Backcountry Skiing in Summit County

What a week. Work has been keeping me busy, but luckily I have friends like Chuck Bird and John Bicknell to prod me back out in the BC. On Wednesday we decided to go ski the North Chute on Mt Buffalo in Summit county. It is one of my favorite runs in the sate as it gives about 3,000 vertical in one solid fall line shot.We started from Boulder at 5:30 am not knowing what to expect in Summit as we had been enjoying the goods in RMNP (see past blogs) and I could only hope the snow was nearly as pleasant. The drive up went quickly and after a pit stop at the Blue Moon Bakery in Dillon we were off and skinning by 7:30.

The ascent went by quickly and we all stood upon the summit in beautiful weather and light gear. I am still amazed at how great new ski gear is and how it has changed the skiing and skinning experience of a few years ago. I was hoping the right chute about half way down would be in as we skied off the summit into an excellent chute. The snow proved to be a bit of a mix, but mostly soft velvety corn with a bit of fresh snow on the shadier aspects. After watching John self arrest with his whippet (I can’t say enough about them) the descent went smoothly and the right exit appeared to be in.

As we went over the little ridge I could see we were in for a treat... one of the nicest chutes through two rock walls I have ever skied. The snow was soft and we quickly exited the chute onto the lower gentle slopes with perfect corn. I always felt as confident and in control as I do when skiing perfect corn. The skin out proved to be nice and quick and we emerged at the car three and a half hours after starting. I am off to the Utah desert with my family and friends and look forward to testing my new elbow on desert cracks. The snow in RMNP will be around for a while and I am looking forward to getting out a few more times before the season is over.

Mike Alkaitis
Total Climbing
2829 Mapleton Ave.
Boulder, CO 80302
303-447-2804 ext.107
malkaities@totalclimbing.com

Tune-Up With Team Building

Ah, spring is the time for new beginnings. Vivid flowers bloom and everyone seems to come out of the woodwork to enjoy the warm air. Besides clearing off that pile of papers on your desk, how about immersing your group in a 4-hour team-building tune-up?

According to reference.com, "The term team building generally refers to the selection, development, and collective motivation of result-oriented teams."

Earlier this month an adventurous results-oriented team from Vestas Nacelles America dared to unplug their cell phones, step away from their computers and open themselves to the ultimate team-building experience by rock climbing with us in the Boulder Rock Club.

Most had never put on a harness or climbed before. But, after a short icebreaker everyone was in the groove; tying in, climbing up and belaying colleagues. We spiced things up with a facilitated blindfold climbing challenge. It’s always interesting to hear what people learn from working together in new ways and how these experiences easily translate back to the office in such areas as customer service or project management.

If you are looking for a way to motivate your group, spur creativity, or improve trust and communications consider a team-building tune-up. We can host your group indoors or outside.

Happy Spring!

Jilly Salva, Sales Specialist
AMGA Certified Single Pitch Instructor
Colorado Mountain School and Boulder Rock Club
Phone: 303-865-3605
jsalva@totalclimbing.com

SNOW... Lots of it in RMNP

So what does 4 feet of new snow look like in Rocky Mountain National Park? I thought this to myself as we drove up from Boulder around 6am. It turns out 4 feet of fresh snow in the park is quite beautiful and even better to ski. As we booted up in the Bear Lake parking lot it was great to see Chuck and Sarah with their friends and have a bit of time to catch up. Our crew of (don’t laugh, or do) John, John, Paul, Paul, and Mike were eager to see how good the snow on the north facing aspects were and contemplated between going up and over Flattop or heading to the Dream chutes. The other aspects all looked a little sun baked and would be excellent corn skiing in a few days.

The wind made our decision easy as the plumes off the high peaks gave us a good indication of just how windy it would be if we went over Flattop. The trail breaking was hard work, but worth every spent calorie as the snow appeared to be great. Needless to say the skiing was good enough we went back for a second lap and finished the day with smiles on our faces and good friends all around.

The south, east, and west aspects all received a significant amount of sun and will be great to ski in a few days. The true north aspects could hold a bit of powder, but if they get any sun, expect some good spring crust to be there.

I can’t wait to get back out and ski a bit more in the near future. The Elevator Shaft, Ptarmigan Fingers, Notchtop, and Buffalo are all awaiting ski descents this spring.

Gear used on this outing by Mike Alkaitis:
Skis: K2 Combas
Bindings: Dynafit F12
Boots: Black Diamond Factor
Skins: Black Diamond STS Light
Beacon Shovel and Probe: Backcountry Access
Shell: Marmot Mica Jkt
Pants: Marmot Scree Pant
Poles: Black Diamond Whippet
Pack: BCA Alp 55

Check out the gear reviews for some of these and give your opinion on the products.

Happy Turns,
-Mike Alkaits

Spring Ski Mountaineering In RMNP

So here it is my first attempt to write a blog post, or is it submission? I meant to write this days ago when the skiing was still fresh in my mind, but life sometimes takes over. I had the pleasure of ski touring with good friends last Friday and Saturday up in Rocky Mountain National Park (RMNP). Sometimes I forget how breathtaking RMNP can be. As the spring season progressed I was beginning to worry about the snow pack and how long it would be around. After the recent snows, and the one coming I am no longer worried. We skied the Dragontail Couloir on the south side of Flattop, and a north facing couloir off of Mt Otis.

Friday we met at Micky Don Dons in Estes for a little breakfast at 7 am. It seemed late for spring, but it was not quite sunny and we wanted to let Jonathan relax as it was his Birthday. Along for the ride were Jonathan, Simon, Craig, Pat, and myself. We drove into the park and decided to ski into Tyndall Gorge and climb up the couloir to get a good read on conditions. The skin in was beautiful and a few inches of fresh snow had fallen overnight. The skin up to the bench proved easy and the new snow had bonded well to the old surface and provided a nice platform for our skins to stick too.

