Boulder and Beyond PWD10

The Flatirons just west of Boulder demarcate the eastern extent of the Rocky Mountains and the central flatness of the United States. To many these iconic rock escarpments represent the beauty and adventure to be found westward within the Rockies themselves. To me they provide a warning that venturing further east will result in no pow, at best some mini hills and possibly a Deliverance flashback.

In a way those who embrace the Snowmadic lifestyle are the true modern day prospectors of the Rockies.

The elusive Colorado buffalo flanked by the contemporary iron steed. Coexistence reminiscent of the Spanish Conquistadors and South America's indigenous Incas.

Reaching the Continental Divide via I-6 over Loveland Pass, I was greeted with sunshine, thin air and like-minded backcountry revelers. After some metaphoric paste consumption my inner child concluded that given the lack of fresh pow, tomorrow would be an awesome day for a little trekking.

My familiarity with the Loveland Pass area, and my current proximity, led to my route planning and reconnaissance of the west side of the pass. A couriered message from Helms (Team Get Awesome Colorado) indicating he would be partaking in the shreddification of Loveland Ski Area the following day all but made my decision for me. If the weather and current avy stability maintained through tomorrow, I would park at Loveland Pass, hike the ridgeline in the pic below, and infiltrate Loveland Ski Area proper (seen in the right 1/3 of the pic below).

It is not always the biggest drop or the most exposed line that really ignites the stoke inside. For me it's the adventure and exploration of finding new/different zones to shred and meeting friends and strangers along the way. To truly be Snowmadic one must un-learn the industry propagated "right way" to snowboard/ski/McDonald's-tray-slide and embrace their own style. Stop sweating if your over sized b-ball jersey and dewrag are sagged and tagged properly and get some pow turns! On second thought maybe just stay in the park cuz riding pow really sucks a lot!