2008, by gripnrip

Looking South from the top of Highlands Peak

I’m not really sure if there is anywhere in the West that isn’t having a banner snow year. Jackson, Alta, Colorado. Even if it ended tomorrow we’d still look back on the last two months as some of the most intense any of us has ever experienced. The snow has been consistently falling, and the skiing phenomenal. A typical Colorado winter is usually filled with lots of sunny days, but I can only think of three in the last two weeks.

Monday might get the award for the sleeper powder day of the year. The morning report only said 9 inches, but by the time the lifts were running, there was much more, and the snow continued to fall all day. Our first runs into Steeplechase gave up some faceshots to start things right, and we then sought out different stashes, waiting for the bowl to open so we could get on with the main event.

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Getting ready to drop in off the top.

For those who haven’t skied at Aspen Highlands, the bowl is what truly makes the resort. Sure, without it the mountain would still have more steep skiing than you can find at most other places in Colorado, but then you throw in the bowl. A quick hike out a ridge and 800 feet of vert later has you standing at 12,392’, looking at 2000’ descents, over half of which is steeper than 40 degrees. The Highlands Patrol has slowly learned how to tame this beast over the last ten years or so, progressively opening more and more terrain. These days you can access the entire bowl for a resort experience that feels much more akin to skiing in the backcountry.

Back to the action. There was no one on the mountain, maybe because it was Monday and bosses are running out of patience when their employees are asking for another powder day in a season already filled to the brim. Regardless, for our first run we hiked as far as they had open, about 300 feet or so below the top, and sank into some sweet turns. On lap two, we caught the rope drop on the gate off the top, and ended up in what the other two guys I was with called the “run of the season”. A long, steep pitch of untracked, fluffy fresh. This is as good as skiing gets. With smiles on our faces we headed for the chair and knew we had to get one more lap in before the bowl closed for the day. The last run did not disappoint, and I don’t think the smiles left our faces the entire ride back to Carbondale.

Lots of Powder and Big Air

Wildlife, Good Snow and a Broken Binding