With all the craziness going on and ski resorts closing I have been reminded how much I love backcountry skiing since it is the only option right now.
The first time I went backcountry skiing I was 4 years old. It was when my family started doing hut trips between Christmas and New Years. My dad would pull me in on a sled 5 miles up to the hut and then he would carry me up and let me ski back down to the hut. At that age I didn’t fully realize what I was doing but I loved it.
My dad was a ski patroller for 25 years and loved teaching my brother and I everything about the backcountry and avalanche danger starting when I was too young to fully comprehend it all. I got a telemark ski set up when I was 7 years old so that I could skin into the huts with my family and switched to an AT set up once I was in high school. It quickly became one of my favorite trips that we did as a family every year. We would spend 4 days in the hut skiing and my dad would also teach us everything he could about avalanche safety. We did practice beacon searches to see who could find it the fastest and every time we went out skiing we would dig a pit to look at all the snow layers. Now it almost feels like second nature every time we go into the backcountry.
We always went through the 10th Mountain Division Hut system which has huts all over Colorado. We usually rent out the whole hut which sleeps around 18 people. Most of the huts are two stories and run on solar power. There is a wood burning stove and a wood burning furnace to keep the hut warm. We hike in with all our food and melt snow for water. We spend all the days outside enjoying the incredible views and terrain.
During my senior year of high school we decided to do a hut to hut ski trip in northern Italy. The trip was 7 days and we stayed in 4 different huts. There were about 10 of us and two guides. Between huts it was usually between 5-12 miles of skinning. On the days we didn’t switch huts we got to go out and ski as much of the terrain as possible. The snow pack in Italy is much safer than Colorado but you have to look out for other things such as crevasses that blend in with the terrain. The huts fit up to 90 people and are very similar to hostiles with separate rooms and a dinning room where they serve you food. It was one of the best experiences I’ve ever had. The huts were really fun with all the people there speaking so many different languages and it was some of the best terrain I have ever skied.
Backcountry skiing is so amazing because it is so peaceful to be out in the middle of nowhere with incredible views you wouldn’t be able to get anywhere else. Every run you get fresh turns and get to really enjoy every second of it without so many people around. As long as you go out prepared with all the right gear and know how to handle the terrain and be safe, it is one of the best ways to experience winter in Colorado.