowy peaks and ridges reminiscent
of the Alps. Almost everything you can see is skiable.
The group reassembles itself and we begin to throw our skis onto our
packs and go for a 20 minute hike up the ridgeline. Once we get to the
top of our line and look over the edge, we see a wide face of untracked
powder sparkling in the sunlight. Everyday we skied fresh lines and
it seemed like the snow just kept getting better and better and everyone
in the group stepped it up a couple of notches and started to look like
extreme skiers ripping through trees, powder filled gullies and chutes.
One of the highlights of the trip was a 2000ft vertical climb (picture
putting in a fresh boot pack) up the El Grande couloir and being one
of the first groups to ski down it this season. Reaching the 13,500ft
summit was a victorious moment for everyone in the group and the turns
down were well worth the climb! While one group was doing that, the
other took nearly as far a hike and skied deep powder down a steep ridge
line into epic trees! Even with all this excitement we managed to shoot
video, do video review, and 2 tech talks (thank you Chris F. and Nick
Herrin). Both groups celebrated that nite over a 4-course meal at Pickle
Barrel indulging in bottles of fine wine and chocolate fudge cake! Sleep
came easily in the comfy shelter of the Grand Imperial. This trip was
full of unforgettable moments and lots of laughter. Many thanks to our
Silverton guides Chris Engelhardt and Kim, Silverton Mountain, The Grand
Imperial, Dan Lindsey and everyone who came with us and made it such
an amazing experience!
This truly was one of the best NASTC courses ever!!
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Climbing El Grande with guide Chris and NASTC director Chris.
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Silverton guide, Kim, points out our proposed line.
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