Backcountry Ski & Snowboard Routes: Colorado

by Brittany Konsella, Frank Konsella

Overview

Whether you’re an experienced backcountry skier or intermediate snowboarder looking to ramp up your out of bounds expeditions, Brittany and Frank Konsella have the cred to guide you to the state’s special runs. Both have descended all of the state’s 14ers on skis and Brittany was the second woman to accomplish that feat. They know where the sweet lines are. Backcountry Ski & Snowboard Routes: Colorado—part of the popular series—includes backcountry routes focused on the Front Range and the San Juans, with other routes in the Sawatch Range, Elk Mountains, Mosquito Range, and more.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781594858826
Publisher:	Mountaineers Books, The
Publication date:	10/11/2017
Pages:	256
Sales rank:	1,084,223
Product dimensions:	5.40(w) x 8.40(h) x 0.90(d)

About the Author

Brittany Walker Konsella is an avid outdoors enthusiast and former freestyle skiing competitor and coach. She writes frequently about her outdoor adventures. A Colorado native, Frank Konsella is a former ski racer and International Freeskiing & Snowboarding Association (IFSA) Big Mountain competitor; he finished his goal of skiing all of Colorado’s 14,000-foot peaks in 2008 (the 4th person to ever do so). He writes about the outdoors (biking, hiking, and skiing) with Brittany. The Konsella’s live in Crested Butte, Colorado, and blog at www.14erskiers.com.