Then the fun begins... take off the skis and strap them to the pack. Start kicking steps. About 1,500 feet later, stop kicking steps. The top of the couloir is the crux and Craig was nice enough to break trail for that section. He claimed it was the steepest snow he had ever climbed and was psyched. We made good time to the top, but were about 30 minutes late for the powder skiing. The sun had come out and backed all the new snow and it was sloughing off from the rocks into the run. I still thought we would get some heavy powder...

...boy was I mistaken. Jonathan's first turn released the new snow below to expose the old solid firm layer. The skiing at this section steepness to 45 degrees, on firm snow, and makes you think about every turn. After following Jonathan in, I realized the snow would soften as we descended and I thought that we would get some good skiing in.

Sure enough, the solid layer turned soft as we skied down and we enjoyed a great run of corn skiing after the initial 500 vertical feet. The run to the parking lot was sunny and I looked forward to the next day, skiing the Elevator Shaft on Halletts Peak in perfect corn.

Who would have known the weather for Saturday would be overcast and cold. Not exactly the perfect day for corn skiing. As we skinned out of the Bear Lake parking lot it seemed firm under foot, but worth the effort to go take a look. The group of John, Winston, Paul, and myself were eager for a nice tour and at least take a look into Chaos Canyon. As we crossed lake Haiyaha the snow stayed firm and we altered the plan to go ski a north facing shot off of Otis and hoped for powder.

The boot pack up the couloir proved to be perfect conditions and we made good time. It was Winston's first snow climbing experience - his hockey background proved useful in putting his head down and climbing to the top. After the couloir, the slope eases and we were able to put skins back on and skin to the top of the ridge to look across at Thatchtop and the surrounding areas.

The ski down proved to be some of the best powder skiing of the year. The snow pack was solid and we were able to ski down with confidence soaring. The group was psyched the whole way, and we were able to finish the day off with a tour down the Dream Lake chutes.

I am looking forward to this weekend's powder shots and perhaps another try at the Elevator Shaft.

-Mike Alkaitis

(Mike will be running our Steep Ski Camp May 1-3, 2009. Please contact us if you have questions or to book this program. The skiing is good... don't miss out! 800-836-4008 or info@totalclimbing.com)

Key Gear for BC Skiing:
Skis: K2 Combas
Bindings: Dynafit F12
Boots: Black Diamond Factor
Skins: Black Diamond STS Light
Beacon, Shovel and Probe: Backcountry Access
Shell: Marmot Mica Jkt
Pants: Marmot Scree Pant
Poles: Black Diamond Whippet

Check out the gear reviews for some of these and give your opinion on the products

Valdez Heli-Ski Mountaineering Expedition Update:

Colorado Mountain School, AMGA Ski-mountaineering Guide, Mark Kelly, reports from Valdez, Alaska:

"Things are going very well with many learning opportunities. We have been covering snow study by actually doing real snow study in a demanding environment. We have been learning white-out navigation by actually navigating in a white-out. We are practicing glacial travel by traveling on complicated glacial terrain. We have also covered crevasse rescue in real crevasses (but not real rescues). We have done complicated multi-beacon burial scenarios for avalanche rescue as well as tour planning for this big environment with rapid changes in terrain and visibility."

"All I can say is, so far so good. We are just waiting for the weather to clear up a bit to do our heli-drop. We have already completed the safety and helicopter briefing, so now we are just waiting for a clear weather window. Until then, we'll be doing more ski tours. In short... Awesome course so far!"

If you have any questions about this expedition, or any of our other expeditions, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Thanks,

E.J. Nogaski
Expedition Manager
Colorado Mountain School
800-836-4008 x201
expeditions@totalclimbing.com

Pulling for Mother Nature

We here at the Boulder Rock Club and Colorado Mountain School are trying to do our part to reduce our impact on the environment.

Here are some of the things that we are doing:

• We recycle all of our ropes and nylon webbing and offer drop-off locations at the BRC and CMS lodge for the public as part of Sterling's Rope Redemption Program. We accept ropes in any condition, from any manufacturer. Once a rope is returned, Sterling looks to their "recycling expert that grinds up, melts down, then repelletizes the nylon so it can be re-made into a variety of items like carpet fiber, telephones, coat hangers, and even children's toys!" Sterling has also partnered with Green Guru, who uses rope sheaths to make products like chalk bags, bracelets, key chains, dog collars and leashes. See what they are up to at GreenGuru.com. For more info on rope recycling, check out the Sterling Rope Redemption Program.


• We use 100% post-consumer paper products in the restrooms facilities at the BRC and at the CMS lodge.

• We reuse and recycle our office paper

• Our route setters use rechargeable batteries, which are recycled when no longer usable.

• We donate old climbing holds to local schools that have climbing walls.

• We practice and teach Leave No Trace ethics when climbing and guiding outdoors.

• We recycle used ink cartridges from all of our printers.

• We encourage carpooling and participation in Bike to Work Day. The next Bike to Work Day is scheduled for June 24th.

• We turn off all of our lights at night with the exception of security lights.

• We have posted single-source recycling bins throughout the BRC and the CMS lodge.

• We serve only organic coffee and tea.

• We run swamp coolers that use evaporative cooling, an energy efficient technique.

• We use compact florescent bulbs where applicable and recycle retired bulbs.

• We utilize skylights to reduce our reliance on artificial lighting.

If you have any suggestions as to how the Boulder Rock Club and Colorado Mountain School can further reduce our impact on the environment, please let us know. You can post a comment here or drop a note in the comment box at the front desk.