52 Weeks in Denver | Backcountry Skiing and More

135 | Fly Fishing on the St. Vrain

2009-07-14T09:22:00.004-06:00

After a long night out at one of downtown Denver's finer wine bars, Trios Enoteca, followed by a trip to one of the city's iconic jazz and blues gems, El Chapultepec, I joined my skiing buddy Eric and made not only the first fly casts of 2009, but the first ones in close to ten years. How I managed two-plus years living here in Colorado without my fly rod is beyond me, but now that it has a rightful home, you can expect each weekend to be filled with much time on the water. I wasn't expecting a whole lot of success on Sunday morning, but there was no sign of muscle memory loss with my casting. I was also fortunate to grab two solid strikes although the unanticipation of any action let my reflexes slag behind while Eric pulled away with one catch on the day - only a one-pounder but it's a start. Not a bad way to spend four hours.

Click here to view the pictures below and more in larger size. All photos taken with the Canon G10.

134 | More Pictures from Coors Field

2009-07-13T09:45:00.003-06:00

I went to a couple more Colorado Rockies games last week and spent a good amount of time continuing to practice taking panoramic shots. Always tough to do when dealing with moving objects such as people, but out of over 300 photographs for more than twenty pano setups, a few came out decent. Click here for the complete gallery.

133 | Fourth of July at Coors Field, 2009 Edition

2009-07-10T23:36:00.006-06:00

A week ago, Nancy and I stumbled our way to downtown Denver with no set plans. Arriving shortly after the fifth inning began, we scored some cheap seats which unexpectedly granted us front row seats to an amazing fireworks display within the comfort of the outfield at Coors Field. That's right - for $10 we saw the Rockies blow a late inning lead, but watching the sky light up with our asses parked on the grass wasn't such a bad consolation prize. Below are a few pictures from the complete gallery.

132 | Panoramic Photos on LSD

2009-07-08T09:29:00.004-06:00

While searching for photo stitching software to combine many segments into a larger panoramic picture, I found something called Hugin that allows you to do some pretty wild and interesting alterations. The results can be very stunning and best of all, it's absolutely free. I haven't tried using Hugin yet, but below are just a few examples from the over 14,000 images you can view here.

131 | Castlewood Canyon State Park, Colorado

2009-06-28T10:18:00.006-06:00

Yesterday, I checked out Castlewood Canyon State Park located near Franktown, and below are a few select pictures along the 3.5-mile hike. To view the complete gallery, please click here.

130 | Chatfield and Barr Lake State Parks, Colorado

2009-06-23T09:25:00.011-06:00

Having recently purchased a Colorado State Parks Pass, I am now determined to visit all forty-two parks before a year expires and get the most out of the $60 negligible fee. With a puppy in tow and an obsessive photography hobby, it really shouldn't be all that difficult to accomplish.

On Sunday, Chatfield Park was the destination and minus the absolute ghettoness of it all (apologies to those that hold this place dearly, but it was a total shitshow in every essence of the word), I was able to capture a couple solid photos. To followup, Barr Lake provided some excellent lighting last night before the deeply oranged sun dipped behind Rocky Mountain National Park to the west.

These trips allowed me to become better acquainted with the Nikon WC-E75 wide angle lens as well as the Kenko Pro1 Digital Circular Polarizer, both an excellent compliment to the Canon G10. To view the collection of Barr Lake photos, please click here. For Chatfield, click here.

129 | North Face Couloir . Mount Evans

2009-06-21T11:30:00.016-06:00

Yesterday, I joined one of my usual partners-in-crime for the easiest descent possible down a Colorado 14er. With Mount Evans Highway open all the way to the top, we effectively exited our car (complete with chauffeur) and were a short 507-foot-long walk from the 14,264' summit. I've had some great days with JJ, notably an unseasonal slaying of No Name Peak near Berthoud Pass in mid-January as well as one of the sickest powder days of the year at Monarch Mountain where a modest ten-inch report of new snow surprisingly turned into over two feet of awesomeness. With the good comes the bad, and those perfect backcountry days wouldn't be as appreciative if not for those long treks out into the unexpected where you return home without victory; such was the case experienced with JJ on our mid-March trip to James Peak.

