Whoops in the wilderness

We’re sorry, this feature is currently unavailable. We’re working to restore it. Please try again later.

Advertisement

This was published 13 years ago

Whoops in the wilderness

Edgy ... Alpine touring.

Edgy ... Alpine touring.Credit: Debbie Nielsen-Hunter

Debbie Neilson-Hunter can't contain her joy at conquering the pristine runs away from Aspen crowds.

AFTER 20 years of sticking to the groomed trails, I'm eager for a fresh challenge. Inspired by years of watching Warren Miller films of the world's best free riders in extreme terrain, I decide it's time to try a little out-of-bounds adventure.

The perfect opportunity comes during a visit to Colorado, where I sign up for a one-day back-country tour with Aspen Expeditions.

My guide is general manager Dirk Bockelmann, a skier and mountaineer who recently climbed Nepal's majestic Ama Dablam peak. Watching my back will be another avid outdoorsman and knowledgeable Aspen local, Zach Lentz.

After a get-to-know-you chat at AE's headquarters, I'm kitted out with lunch and essential avalanche rescue gear - shovel, probe and beacon. I'm also fitted for alpine touring (AT) skis, designed to allow downhill skiers to free each heel for cross-country walking.

Non-slip nylon skins fitted to the bottom of the skis will also allow me to climb uphill (a daunting thought). Known as Randonee skiing in Europe, AT skiing is soaring in popularity in the US. It's the next best thing to heli-skiing, which is not allowed in Aspen's protected wilderness areas.

Aside from skis and poles, I don't usually like to carry more than my lift pass, lunch money, lip balm and a pocket-size camera. The backpack weight and new equipment takes some getting used to, which is why Bockelmann leads us to Ajax Mountain (Aspen's closest and most accessible back country), where we're spared the big hike to Richmond Ridge (at more than 3700 metres), via the gondola.

Here we duck enthusiastically under the boundary markers like rebellious children sneaking away from the supervised playground.

Once we learn how to use the avalanche beacons strapped to our chests (which brings home the serious life-and-death nature of playing hooky), we fit the skins to the skis and set off at a steady pace along the ridge to our lunch spot.

Advertisement

The air is clean and crisp and I'm instantly aware of the serenity; away from the hum of chairlifts and busy, groomed trails. I'm also slightly puffed from the 1.2-kilometre uphill walk but the view as we arrive is just as breathtaking. Jackets, now peeled off, make perfect picnic rugs as we sit to eat and admire the scenery stretching west to the epic runs of Aspen's Highland Bowl, part of the Central Elk Mountains, east to Independence Pass and north to Vail and the pretty Sawatch Range.

We're soon joined by a couple of back-country locals - "camp robber" birds (jays) brazen enough to steal the bread from our fingers. But no one minds, least of all me, who's thrilled at my first encounter with local wildlife.

With energy levels restored, it's time to lock our heels down and tackle the first off-piste run, known as Rock Garden. One glance down and I almost lose my nerve. It's steep and deep. Conscious of holding up my fellow adventurers, I suck in the cold air and take the plunge.

My balance and technique are all wrong for these pristine spring-powder conditions and thrills soon turn to spills as I wipe out on my first turn. The snow is as soft as sorbet but my skis are tangled and

I struggle to stand. Lentz is quickly by my side.

Armed with a few tips to negotiate the deep powder better, I navigate my second turn successfully and grow more confident on the third and fourth turns.

Relieved to put my first-run jitters behind me, I can't stifle a whoop as I reach the bottom.

During the next few hours, we weave between snow-dusted spruce and fir trees, across quiet open glades and trek along the lonely fire trails that criss-cross the fairytale-looking White River National Forest.

Fresh animal tracks across our path remind us of the seclusion. Coyotes, snow hares, elk, even mountain lions inhabit the region, heightening the thrill of adventure.

We're then sweetly rewarded for our hiking efforts with more unmarked downhill terrain (485 hectares to the valley floor) that's ours for the taking.

Our tour winds up back at the bottom of Walsh's Run, a daunting double black.

I'm worn out but it's the kind of contented exhaustion that comes from abundance: fresh air and exercise, sterling company and a sense of achievement.

The writer was a guest of Aspen Skiing Company and V Australia.

Trip notes

Getting there

V Australia flies from Sydney to Los Angeles, with connecting flights to Aspen/Pitkin. The airport is five minutes' drive from the slopes. Travel between Aspen's four mountains free on the RFTA shuttle bus. 13 82 87, vaustralia.com.au.

Staying there

Frias self-contained condos are near Aspen's Silver Queen Gondola and Rubey Park. +1 877 636 4626, friasproperties.com. The Viceroy Snowmass has 173 rooms, from studios up to four bedrooms with kitchenettes. +1 970 923 8000, viceroyhotelsandresorts.com /snowmass/.

Touring there

A back-country tour for two on any of the four mountains costs $US280 a person. This includes a certified AMGA ski guide and avalanche safety gear. AT demo gear costs $US50 for skis, skins and boots, +1 970 925 7625, aspenexpeditions.com. Back-country skiers need to be intermediate to advanced level. Powder snow experience helps.

What's new

Aspen's electronic lift passes can be linked to a credit card for use as a smart card to make on-mountain purchases. Aspen's mobile app provides real-time updates on conditions and resort information (trail maps and dining options).

More information

aspensnowmass.com.

Snowshoe shuffle

ALL ages and abilities can take a snowshoe tour to explore Aspen's alpine environment and learn more about the region's history long before it became a famous ski resort. Did you know that underneath Aspen Mountain is a giant maze of abandoned silver mines? The ACES snowshoe tours leave twice daily at Snowmass and Aspen Mountain (in front of the Silver Queen Gondola) and cost adults $US57, youths (13-17 years) $US45 and seniors and children (seven-12 years) $US35. aspennature.org.

Sign up for the Traveller Deals newsletter

Get exclusive travel deals delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up now.

Most viewed on Traveller

Loading