14ers.com

The north face of Democrat is surprisingly cool from a skiing perspective, and then Torries has some of the best skiing options on the front range.

The tuning fork on torreys is a lot of fun.

Broken Knee wrote: ↑Wed Oct 02, 2019 5:40 am This thread has tons of great advice. I'll just add that you should make a commitment to get out very often, even if conditions suck. Adjust your venue to avoid avalanche danger, etc., but go put in some miles anyway. Learning to deal with all aspects of backcountry skiing when conditions turn bad is just part of the menu. Bad conditions expose weaknesses in your entire system, including gear, navigation skills, etc.

That's really the best advice on here. Go everyday you can. Regardless of conditions. Regardless of the spot. Learn to adapt based on weather, avy conditions, not having any partners to go with. 100 backcountry days in a couple seasons and your progression will be astounding in terms of understanding the snowpack, skiing any snow conditions, grasping what is and is not avalanche terrain, knowing your equipment's limitations, etc. etc.

I learned to ski in one season by skinning lunch laps across the street up a 300 foot hill after having only snowboarded for the 25 years prior.

Jorts wrote: ↑Sun Oct 06, 2019 9:34 pm

Broken Knee wrote: ↑Wed Oct 02, 2019 5:40 am This thread has tons of great advice. I'll just add that you should make a commitment to get out very often, even if conditions suck. Adjust your venue to avoid avalanche danger, etc., but go put in some miles anyway. Learning to deal with all aspects of backcountry skiing when conditions turn bad is just part of the menu. Bad conditions expose weaknesses in your entire system, including gear, navigation skills, etc.

That's really the best advice on here. Go everyday you can. Regardless of conditions. Regardless of the spot. Learn to adapt based on weather, avy conditions, not having any partners to go with. 100 backcountry days in a couple seasons and your progression will be astounding in terms of understanding the snowpack, skiing any snow conditions, grasping what is and is not avalanche terrain, knowing your equipment's limitations, etc. etc.

Yes and no.

I've skied all types of terrain, from horrific to glorious. The more you ski sub par or horrific, the better you get at dealing with it, BUT it is also a double edged sword. The more you ski punch crust, or the like, the higher the probability that you won't ski out of it. I broke my leg last year because of punch crust + Dynafit. I've skied variable/horrible conditions in the BC for ~19 years now in Colorado and Alaska. 19 years. Last year finally got me! (The other injuries were due to different things)

So yes, ski when there's a white out, on sustrugi etc. Just realize that you need to survival/safety ski it most likely. Not ski like it's hero powder/corn!

My auto sig on TGR is “seeker of sastrugi”

Thanks for reminding me that I had created a new page (http://otinasadventures.com/index.php?page=ski_list) with a sortable table this summer, that broke some code in the above linked page. July feels like such a long time ago now, when I wrote that page, I completely forgot about it! Did some more development on it yesterday. Need to research a few more D ratings, and update some of the older pages to the new xml.

Hopefully we’ll have a good season, despite the Covid. I’ll probably still be taking it down a notch or two, unless perfect conditions present themselves.

^^^ Thank you! This is 1) an impressive list and 2) a great resource

bergsteigen wrote: ↑Sun Nov 08, 2020 12:07 pm Thanks for reminding me that I had created a new page (http://otinasadventures.com/index.php?page=ski_list) with a sortable table this summer, that broke some code in the above linked page. July feels like such a long time ago now, when I wrote that page, I completely forgot about it! Did some more development on it yesterday. Need to research a few more D ratings, and update some of the older pages to the new xml.

Hopefully we’ll have a good season, despite the Covid. I’ll probably still be taking it down a notch or two, unless perfect conditions present themselves.

I take it down a notch or two every year, ha ha ha. What does the low to high data represent when you load that table with the default settings?

SchralpTheGnar wrote: ↑Thu Nov 19, 2020 10:26 am
I take it down a notch or two every year, ha ha ha. What does the low to high data represent when you load that table with the default settings?

Default is by date, oldest at top. Since I added in the attempts/failures, you can see the real progression in time. Plus that way I can make sure I remember to enter data.

I’m hoping I can take it back up a notch or three, before the natural mellowing happens.

bergsteigen wrote: ↑Thu Nov 19, 2020 10:45 am

SchralpTheGnar wrote: ↑Thu Nov 19, 2020 10:26 am
I take it down a notch or two every year, ha ha ha. What does the low to high data represent when you load that table with the default settings?

Default is by date, oldest at top. Since I added in the attempts/failures, you can see the real progression in time. Plus that way I can make sure I remember to enter data.

I’m hoping I can take it back up a notch or three, before the natural mellowing happens.

I swear I looked at the dates to see if they were sorted too, all part of the natural decline I guess.

I'm looking to getting out and skiing some more too, last year was decent, got a few good new 13ers and the spring corn last year was surprisingly good with spring being so warm and not snowy. I'm going to use your list as my new goal "Ski a third of what Otina skied".

This thread is some awesome advice for me as I find myself in a very similar position to the OP. I'm taking an Avy 1 class ending on the 31st and want to ski off some peaks having climbed 18 this past summer.

Just for me to summarize and check myself: while there are routes with very low avalanche risk (West slope of Bierstadt, East Quandary for example) they are all unlikely to hold any good snow until March at the earliest.
Given that, would you all with your collective knowledge recommend practicing my AT skills below tree line in spots like Berthoud during the winter so I can try to notch some 14er descents in the spring?

To prepare for spring peak skiing season I do 3 things.

1. Resort skiing. Ski big days, lots of vertical to build the legs and endurance. Ski the extreme terrain in all snow and weather conditions. Back to back (to back) days. When resorts close, I note that my strength and endurance decreases a bit while skiing in the late spring/summer. Skiing a 3K line and not having to stop every 4 turns requires more than you think.

2. Uphill ski resorts. A safe and user friendly way to build experience and exercise without having to worry about avalanches and various terrain issues. Great to do at night after work, since skiing a groomer in the dark is safer than the BC.

3 Backcountry ski. Once the sharks have disappeared I go ski my favorite zones. It gives me a good feel for the snow layers in that zone throughout the winter, so I know how it’s transitioning into spring. There are quite a few areas that have a variety of terrain choices. Just don’t be a parking idiot this season. Have a backup plan if the parking lot is full.