Knowing the overnight freeze at the top of Mount Evans would be minimal and with the desire to photograph nature's alarm clock, we appropriately left the Denver area around five in the morning and ultimately reached the summit shortly after 7am with some minor delays. What we didn't know was that an incredibly dense fog (or low-lying clouds) would inhabit the top portion of the mountain. Additionally, winds were gusting close to 30mph, but it was the complete lack of visibility that caused me to be separated from JJ for close to 45 minutes before finding each other with just enough time to spare for a safe and enjoyable descent down the north face couloir. To note, my pack always has a whistle attached to it but I was using a new one yesterday and forgot to make the transfer. We were also using radios, but I kept one while the other was left for Nancy who wasn't skiing.

There's a trip report posted on 14ers.com that offers a better view of what we skied given the weather conditions for us to be very sub par. To view all the pictures posted below plus a few additional ones in larger size, please click here.

After being reunited, we quickly strapped into our skis and began our descent. The top hundred feet of the couloir was barely six feet wide which led us to sidestep down before entering the larger section where I'm seen here:

A few turns later, I eventually disappear into an abyss:

Along the way, there was no shortage of rocks to dodge as JJ shows here:

As alluded to, battling the clouds would be an issue with visibility less than fifty feet at times:

Pretty soon, the terrain opened up, and with less convection from rocks, the snow transformed from considerably slushy in the upper section to a more sustainable just-past-prime corn:

We effectively skied down near Summit Lake with a short downclimb of some twenty feet in the middle of the lower section:

JJ crossing Bear Creek:

Our route down is seen in the picture below on the far left side where a "T" formation is made:

Birmy also joined us on this trip for his first time on snow:

Skiing close to 1,400 feet of continuous snow the day before summer officially begins with not much effort at all is never be a bad thing:

128 | Vinyl in Motion

2009-06-19T08:38:00.002-06:00

Two days I ago, I received the Nikon WC-E75 wide angle lens for the Canon G10 which brings the focal length down from 28mm to 21mm. Not having a chance to explore its capabilities outside yet, I opted for a slightly more creative route in seeing what the G10 could capture if I focus it through the front end of the E75. Below are the results (click on the images to view in larger size).

127 | Birmy at 9 Weeks

2009-06-18T09:54:00.005-06:00

With another decent Saturday on the horizon and with a short break from long ski trips deep into national forest land, Nancy and I brought Birmy to Cherry Creek Reservoir for his first experience outside his minuscule apartment life.

Below are a few select pictures from the day and if you wish to view more and in larger size, please click here. All photos were shot in RAW with the Canon G10 and without any additional filters.

126 | Y Couloir . Ypsilon Mountain . RMNP

2009-06-15T23:25:00.030-06:00

As hard as it may be to imagine, my eyes yet shed any tears when faced with physical pain. The closest I ever came to reaching such a threshold took place in the early afternoon on June 6th, 2009 while returning on the back leg of a nine-mile roundtrip in the northern part of Rocky Mountain National Park.

As technology advances exponentially every fraction of a second, so do our abilities to reach further distances. And with that, one can only envision the determination and drive that our predecessors endured as challengers in being the pioneers that they were.

Any perceived struggle today was ultimately intensified ten-fold many years ago. No shortcuts existed and nor did the aid of Google Earth that offered a more in-depth approach to tackling the more difficult mountains.

That is how I discovered Ypsilon Mountain nearly twelve months ago, and that is how I discovered the ever so prominent devil masked deep within: the left branch of the Y Couloir. It has been a goal to climb and make a successful ski descent down to Spectacle Lake, but unfortunately, this tale will end without such luck.

Forrest and I began our journey at 8,500 feet, which put us exactly six miles and five-thousand feet away from our mission. For the topo map, please click here.

