Best Powder of the Season

The lifts at Winter Park may have stopped turning, but that is no excuse to stop skiing.

Chris Hoffbauer is the J5 Development Coach for Aspen Valley Ski Club and we went powder skiing after a big dump on Berthoud Pass near Winter Park. Can you believe that at the end of April it would be possible to ski waist deep snow? If not watch the video.

We took precautions on our small trip. This season there have been two avalanche related fatalities on Berthoud Pass. Both could have been avoided if those involved had respect for the mountain environment and taken steps to protect themselves.

Chris and I were both wearing avalanche transceivers,  carrying probes, shovels, a small shelter and the knowledge of how to use the equipment. We had read the Colorado Avalanche Information Center website to get the snow forecast. We talked to the CDOT representative on the pass and asked about the avalanche mitigation that they were conducting on the other side of the pass. I am a certified mountain guide, and although Chris is new to skiing in the backcountry, he is an experienced mountaineer who has climbed almost all of the 14,000ft peaks in Colorado.

Spring Skiing

While Europe is winding down their season with muddy slopes ad big piles of slush, Colorado is ending its season in style. Most Colorado ski areas shut their doors on April 24th, with a base of 2.8m, 20cm of fresh snow overnight and and a total of 10m+ snow throughout the season.

The video below is of my father and my friends skiing at Aspen Highlands three days before their season ended. We were greeted with no lift lines, first tracks and 7 inches of powder.

6" Powder Rule

Race training with the Winter Park Masters Alpine Team does not mean chasing gates every day. We go with the standard 6" Powder Rule. More leniant coaches go with 5" and the more strict coaches go with 7".

3 reasons why we freeski on powder days:

1. Its POWDER! Why wouldnt you want to ski it?
2. Working on fundamental all mountain skiing will make you faster in the gates, especialy when the course get rough.
3. Courses set in soft snow take about 3 hours to prepare and can still be dangerous.