That’s a rap! I think I’ll look back on this winter season, for years to come, and realize that this was a very pivotal moment in my splitboard-mountaineering career. Everything that comes after this, will have been built upon this foundation.
Rappelling into a line in Grand Teton National Park.
What a winter it was!
There were some serious doubts about what this winter would bring. The state of the world was uncertain; there would be no doubt it would affect some things.
I chose not to buy a season pass. After getting burned with Ikon Pass the season prior and hearing about all the reservation requirements for the 2020-2021 season, I didn’t want to have to deal with that sort of shit show.
So, I went all in on the backcountry; which, in Colorado, is a tricky proposition. This year Mother Nature served up a very dicey snowpack (in Colorado). Throughout the season, the avalanche report page (CAIC) was filled with accident reports and far too many deaths. There was a 2-week period were there were accidents with fatalities almost daily.
Many thought that this would be a dangerous year in the backcountry, due to resorts implementing restrictions because of Covid-19. I would agree that an increased in backcountry users was a pretty solid hypothesis. It would prove to be true as industry retailers sold through just about all their inventory and trailheads were as crowded as ever (some of them anyway).
However, it wasn’t the inexperienced getting caught in avalanches. The reports I read involved some very experienced and knowledgeable backcountry travelers. Heartbreaking.
One could speculate that the increase in new backcountry travelers pushed the experience people from the low hanging fruit into more complicated terrain. A valid hypothesis, for sure. On the other hand, Mother Nature may be to blame, as the Colorado snowpack was said (by experts and not me) to be one of the most dangerous, in recent history.
Touring in the Pearl Lake area of the Steamboat backcountry.
I witnessed this instability first hand. Early season, I found myself up in the Steamboat backcountry several weeks in a row. Steamboat is about a 3 hour drive from Grand Junction. Nothing but a hop, skip, and a jump for a road warrior like myself.
While touring in a very mellow, treed area, I felt some serious whoomffs, also referred to as collapsing. Not to get too deep in the weeds here but when you hear these, it usually means you just triggered an avalanche. But, not to worry. I wasn’t in avalanche terrain (slopes around 30* or steeper). In fact, I was on some flat terrain when I heard a few whoomffs. That spoke to how dicey this snowpack really was.
I treaded carefully and avoided steeper slopes for the majority of the early season. But, I knew that wouldn’t satisfy my desire to ride bigger and steeper lines. I had to do something…
Things can get rowdy in the Jackson backcountry.
My passion for the mountains started back in 2017, when I left Southern California, started growing my hair out, and really set out to live a much simpler, more meaningful life. It’s been a very interesting evolution and the path I’ve taken to get here has been very rewarding and beautiful to look back on.
Before this season, I committed myself to really improving my skills and diving deeper into this world of ski-mountaineering. I wouldn’t be able to do this alone, however. I would need some mentors and someone to show me the ropes, literally.
The year prior I took a two day course in Grand Tetons. After skiing at Jackson Hole Mountain Resort, I knew that I would eventually want to explore the wild terrain that the Jackson backcountry offered.
My guide for that two day course would be a fellow Texan and cool dude. I kept in touch with him and chatted with him about the path I needed to take to become a guide myself. If a guy from Texas, can become a guide in the lower 48’s gnarly-est mountain range, I knew I could make it happen too.
Mid January rolled around and I was itching to get on some bigger terrain and learn some more skills, vital for travelling in the big mountains. I would meet Woody for a couple of days and try my hand on some bigger mountains.
Looking Closely at Snow Grains
We analyzed snow, companion rescue practice, and rode some pristine Jackson powder. It’s easy to see why some of the best in the world call Jackson home. Hell, I’m trying to find a way to make it my home, too. Between the mountains and the fly fishing, I think I would enjoy being there. But, that’s a topic for another day, perhaps.
Those two days flew by. I learned a lot and furthermore, learned what I needed to learn and work on. I committed to going back in February for a couple of days to further learn and perhaps ride some bigger terrain. Unfortunately, the weather wasn’t on our side and Jackson was dealing with a bit of a persistent slab problem themselves. We did a little rope work and went over gear and such. Still productive.
Upon returning to Grand Junction, I asked myself why not just go spend a month in the Tetons. I knew enough to explore the area and having Woody closer, it would be more convenient to have my questions answered. Hopefully, I could run across some more bad-asses of the industry to learn from. (I did.)
So, after a little organizing of the schedule, I committed to spending most of March in Victor, ID (west side of the Tetons). This would prove to be a great move! The avalanche problems in Colorado weren’t going anywhere. Hell, there was even talk about the spring melt/thaw cycle not even fixing the instability problems. My hopes for big lines in the Colorado Rockies, this year, were bleak.
[Fortunately, there would be a good window to tag some bigger lines in Colorado. Of which, I took full advantage of but more on that later.]
My month in Jackson was awesome! I built good relationships with some knowledgeable people and got great experience with new backcountry partners. Furthermore, I got great experience in the big mountains, which gave me confidence for the kick ass spring I would have.
Perhaps, the cherry line of the ’20-’21 Winter.
Spring would allow me to enjoy the Colorado high country, jumping on a few different “14ers,” making my first turns in Alaska, and a volcano tour in the Pacific Northwest.
I’m recapping the top 10 days of the winter. Each day is special for its own reason and provided me more value than I could’ve ever expected. This season I toured with dozens of new partners, most (if not all) I will tour with many, many more times on bigger and bigger mountains.
I think I’ll look back on this winter season, for years to come, and realize that this was a very pivotal moment in my splitboard-mountaineering career. Everything that comes after this, will have been built upon this foundation.
I’m thankful for all the people who mentored me this season, the gals and guys who went into the backcountry with me, and for the courage I found to test myself in some wild places.
I hope you enjoy reading the stories. I sure did enjoy living them.
#Relentless
The Countdown
