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Happy New Year! Closed on 1/1/2025!
Happy New Year! Closed on 1/1/2025!
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Backcountry Ski

  • Uphill Skiing Access at Colorado Ski Resorts

    Uphill Skiing Access at Colorado Ski Resorts

    For those who love to rely on your own human-powered propulsion and eschew crowded chairlifts, several Colorado ski resorts have designated uphill routes you can use to earn your turns!   In general, Many resorts require an uphill pass (and...

  • POWDER DAY ON SPLITBOARDS AT MONARCH

    POWDER DAY ON SPLITBOARDS AT MONARCH

    Sometimes the worst weather days are the best days. It snowed hard all day and the winds howled but the snow was epic.  Skin tracks were covered up by the time I got back down.  Monarch is a great place to skin in bounds on fun terrain but make sure you still treat it with respect and have a plan.  I was going to skin over on the Breezeway / Mirkwood side but Ski Patrol broke a slide in the Mirkwood Bowl with a 4ft crown.  Chair laps on Panorama was an awesome backup plan.

  • Backcountry Skiing: What gear for a backcountry ski?

    Backcountry Skiing: What gear for a backcountry ski?

    We started this series of articles with the WHY – what motivations get us outside touring in the backcountry. Then, we discussed the HOW – where to reach for the smarts needed to travel as safely as possible in the backcountry. Now the WHAT. What gear takes you happily and safely into the backcountry?
  • FREE HEELING ON THE MEIDJO

    FREE HEELING ON THE MEIDJO

    By “this” I meant the Meidjo, M Equipment’s NTN telemark binding. Upon hearing the unmistakable nervous and excited tone of an employee asking about one of his favorite pieces of gear, Jim appeared from around the corner exclaiming, “Oh, it’s pronounced ‘med-jo.’ You’ve gotta try them.”

  • BLACK CROWS IS SOMETHING ELSE

    BLACK CROWS IS SOMETHING ELSE

    Black Crows is something else to Mountain Chalet. Their endeavors present a passionate and focused attention to the personalities of the  founders, as well as the personalities of their patrons. By melding  minds bringing forth the freedom of freeride skiing and the stark crispness of contemporary design, Black Crows breaks a mold. They lead us to an unlikely partnership of fresh aesthetic and a free and playful approach to sliding on snow  on our favorite mountains. 
  • SPRING IN THE ROCKIES

    SPRING IN THE ROCKIES

    I gathered a crew of Will Colemen and Lawrence Housley to go tick off a few lines that I had been looking at for years.  We all have crazy schedules, so we settled on three full days of skiing.  After pouring through guide books and trip reports, we decided on three peaks:  Mt. Aetna (13,745 ft.), Mt. Hope (13,993 ft.), and Mt. Clover (12,955 ft.).
  • Telefestivus…. Skiing for the rest of us

    Telefestivus…. Skiing for the rest of us

    There is something about telemark skiing I cannot describe.  If you are a free heeler you know what I am talking about.  The combination of rhythm, cognition, balance, and strength is incomparable.  Strength is key – it’s like a thousand walking lunges, but don’t let that discourage you.  Embrace it!  Always learning, always tweaking, that perfect tele turn is ever elusive.
  • Ski Mountaineering in the San Juan Range

    Ski Mountaineering in the San Juan Range

    You climb out of your tent surrounded by nothing but blue skies and white peaks – your own private resort. As the sun begins to crawl over the peaks to the east, it’s time to caffeinate, hydrate, and carbohydrate (load). This may sound like a dream, but to Illya Zarkovacki, it was his reality. I sat down with the fellow Chaletan to discuss his latest backcountry experience in which he passes on a lift ticket for a pair of moleskins on Matterhorn Basin.