TR: Old Times

[thin cover]

I got back yesterday from a great week long ski adventure in CO with treewelldweller. A lot of folks know here that he has been my ski partner, tour partner, and one of my best buds for a long time. We met freshman year in college and quickly discovered that we both smoked pot and listened to the Dead, so the friendship began. Post college I left for Asia, he left for CO.
A couple years later we reconnected again both back on the EC and came to the second discovery that we both like to ski a shit ton. With this knowledge we started marathon trips all over the east coast, out west, and even in Yurp in search of great terrain and snow. Many of those adventures catalogued on here. I would say 95% of of the last 12 years of my skiing has included TWD.
Fast forward, the siren call came last year and TWD moved back to CO in April, I don't blame him. But when you spend that much time on the skin track, booter, car, plane, train, chair lift, dinner table, hotel room, you get used to each other's ski vibe and get accustomed to that dynamic. Arriving for a week long trip to CO, a place I have only skied once and 9 years ago, it somehow seemed familiar as soon I got into the car at the airport. Different variations of blue grass and Jerry band going, 10 different kinds of peel your face off weed, and a car packed with all kinds of gear to get rad as fuck , all as I expected.


We got an Alpine start the next morning in RMNP and skied a couple lines that have been on here a few times before. We scored them in great conditions, a solid precursor to another human powered trip.

Climbing up [The line far lookers right]



Getting down









TWD hammering the apron




Stoked on a good climb and ski


Next day we headed down to the opening day for the last weekend of unguided at Silverton in a hazy canabus fueled by trail mix, chips, pro bars, and coffee. Really enjoyed the trip down, with countless hours logged together in the same fashion, I was content in just sitting back listening to some twang' and trying to keep my head on.

We got there at midnight, asleep by 2 am and up for first chair. We hiked all the way out the first lap and were paid back nicely with steep smooth hero alpine pow down to peel away corn.











Silverton has an exceptional amount of steep skiing that goes for much longer than you would think, combining the two things we dig most in the winter, hiking and skiing.














4th and final lap, spring sliding at its finest, reminding me of countless awesome spring days in the presidentials and chic chocs that we have shared.









TWD and I seem to nail a lot of good trips together, and this was turning out to be a fine spicy specimen. That evening we debated the dilemma we were faced with, How do we top that? We knew we would. Several scouting drive by's that evening revealed a few targets. After some vacillation between different trail lots the next morning, we settled on one.
Hard to pass up that hulking mass of rocks, chutes and steep faces with a reasonable approach.


TWD cracking an unsure smile traversing along the ridge to drop in. Front was moving in and it started dumping.


But it turned all smiles once we felt some perfect spring pow under our skis.

[thin cover]

Cracking another smile, we are 3 for the 3.


so good that we decided on another lap on a shorter adjacent line, same result though


Back at the car enjoying a little VT in CO.


With the stoked level pegged at holy shit that was fucking great. We tempered our elation with battling over where the incoming storm was going to hit the heaviest. After as much back and forth as the one hitter, we decided that the returning to the north and checking out TWD's stash in the indian peaks would be the next stop. Even being off by a few inches would just ruin the trip. But Shit, we have driven 14 hours through the nigh to ski 1k flat feet in west virginia from Northern Vermont. So 7 hours back to sugarloaf was nothing. I think we chose wisely.






it was our mojo fortune scoring such fine skiing and then have the last 2 days of the trip end in deep storm day lapping...





At some points we kept saying,"shit its hammering out"













Next morning the skies revealed a straight porn scene, we participated
















With tons of vert climbed, all kinds of terrain skied in all kinds of snow surfaces, and 20 collective hours of sleep over the week, we knew it was time to call it a trip.




Many thanks were exchanged at the airport, bro hugs and looks of slight disbelief that we cant do it again next window like we have been used to for so long. No trip or tour this year had been even remotely as fun. I received a text the last night from TWD saying the same exact thing I was thinking. Thanks for making the trip, and it felt just like old times (but in better terrain ;0 )

[hoarhey]

great write-up and photos of a stoke and toke-filled trip.
thanks for sharing.

[yabyum]

Nice job, Thanks for shots and all the stoke. Skiing with old friends is really wonderful, after four or five decades there are indeed good friends on a powder day!

[PlayItLeo]

Awesome write up. You guys see any wolves?

