Zest for adventure is a human condition. With the digital age and all of the ways online to see other people’s adventures, we forget that our own adventures don’t always need to be the farthest away or the most daring. My most recent adventure taught me adventure is easily found right out your backdoor.
I am fortunate to have been raised in Summit County which is a very desirable vacation town. However, this story challenges you to look at what you have right in front of you and go. I’ve traveled to Antarctica, Alaska, Vietnam, Japan and all over Central and South America looking for adventures. But what I’ve learned is that all those adventures are possible right in my backyard. It’s not about where you adventure it’s about when you adventure.
My childhood family home was at the base of the Gore Range, a mountain range located in Summit County, Colorado, and is almost completely encompassed by the Eagles Nest Wilderness. Buffalo Mountain and Red Peak have always been my back yard. As a family we took regular backpacking trips to Willow lakes and would camp at the base of the Thorn. We would summit the Thorn, catch fish, and bond as a family under celestial skies and by the glow of camp fires. This place became sacred and will forever be a place I call home.
As I got older and moved away, the Gore Range family trips became more sparse. However, it was still a large part of our daily scenery. It is hard to forget that magic once you are far back in the mountains.
The Gore has a mystical place in my heart. I learned mountaineering skills and life values consisting of the spirit of adventure, motivation, passion and environmentalism by spending days in this mountain range with my family. I have been passionate to head back into the Gore during the winter to ski some of the extensive terrain.
This season I decided I was going to take the adventure I have been itching for. My intentions for this trip were to embrace the gift I was given by living among these peaks. I set out to explore and become more in touch with the energy of the mountains. I have felt scattered recently with endless projects and changing seasons, having difficulty focusing, and feeling the world’s endless distractions. I was looking for a reset, to slow down and take some life notes from nature.
I started talking to some of my friends I had grown up with in Summit County that I knew would be into this sort of mission and finally I spoke to just the right person.
Monte Montepare was a close friend of mine during our time at Summit County High School., We had a group of friends we called “The Crew.” We were wild, athletic, intelligent and adventurous. Monte was the student body president of the school. He also led many of our wild adventures, whether it be to a punk rock show in the city, or a late night hike into the mountains with little to no food or water. Monte would eventually own his own wilderness guide business in McCarthy, Alaska. So, I can rightfully say Monte is a bad ass, He is also a stand-up comedian, a storyteller for The Moth (a theme based traveling storytelling group) and a fantastic entertainer. Above all Monte is a sick skier so he was the ideal candidate to join me on this type of adventure. I approached Monte to get on board and there was zero hesitation, just a sure yes.
Colorado experienced a major storm cycle three weeks before we set out on the trip, which produced more snow than we have received in 20 years, maybe longer. This storm cycle brought avalanche danger to an all-time high. Colorado Avalanche Information Center went black for the first time ever, going black signifies EXTREME DANGER. There were hundreds of avalanches being reported with multiple fatalities. It was big.
Having this surge of avalanches caused anxiety about heading out into the mountains. I relayed the status of the snowpack to Monte as he was traveling with The Moth. He assured me that a lot can happen in a few weeks and we should keep the dates.
Monte returned from London two days before our trip. The snowpack had stabilized due to warming weather and no new snow for sometime. The avalanche website began to go green and thought of the trip began to be a bit more comforting. But, even though things were stabilizing, there was still a chance you could let an avalanche loose and it could be deadly.
Monte arrived in Colorado on March 23, 2019. We decided to head up Uneva Pass to check out what was going on with the snow pack, do some planning and get eyes on our planned route. We found that the snow seemed stable, but we could not get eyes on our objective because it was socked in by clouds and had begun to snow.
Later that afternoon we rolled into Whole Foods, stocked up, sat down to look at maps and dialed in our route. We planned to be out for two nights and three days. We had a few lines we were dreaming of skiing including the Deming Drop, Silver Couloir and the Big Bad Wolf.
The next morning we planned to head out of Frisco from the Meadow Creek trailhead and make our way to Eccels Pass. We knew it would be a stretch to ski them all and we also didn’t even know if any of them would go.
The Gore Mountain Range, especially in the winter, is some of the least traveled mountains in Colorado, primarily due to the difficulty of access. The monoliths are tall, the drainages are deep, the mountains are boney, and the terrain is unforgiving. Needless to say, it takes some work to get back to the goods.
I find the opportunity for me to disconnect these days is difficult with how advanced our digital technology is. The constant dopamine triggers are hard to release from. I embraced this opportunity to escape and headed into the Gore with Monte. We pushed out with full backpacks searching for steep lines and soft snow. This is the natural dopamine technology can’t give you.
We charged through the drainage, through the trees, running into a few trail runners at the beginning who warned us of strong winds ahead. We could hear the wind through the tree canopy. This gave way for some discerning thoughts about what to expect. The sun was shining so our spirits stayed high. Just as we reached the first meadow we got a look at the summit of Mt. Deming and the south side of the mountain. This mountain has lines coming off every direction waiting to be skied. This sent both of us into excitement about the possibilities for good lines. Our stoke meters hit RED.
We had finally left civilization and entered the mountains. Everything outside of the moment slipped away and it would all be there when we returned. Until then we were in the backcountry.
Eventually we made it to the Meadow Creek Basin and began our ascent to Eccels Pass. After several hours, we were working a bit harder and our packs were feeling much heavier, but we knew our camp location awaited us on the other side. Once we reached the top of the pass, we peered down into Willow Creek drainage and immediately spotted our campsite. It was as if it were designed just for us. The site held a majestic view of the south side of Red Peak and had north facing ski lines right into camp.