Table of Contents

Overview Map 9

Tours at a Glance 10

Foreword 15

Introduction 19

How to Use this Book 30

Legend for Route Maps 33

Park Range, Flat Tops, and Grand Mesa

1 Hahns Peak: West Side 37

2 Farwell Mountain: South Face and Chutes 39

3 Little Agnes: West and Northeast Sides 42

4 Big Agnes: West Face 45

5 Flat Top Mountain: Northeast Slopes 48

6 Grand Mesa: Former Mesa Creek Ski Area 51

Northern Front Range

7 North and South Diamond Peaks: East Faces 57

8 Nokhu Crags: Three Sisters, Grand Central, & Nokhouloir 60

9 Sundance Mountain: North Face 63

10 Flattop Mountain: Dragon's Tail Couloir 66

11 Tyndall Gorge: Tyndall Glacier and Couloir 69

12 Bear Lake: Terrain Park 71

13 Mount Audubon: Crooked Couloir 74

14 Mount Toll: Southeast Face 77

15 Apache Peak: Queen's Way and Apache Couloir 79

16 North Arapaho Peak: Northstar Couloir 82

17 South Arapaho Peak: Skywalker Couloir 85

Southern Front Range

18 Skyscraper Peak: Skyscraper Glacier 88

19 Radiobeacon Mountain; East Cirque 91

20 James Peak: North and East Couloirs 95

21 Mount Eva: Eva Bowl and Southeast Face 98

22 Berthoud Pass 101

23 Hagar Mountain 104

24 Mount Trelease: South and Northeast Faces 106

25 Loveland Pass: Hippie Trees 108

26 Black Mountain: Shit for Brains Couloir 110

27 Grizzly Peak: Grizzly Couloir 113

28 Torreys Peak: Tuning Forks 115

29 Square Top Mountain: East Bowl 117

30 Argentine Peak: Waldorf Bowl 121

Mosquito and Tenmile Ranges

31 Mount Victoria: Victoria Trees and J Chute 124

32 Royal Mountain: Coin Slot Couloir 127

33 Crystal Peak: North Face 129

34 Pacific Peak: North Chutes 133

35 Mayflower Gulch: Mayflower Hill 136

36 Fletcher Mountain: Northwest Face 139

37 Mount Tweto: Northeast Face 141

38 Quandary Peak: Cristo Couloir 144

39 North Star Mountain: Polaris Couloir 147

40 Mount Democrat: North Face 149

Gore Range

41 Peak C: CC Rider Couloir 154

42 Outpost Peak: South Side 158

43 Pitkin Creek Drainage: Birthday Chute 160

44 Pitkin Creek Drainage: West Skiers Point 163

45 Uneva Peak: West & Southwest Aspects 165

46 Buffalo Mountain: Silver Couloir 168

47 Red Peak: Big Bad Wolf 171

Elk Mountains

48 Huntsman Ridge 176

49 Marble Peak 179

50 Mount Sopris: The Elbow 181

51 Ski Hayden Peak 184

52 Greg Mace Peak 187

53 Castle Peak: East Face 188

54 Conundrum Peak: Conundrum Couloir 191

55 Pyramid Peak: The Landry Line 193

56 Maroon Peak: East Face to the Bell Cord 196

57 Unnamed 13,253: White Widow Couloir 199

58 White Rock Mountain: West Face 202

59 Gothic Mountain: Gothic Spoon and West Chutes 203

60 Teocalli Mountain 206

61 Coneys 209

62 Mount Emmons: Red Lady Bowl 211

63 Mount Emmons: Redwell Basin 213

Sangre de Cristo Mountains

64 Eureka Mountain: Eureka Couloir 219

65 Broken Hand Peak: Broken Dogleg Couloir 221

66 Crestone Needle: South Couloir 224

67 Mount Adams: West Face 227

68 Unnamed 13,020: Juice Box Couloir 229

Sawatch Range

69 Mount Oklahoma: Northeast Face 234

70 Mount Elbert: Northwest Gullies 237

71 Twining Peak: Southeast Face 240

72 Mount Champion: West Face and Northeast Chutes 243

73 Unnamed 13,736: West Face 248

74 Lackawanna Peak: South Gully and West Face 250

75 Independence Pass: Mountain Boy Gulch 252

76 La Plata Peak: Southeast Couloir and North Face 255

77 Mount Shimer (a.k.a. Sunshine) 258

78 Anderson Peak: North Face 260

79 Jenkins Mountain: Steeple Couloir 263

80 Park Cone 265

81 Emma Burr Mountain: Northeast Face 267

82 Tabeguache Peak: North Face 270

83 Monarch Pass: Perfect Trees 272

84 Mount Ouray: Devil's Armchair 274

San Juan Mountains

85 Unnamed 13,299: Dead Squirrel Couloir 280

86 Mount Sneffels: Snake Couloir 283

87 Chicago Peak: Lightning Bolt Couloir 286

88 Ajax Peak: The Dream Stream 289

89 Sheep Mountain: Sheep Chute 291

90 Gladstone Peak: North Face 293

91 Sam's Trees 296

92 Red Mountain No. 3: West Face 298

93 Clear Lake: South Lookout Peak and V2 300

94 Tower Mountain: North Face 303

95 King Solomon Mountain: North Face 305

96 Hazelton Mountain: Turkey Chute 307

97 Kendall Peak: Northwest Couloir 308

98 Grand Turk: Zipper Couloir 311

99 Snowdon Peak: Naked Lady Couloir 313

100 Wolf Creek Pass 315

101 Tomahawk Basin 317

102 Babcock Peak: South Couloir 318

Resources 321

Acknowledgments 329

Index 330

Editorial Reviews

The book features 100 of the best backcountry routes for intermediate to expert skiers, with a few easy tours thrown in.

Gunnison Country Times - Norma Erickson

It’s the kind of guidebook that will land in backpacks and on coffee tables. And just in time. ..The couple’s adventures on some of the state’s most demanding peaks make them grizzled vets able to dole out the best advice. Readers will learn from them. In addition to the detailed approach routes and options for ski lines, they have the intuitive tips earned from hundreds if not thousands of days spent in avalanche terrain, like using radios and always carrying crampons. Perhaps their mountain fluency is most evident with the inclusion of alternative ascents and descents for many routes, allowing for the flexibility required when traveling in dynamic conditions where weather and snowpack force constant evaluation and adjustment to plans.

The Denver Post - Jason Blevins

A book any serious Colorado backcountry skier should have in their library.

Wild Snow - Lou Dawson