Wooden Ski Rendezvous 2008

Our Steamboat Springs area chapter, Friends of Routt Backcountry hosted their annual wooden ski festival February 29 - March 1 at the Columbine Cabins at the base of Hahn's Peak. The festival is a chance for FORB and BSA to thank our members in the greater Steamboat area for their support throughout the year and get the woodies out of the closet.

This year's event included cross country ski races, including the Boil em' Up Race during which racers are required to boil a cup of snow however they like; a Treasure Hunt for the kids, Potluck with live music, and skiiing at Hahn's Peak. A wonderful time was had by all in such a wonderful setting.



Thanks to Leslie Lovejoy and FORB, Backcountry Provisions, Neptune Mountaineering, Mahogany Ridge, Backdoor Sports, Ski Haus, Smartwool, Little Moon Essentials, Ambiente, The Silver Lining, Ace at the Curve Hardware, BAP, Tread of Pioneers Museum, Columbine Cabins, and all those that contributed to this year's event.

We'll see you next February!

Fines for Snowmobile Violators Increase

Forest Service hikes fines
Aspen Daily News Staff Report

Wednesday, February 27, 2008
Fees have gone up, in some cases dramatically, for violations on Colorado’s national forest land.

The fine for using a motorized vehicle, such as a snowmobile or a dirt bike, in a designated wilderness area is now $500, up from $75. The fine for being off of a designated road is now $250, up from $75, and the fine for an unregistered snowmobile went up from $50 to $100. All fines also require a $25 processing fee.

[full story]

Developers look to install chairlifts, happily carving alpine skiers on Pikes Peak

Former Aspen resident Harvey Carter and a Boulder executive hope to develop a new ski area on the flanks of Pikes Peak. It appears that developing ski areas on private land is the new fad amongst resort developers, once reliant on permits and leasing from the US Forest Service. Echo Mountain Park...Eclipse Snowpark...Hmmm...

Ex-Aspenite hoping to bring ski area to Pikes Peak
Aspen Daily News Staff Report Tuesday February 26, 2008

Famed climber and former Aspen resident Harvey Carter is helping hatch a new ski resort on Pikes Peak within easy striking distance from Colorado Springs.

Carter, the founder of Climbing magazine, recently agreed to sell a 320-acre parcel for $4 million on the famous mountain to John Ball, former chief executive of Boulder-based Eller Industries. Ball is proposing to develop the acreage on Pikes Peak as a ski area, resort and condominiums. [full story]

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Stay tuned to the Deep White. We'll be running the following stories, in addition to others:
Darkside - one telemark skier's changeover
Gallery from the Wooden Ski Rendezvous
Spring Skiing Wish List
How to approach steep couloirs
End of season gear maintenance
Backcountry Film Festival

Brian

BSA Winter Board of Directors Meeting

The BSA Board visited the Jackal Hut January 31 - February 2 for our winter meeting. The views were expansive, the snow deep and creamy, the energy high, and company great.

BSA Board of Directors Ski Day at Cameron Pass

Last weekend was jammed full of skiing fun. After a solid work week following the New Years holiday, Zac Wiebe and I met up with three members of the Board of Directors for a tour of Cameron Pass. With snow flying sideways, we outlined the backcountry access and issues of the entire CP area to Greg (Board President), Dave (Board Treasurer), and Tom (former Board President) before setting out for a good ski.

With only 4 cars in the lot, 3 of them snowshoeing or cross country skiing, we decided to break a core rule and ski near S. Diamond Peak on the weekend. Perhaps it was the 60 mph winds that kept people away. The Zimmerman Lake lot only had 6 cars, which is less than half of the normal weekend traffic.

We set out after a chilly gear-up at the car. By the time I walked from the front of the car to the back, a layer of snow had already blown in the back window of Zac's 4Runner and covered my gear. It was full conditions. I love it.

We climbed, all five of us, at a relaxed pace through areas of dense forest and open tree shots. I broke trail for a large portion of the approach and found breakable crust on top of our much-loved DEEP layer of depth hoar at the ground. The breaking was arduous. Thankfully, the wind covered our uptracks quickly to conceal our location.

On North facing 25-30 degree slopes at 10,600' (below treeline) we found breakable crust with 5cm of new snow on top. We felt evidence of the wind in even the densest trees on this aspect. We skied one run here before heading south onto NE facing slopes of the same gradient and elevation, where we found consistent, creamy powder on top of a supportable base.


Two runs here held good, low angle turns on the Freeway and adjacent trees.

We hoped to show off the breadth of CP to the board members. Ha! The sun doesn't shine at CP. At one point, they could make out the face of S. Diamond Peak, up to the top of the cliff bands on the main face. Such little perspective on such a large area. Next time.

Greg Mears and Dave Belin enjoying the low angle turns under dumping skies