Back Country Ski Winterim

Day 2

The backcountry ski group made it to Ouray, CO, aka “The Switzerland of America”! A smooth 7-hour drive under bluebird skies was capped off by a dip in the healing waters of the Ouray Hot Springs. A delicious dinner in town followed by shared laughs back at the VRBO was a fitting end to a great day. Tomorrow we’ll be at ‘em early to meet the San Juan Mountain Guides, get set up with alpine touring gear, and get on the snow!

Day 3
Happy Saint Patrick’s Day! The backcountry ski group is feeling lucky about all of our newly acquired knowledge and upcoming San Juan adventure! We started our day learning how to use avalanche transceivers and practicing mock searches on the disc golf course. Local company Backcountry Access (BCA) helped us out by loaning us several transceivers to use for the day. We then spent time exploring the website opensnow.com and learning about weather forecasting before having a zoom call with Open Snow founder and powder forecasting expert Joel Gratz. Our group had great questions for Joel, who filled us in on the specific forecast for our upcoming trip… snow, snow, and more snow! After lunch, we practiced reading topographical maps and began applying these skills to expedition planning - the first step in our culminating project of planning a comprehensive ski tour. The students will present their final projects on the last night at the yurt on Red Mountain Pass. Looking forward to our departure for Ouray bright and early Sunday morning!