A gap in knowledge, increased backcountry use and climate change are increasing avalanche risks for recreationists
backcountry skiing
Posted inNews, Outdoors, Outsider
Alaska’s Denali is finally open to guided skiing, and you have a Colorado company to thank
For the 25 years he has guided peaks in the Alaska Range, Bill Allen looked at snowy slopes on Denali, North America’s tallest peak, and saw a prize to be had. “It’s the crown jewel of North America for not just mountaineering, but ski mountaineering,” said Allen, co-owner of and a guide for Mountain Trip, […]
Posted inNews, Outdoors
Beloved Steamboat Springs local killed in avalanche, second person rescued by helicopter
A beloved Steamboat Springs local was killed in an avalanche in the Fish Creek drainage northeast of town. Drew Hyde, 49, was skiing with a friend above the North Fork of Fish Creek on a heavily treed slope when a small avalanche released Saturday afternoon. He was swept into trees and “came to rest against […]
Posted inOpinion, Opinion Columns
Carman: Backcountry with a side of bacon is a soulful alternative to the corporate ski experience
I was stepping out of my bindings at the base of Steamboat one sunny afternoon after a glorious day of spring skiing with my kids. It was the 1980s — a lifetime ago in the evolution of alpine skiing in Colorado. “We have to keep doing this before we get old,” I said to my […]
Posted inColoradans, News, Outdoors, Outsider
How a Breckenridge avalanche 35 years ago changed the trajectory of Colorado skiing
BRECKENRIDGE – It was sunny and cold on Feb. 18, 1987. Ski patroller Mary Logan remembers the snow squeaking beneath her skis as she rode the T-bar with patrol director Kevin Ahern. They were watching two skiers atop Peak 7 in the Tenmile Range, just beyond the Breckenridge ski area boundary. They watched helplessly as […]
Posted inNews, Outdoors, Outsider
Following a historic Colorado avalanche season, pros and entrepreneurs create new tools for safer backcountry travel
Responding to one of the worst avalanche seasons on record, a growing number of backcountry skiers are developing tools to help fellow adventurers move more safely through the snowy mountains. The innovation feels especially urgent after last season, when 37 skiers, climbers and snowmobilers were killed in avalanches nationwide, including 12 in Colorado. The 2021-22 […]
Posted inClimate, Coloradans, Environment, News, Outdoors, Water
Citizen scientist records retreat of Colorado glaciers one ski run at a time
It’s the middle of summer and most people’s ski gear is packed away, but not Jonah Seifer’s. The moon is out, Denver streets are buzzing with people enjoying the cool night and Seifer is inside packing his gear to go skiing in the Front Range the following morning. He’ll begin his day carrying skis, a […]
Posted inColoradans, News, Outdoors
Teenage Summit County ski mountaineer breaks North American record for most vertical feet climbed in 24 hours
Grace Staberg said she was “pretty tired” as the first rays of sun hit the slopes of Copper Mountain Tuesday morning. “I felt like slowing down,” said the 19-year-old, a few hours after setting a North American women’s record by skinning 56,153 vertical feet in 24 hours. “It was really helpful to have people who […]
Posted inNews, Outdoors
Eagle County man died after being swept off cliff near Beaver Creek, final avalanche report says
A final report by the Colorado Avalanche Information Center has revealed that a man who died after being caught in a small avalanche in Colorado last month was swept over a 75-foot (23-meter) cliff. Eagle County resident Gary Smith and a partner were skiing on a steep slope in the backcountry near Beaver Creek Resort […]
Posted inNews, Outdoors
Colorado man among 5 killed in Alaska backcountry skiing helicopter crash
By Mark Thiessen, The Associated Press ANCHORAGE, Alaska — A contracted helicopter carrying guides and guests from a lodge on a heli-skiing trip in Alaska’s backcountry crashed, killing the pilot and four others, including the Czech Republic’s richest man. The only other person onboard was in serious condition but stable Sunday at an Anchorage hospital, […]