The majority of the hike was very straight-forward and novice with Ypsilon Mountain in complete view just one mile in as we crossed the Roaring River:

Our comfort level was surely tested as Forrest eagerly demonstrates:

After a quick two hours, we reached Chipmunk lake at the four-mile mark and had a closer view of the mountains from 10,600 feet:

(photo by Forrest)

Abruptly, the honeymoon ended as we postholed up to our knees for the last half mile to Ypsilon Lake while carry over sixty pounds of gear strapped conveniently to our backs. Because our elevation was low and we were hiking in the dead of day, no such firm layer of snow existed to help us along the bushwack. It was also at this juncture that the dry hiking trail became winteresque and invisible.

Eventually, we set up camp and took a particular liking to our surroundings:

(photo by Forrest)

With 3,000 more feet to climb in order to reach the summit of Ypsilon, we had a long day ahead of us. Time would be an issue as temperatures were expected to rise close to 40-degrees, even above 13,000'. Accordingly, we decided on a 4:30am wakeup which ultimately proved to be forty-five minutes too late.

Below shows the route we climbed that takes us from Ypsilon Lake to Spectacle Lake. Our path was on the far right side of the major snow patch you see in the middle. The right branch of the Y Couloir hovers over proudly in the background.

Long's Peak is easily visible along the way up:

About two-hundred feet from Spectacle Lake, I reached a bridge in our trip that couldn't be crossed. I had just ascended up the wet terrain you see in the picture below which was followed by steeper and more technical climbing. My ski boots were already challenged by wet, rocky surfaces, and I was neither comfortable nor prepared for a second wave.

(photo by Forrest)

Interestingly, I had more than a few dreams throughout the previous night that hinted towards disaster on this trip. Premonition or not, I was shaken up by a near fall and decided to bail on going forward. Determined, Forrest continued:

At about 7:30am, Forrest found himself at the far end of Spectacle Lake with the Y Couloir staring through his eyes and the Four Aces keeping watch from the right:

(photos by Forrest)

An hour later, Forrest was halfway up the 1,800 couloir before stopping himself from ascending higher as the snow was softening up beyond safe levels. While obviously dejected, the ride down was not all too pleasant:

(photo by Forrest)

Aside from very chunky snow that filled the lower portion of the couloir, 4-8' deep runnels provided additional and unnecessary variables to the equation:

(photo by Forrest)

The picture below shows his route with the ascent marked in red and the descent in green:

(photo by Forrest)

After returning, we quickly packed up and returned to the parking lot off Fall River Road. It's no easy task carrying as much weight as we were, but it's even worse when your pack is far from being able to handle such a load and you have a blister that has already ripped off a large section of skin from your heel. As alluded to, the discomfort I was experiencing (aided by the horribly-cushioned Mountain Attack 45+10 from Lowe Alpine) caused as much pain as I've ever dealt with. An easy four-mile hike downhill along a dry trail seemed to have no ending in sight with each step forward bringing a knife-life pain through every contact point on my shoulders.

Adding injury to insult, we ran into two other skiers that descended the left branch of the Y Couloir shortly after Forrest made his way down, only they had accessed it from the west while starting from Chapin Pass at 11,000'. In further suggesting that you should climb what you ski, the two informed us that had the first climbed the couloir and saw how bad of a condition it was in, that they would have bagged the trip without attempting.

Regardless, it's highly probably that neither Forrest or I will return to make a ski attempt off the same peak that was first descended by John Harlin III and Jimmy Katz back in 1984. It's obviously a downer not to achieve something you had looked so forward to completing, but it's a much better feeling being able to try it again.

Looking back at a beauty:

Please click here to view more pictures and in larger size. For Forrest's photographs, please visit his website at www.forrestthorniley.com.

125 | Lighting: Naturally- and Artificially-Made

2009-06-14T22:10:00.000-06:00

I'm still getting adjusted to the Canon G10, but have had some success recently and below are a few relating to this posting's title.