[VTColdSmoke]

Sick dude way to get it! Glad you got the toppers to CO too!

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using TGR Forums

[TacocaT]

Looking real nice

[Cono Este]

GOOD TIMES AND GREAT PICS.

[icelanticskier]

stoked for you mang! old times=priceless

rog

[vt_ski]

FKNA.
1234

[mtnbiker/boarder]

Super stoked to hear that your trip was awesome. Glad TWD is doing well and the write up was a good read. Would like to ski with TWD again , maybe next year he is good poeple

[BigDaddy]

Beautiful trip, shots and story.

Old friends on the hill together is about as good as it gets, but that scenery and those conditions just make for a spectacular time. Well done men... miss skiing with you both!

[FussyDutchman]

You weren't kidding when you said mega tr coming, great snaps! Stoked you made it out and you guys hit the timing perfect, again...just like old times with a lot more terrain/vert to explore.

[stradissimo]

Great pics. Wow. You and TWD are lucky to have long-time ski friends.

Having someone in the frame on Silverton Mtn really makes the scale of the place noticeable.

When you were in the Indian Peaks, I was doing yard work. That was painful because I knew there were epic conditions a few hours away.

[treewell-dweller]

Positive I’ll be reliving this adventure by way of your TR for many years to come. Photos are exceptional, as is standard these days. Damn--didn’t realize we were getting all sentimental, bro!

Still recall one of the first times hanging with you back in Ithaca, on the deck of Key West, listening to the Lost Sailors, smoking some banana bud you were holding. And losing my mind shortly thereafter.

After college, for years we were “winter friends”. We wouldn’t talk all summer and then on then on Black Friday we would reconvene on Hunter’s WROD for opening day with T and Bender. And it was just like old times.

With each passing winter we ventured further North, West and East, (even South once,) in search of better snow, more interesting terrain and new adventures. Through the inevitable ups and downs, we always found it, one way or the other.

Winter has not been the same without my go-to ski partner and friend, but this trip really made the season for me. When you booked the flight a few weeks ago, it was hard to say whether we would be skiing corn, pow or some variation of boilerplate.

I checked the CAIC report the day before your arrival and saw we had “Low Danger” at all elevations – plus a storm incoming at the tail end of the trip – I knew things were coming together. Turns out, timing could not have been better for what we had hoped to get into.

The bar was set pretty high after the first morning in the Park, but we managed to keep raising it day after day. Much like a midweek storm day, the trip kept getting better and better until you can’t help but think it might be the best day ever. And it is. Stoked we got to enjoy those turns, that terrain, and snow together, freewheeling it, as always. There’s nobody who likes to get after it as much as you, and that is always contagious.

Closing it out with a Monday morning dawn patrol, untracked all over, all of the gnar out of the way, biting cold. Perfect way to end the trip… until next time.

Still on high from a standout week of ski touring, roadtripping and enjoying all that CO has to offer… This is definitely going to have to be an annual trip.

PlayItLeo: the only wolf we saw was the one on jerry's guitar as we were dodging icefalls and slides on RMP.

[Shadam]

you met freshman year in college ...

drug affected ...

first shot is of his ass ...

porn and you bro in the same photo, sentence ...

bro hugs ???

are we missing something ???

just piss taking ... looks like a once in 10 year trip bro's dream of ...

thanks for posting ...

[spankthepow]

Fucking rad! And next time bring a case of heady topper, I'd certainly take a few off your hands!

[ex-powderbroker]

Wow, what a trip! That's like... WOW.

I think this one's my fave:



MRG slush bumps and a trip to the Bobcat next year on TWD's trip back east?

[gointhedistance]

Soo.... That was sweet! Really fun pics - nice!

[I've seen black diamonds!]

Amazing. I think this is my favorite:

[IridePow]

Nice road trip.
Let me think back to my old times in Colorado.

It's always very rewarding when it comes all together.... the mountains, the weather, the snow .... and to enjoy it all with one of your longtime buddies.
Thanks for sharing.

[Grape_Ape]

That was nice. Thanks for sharing.



...oh, I also hate you.

[Peruvian]

Great TR. Thanks.

[Alpinord]

Excellent trip, shots and camaraderie. I'm regretting we didn't cross paths.

[Moeghoul]

Looks like another week's worth of best days eveahr!