Red Peak has two summits and an impressive jagged ridge. There is a dream notch right in the middle, which we would dream about skiing for the next few days. I’m pretty sure Monte had his heart set on having tea in the notch while waiting for the sun to hit just before he drops into that beast.
Once we set camp we shared stoke and headed back up to Eccels pass to ski a few last light laps. The approach was mellow, the packs were lighter, and the snow was ideal crystalline powder.
That evening we hung out in the tent, since that’s what you do winter camping at night in the high alpine. We cooked elk stew over a camp stove. The elk was actually from the Gore Range, so we were able to consume elk from the Gore in the Gore. That night the sky was crystal clear and the air was so still you almost felt bad disturbing the stillness with each breath.
The following morning came fast, although it was easy to fall asleep. After all, we lugged 45-pound packs up and over a mountain pass and then skied lines after all that effort. We awoke to a perfect sunrise. The snow blanketed the ground perfectly making for a picture-perfect setting.
Our project for the day was to ascend Eccels Pass, summit Deming Mountain, assess the lines, and hopefully ski the Deming Drop; a 40+ degree line which drops 1,300 ft. straight off the summit. The approach was not an easy one. We had to do some rock climbing and some down climbing. Monte lead that mission well, and we made it to the top with grace. The weather was perfect, the stars had aligned overnight, and we were definitely skiing Deming Drop. There was magic in the air. There was a group of black birds soaring the ridge around us, almost as if they were spirits of old friends cheering us on. Once standing on top of the line, Monte made the call and it was a-go. The snow was perfect. We were in ski bliss. We were able to open it up and charge the line as hard as we wanted to.
The Deming Drop Couloir
Monte Montepare descends the Deming Drop Couloir
After skiing the Drop we chilled in the basin, laughed, cheered, reminisced and let it all soak in before making the ascent back up to Eccels pass and skiing off the summit of Peak 12,435 back into camp. These were bonus lines, and they were good, too. The light wasn’t perfect because it was late in the day but the snow sure was.
There is something to be said about skiing memorable perfect ski lines in a day and skiing right into your house. Back at camp Monte chef’d us up some gourmet Annie’s Mac and Cheese with elk sausage tossed in. I snagged a few cosmic photographs and turned in for the next day.
Our plan for the final day was to pack camp head down into Willow Creek drainage, unload our packs at the base of Silver Couloir, and attempt to summit Buffalo and ski the famous 3,000-foot Couloir.
Silver Couloir is the one line you can’t miss if you are driving into Summit County from the front range. I have been staring at Silver Couloir my entire life and never skied it. My friends have skied it. My dad has skied it. It’s even in Chris Davenport’s book 50 Classic Ski Descents in North America. This couloir has been on my list to ski for as long as I can remember and I was finally going to get my chance.
The Silver Couloir
The next morning wasn’t quite as perfect as the morning before, but it was close. There was a slight bit more wind that day, but not enough to ruin snow conditions. Monte brewed up espresso with his handy portable camping espresso maker, which seems fitting for a mountain guide-comedian. This gave us a kick-start and we were able to get camp packed up and ski into the basin.
As we hit tree line we were having a blast, until the trees got thicker and the snow got warmer. At this point we had to use most of our strength to get anywhere, and I was falling and getting hung up on all sorts of snow demons. By the time we got to the point where we were going to drop our bags we were both exhausted. We didn’t feel up to the effort of dropping gear and heading back up to summit a 12,777 ft. mountain and then skiing a huge couloir and then skin back home.
We made the decision to just ski back to my parent’s house. I was crushed. I wanted to ski Silver Couloir. Silver was the dream for my trip. I had not known if it was going to happen from the beginning due to the Avalanche potential so I didn’t expect much. That day I was sure we were going to tick this one off. That day wasn’t the day so I had to let it go. We made our way down and skied right into the back door of my folk’s house.
Monte and I sat on the back porch looking up at Silver happy about our decision, but really wishing we would have skied it. Right there we decided we would get a good night sleep, meet up at the trail head at 5 am, and tackle the objective. It was a-go and we were going to do it. A perfect grand finale to the trip.
That day prior was warm and that night it froze, so the skin up Buffalo was a rough one. Icy from bottom to top. Nothing was going to stop us from skiing this line today, so we summited the peak and hung on top a bit. We enjoyed the sunrise and overlooked the world where we had both spent most of our lives. So many memories were below us and we were there creating more right in our backyard.
After some time at the summit we decided we were ready to shred. I called my dad and told him we were going to ski. My family watched us as we made our way into the mouth of the beast. The snow wasn’t as good as what we had skied the previous days, but it felt so good to be inside that mountain, engulfed in the earths wrinkles, skiing freely, and knowing that I had accomplished a goal I had set out to achieve.
At the bottom of the Couloir we ducked into the trees, sat down, made some lunch, and talked about the amazing days we had in the Gore Range. This adventure was one for the books. We circumnavigated Buffalo mountain, skied epic powder, bonded over nature, and experienced the cosmic energy of the Gore Range.
The biggest takeaway for me was that adventure is waiting for you right where you are, you don’t have to look far or travel by plane overseas to escape and experience the natural world. Do yourself a favor: Plan a backyard trip with one of your best friends and re-define adventure for yourself.
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