So it has been a while since we have posted anything here on Following the Frozen Water so I am going to do a quick glance at the past year and some of the more memorable things that have happened!
Moab sunsets are pretty cool.
I went to Moab last August. Needless to say it was hot! Really hot. We had planned on riding bikes the entire time, but wound up hanging out in the river for the most part. We did get to pedal Slickrock the first morning and did a hike through Negro Bill Canyon the second morning. Next time we will venture in the fall!
The Southwest Ridge of Mt. Sneffels
We climbed the Southwest Ridge route up Mt. Sneffels last summer. It looks a lot worse than it actually is. It was a fun class 3 scramble to an incredible view off the top. This was the first 14er I had climbed in many years. It was the first 14er for the other 3 in my party. They loved it!
The view of Blue Lakes from the summit of Mt. Sneffels. The San Juans are amazing!
Starting late summer and into the fall I did a ton of fishing. It is cheap and a great way to pass the time… Especially when caught inbetween skiing and biking (even though you can bike here almost year round) sesasons.
Fish caught on a fish caught on a lure!
I don’t know that I have ever been as stoked as when I caught this 22″ Brown Trout. I was pulling my lure back across the river and hooked a small rainbow and I thought..”oh great, another puny little fish to deal with”. However he got heavy about midway back and when I pulled him around a rock this big guy had grabbed him and didn’t let go. I got the big one all the way to shore without ever even hooking him. He sure must have been hungry because he wasn’t letting go of that little fish. Stoked!
Yeah...he was at least a foot!
Beautuiful Brown Trout. He was about 18" and fat!
- Roy caught a beauty this summer! Probably 19″ and very fat!
Roy was so pumped when he pulled this guy out of the river. Roy does not fish a whole lot and this was only his second fish of the day! The stretch of the Animas River that we fish here in town is classified as Gold Medal Waters. There are a lot of big fish in here. This is also why I spend so much time down there walking around in the water.
Telluride offers free gondola rides all day long, all summer long. When we heard about this we took advantage and took the big bikes out for some lift serviced downhill. Gotta love it!
Ramping right off the mountain.
Braappppless bikes!
If we fast forward a bit to winter, there were several days that were just beyond epic. The first happened at Wolf Creek. It had dumped and dumped for almost three days. When we got there first thing in the morning The skies opened up and we had one of those unbelievable bluebird powder days. I think they were reporting 49″ in the past 48 hours. EPIC.
49" in 48 hours! DEEEEP!
Lone Patroller on the Knife Ridge. Notice the slide in lower left.
The next picture was taken about a month later. We were fortunate enough to be the first ones out the Knife Ridge this morning and caught the cat out to Horseshoe Bowl. We had first tracks in about 36″ of snow! Once again…EPIC!
Powder party on the Cat!
In between these two epic days at Wolf Creek I got to go to Silverton with my older brother, my dad and a couple of his buddies. The conditions were awesome and better yet…I got to ride in a helicopter to go skiing for the first time! Beyond stoked. The feeling of riding in a helicopter is really similar to that of skiing in powder. It was oddly and eerily similar.
The stoke is very high!
There I go!
Myself (Kevin) left, My Dad, My Older Bro (right).
Unfortunately, everyday cannot be as epic as the two at Wolf Creek and the one at Silverton. However, if we are skiing, we are usually having a pretty good time. We spent many days at Purgatory messing around in the park and on the rollers. Sometimes we are fortunate enough to dip out of work mid-day and go ski for a few hours before the evening rush hits the shop.
Kevin with a little shifty late 180.
Ben Devoti (one of Ski Barn's main ski tech's) with a truckdriver 180. Steezy!
The ski season starts to wind down at this point and the bikes and fishing poles come out again. The frozen water leaves us just as quickly as it came. Fortunately we live in SW Colorado and there is fun to be had no matter what the season. Sometimes though you have to venture further. It is easy to get stuck in a ‘bubble’ here in Durango so I had been saving all winter long and my girlfriend and I got to spend 3 weeks down in Costa Rica.
Myself and Girlfriend Liz on secret beach in Costa Rica (near Mal Pais).
During this trip I figured out that the only way I could survive without my precious mountains and snow would be to move to a beautiful warm beach with great waves for surfing. Being born in San Diego, I think surfing is in my blood. It is something that I could spend a lot of time doing. The lifestyle just seems to suit me. Laid back.
About the time we got back from Costa Rica the Animas had swollen and all the frozen water we chased all winter was swiftly rushing past us. A lot of the Ski Barn employees spend a lot of time in the water during the summer.
Corner Pocket Rapid.
Summer quickly flies by and the next thing you know we have to celebrate our countries independence! I love 4th of July. It usually means something cool is going to happen. This year several of us backpacked into Emerald Lake in the Weminuche wilderness for a long weekend. We slayed Cutbows all weekend long. It was awesome to say the least.
The Weminuche Wilderness might be one of the most beautiful places on Earth.
One of many Cutbows slayed on the trip.
There are so many amazing bike trails in and around Durango. Phil’s world (right outside Cortez) happens to be one of my favorite places to ride.
Ryder Okumura getting steezy.
Ryder Okumura is my roommate here in town and happens to be one of the best bike trials riders in the world. As I write this he is at the World Championships of Mountain Biking in Champery, Switzerland. He is the only American trials rider there this year! He also happens to be pretty good at riding a mountain bike.
Most recently a couple of us went to hike Wetterhorn Peak. We happened to catch one of the most amazing sunsets I have ever seen.
Amazing sunset with Mt. Sneffels in center.
Wetterhorn Peak to the left. Umcompaghre peak to the right. We climbed the right hand ridge of Wetterhorn.
The ridge that runs from Wetterhorn to Matterhorn.
Our friend Alexi hanging out on the final pitch of Wetterhorn Peak. 14,015'
The final pitch of Wetterhorn was steep and had some pretty serious exposure. It was amazing. That climb was a lot of fun.
This brings us to today. It was not exactly a dull past year and the title “quick look’ was not so quick. A lot has happened in the past year.
This coming weekend several of us are going to Winter Park for the Red Bull ‘Final Descent’ 12 hour downhill race. Stay tuned for pics. from this.
Also in Ski Barn news…Congratulations are in order for several of our family members.
Eric Hanson (a long time employee of Ski Barn) and his wife gave birth to a son, Zotique Hanson.
Jake Holland (one of our main tech’s) also gave birth to a son, Owen Emmet Holland.
Kenny Malara (our hardgoods buyer and manager) got engaged to his girlfriend Robin.
Stay tuned for more Ski Barn shenanigans.
Cheers to all!
I wasn’t exactly looking for the rock drops, but I came out of this a little too hot and missed the light sweeping left and lost grip on the right. I wound up blowing through that tree at the bottom. Several branches and about 10 feet lower, I crawl from the mangled bike and start laughing unscathed. Lucky. A few more feet to the right and I would be hugging the trunk.
A quick break at the top and we shred hard all the way down. There are some of the most fun sections of trail I have ever ridden on this trail. Also some of the most technical downhill sections. They are not fast moving sections, but what you lack in speed you make up for in having to balance and essentially ride trials through some of the sections. Needless to say…We had an awesome time.
We finished the out the ride and rallied up the shuttle vehicles and convened at the Moab Brewery for a final meal and well deserved beer. All in all it was a successful weekend. Lots of shredding. Lots of fun. New friends. And to top it all off… Ryder and I were not passed once on a trail (we did manage to pass quite a few others though).
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