Artifical:

These three photos contain a fluorescent light bulb shot with different techniques. The first was taken up close with the color temperature slightly altered to make the photograph more dynamic. The second incorporated a negative switch on red and green and about 3/4 of the way on blue. The last one is closest to the original form but with some minor color temperature adjustment to give the picture a more industrial feel to it.

All Natural:

These two photographs were taken during a late sunset in Denver from nearby I-25 overlooking towards the west.

124 | Birmy: Denver's Newest Goldendoodle

2009-06-09T09:29:00.003-06:00

When the girlfriend arrived back in Denver after a nine-month exodus to the great state of Alabama, I of course was extremely elated. But when she brought back this guy, I nearly lost it:

His name is Birmy, and he's my new best friend - a best friend that I actually don't mind waking up at 6am every morning just so he can proudly mark his territory. While growing up, I had the pleasure of being around three and a half golden retrievers (I say "half" because one of them wasn't all there ... nor did he ever get there), but Birmy is a golden retriever-poodle mix (goldendoodle if you will) so this is all new to me. For now, he's more golden than poodle and hopefully that remains as he grows older. As far as personality goes, Birmy has a wonderful way of innocently behaving while being mischievous all at the same time. Perhaps that is expected of puppies, but like most new dog owners, I like to think mine is different.

Click here to view more pictures and in larger size.

123 | Baltimore . Inner Harbor Photo Tour

2009-05-28T20:00:00.007-06:00

While intentionally limiting skiing as to not burn out before it all comes to an end in a month or two, I plan on focusing on writing and photography during the off time. For two nights and a short day, I was in Baltimore last week visiting some friends and the weather was perfect for capturing visuals of the Inner Harbor. You truly couldn't ask for a better day and my only regret is not yet having a polarizer filter for the Canon G10.

Click here to view all the below photos and more in larger size.

From my friend's apartment in Federal Hill, the views are fairly welcoming in the morning:

And you have an unhampered look towards the Domino Sugar plant:

How most people in the area get closer to the sun:

After a fifteen-minute walk, I found myself near the heart of the inner harbor with downtown in the background:

And I eventually wrapped around towards the opposite side:

Pretty soon, I entered Fells Point after a quick bite at Isabella's (I highly recommend the Scooch) and found some "amateur" artwork to admire:

A look back:

122 | Zion National Park . Utah

2009-05-26T16:41:00.008-06:00

It's been a while since the last update and before I can upload a photo tour of Baltimore, I must plug two photos at Zion National Park in Utah courtesy of tonystreks.com.

The first is an 18-shot panoramic with a few rules. In the photographer's words:

"Meter in the middle of your subject, and then shoot in manual mode. This helps eliminate differences in exposure. Depending on how wide you're shooting, overlap pictures by at least 30% On my Angels Landing, I shot 2 rows of 9 pictures. I overlapped the left to right shots by 40%, and the top and bottom rows by 50%. This gives the stitching program multiple points to match up, and it doesn't have to distort each picture wildly. The focal length was 57mm. You can shoot single row panos hand held and get pretty decent results, but not so much with Photoshop. I use PTGUI, and it's really good at making corrections, but AutoPan is a new software that is getting really good reviews that I might switch to."

(click image to view in larger size)

The second is a 20-second water exposure shot with 9 stop ND filter, a Cir Polarizer, and a 2 stop GND filter. "Sometimes the 9 stops is overkill, but I just bump up the ISO a stop if needed to keep the exposures in the 15-20 second range."

(click image to view in larger size)

Again, visit tonystreks.com for more amazing photos.

121 | A-Basin

2009-05-14T10:33:00.010-06:00

Compared to last season when I wasn't fully introduced to backcountry skiing until March, I have spent the majority of this year away from the resorts which is now beginning to take its toll on my body. With unpredictable weather looming over most weekends, the desire to venture out and tackle not only the mountains but the elements as well has gone to zero. The only goal that remains this year and this is to ski the Y Couloir off Mount Ypsilon, an 1,800-foot chute with a consistent pitch of 40-degrees for the entire length and between 45 and 50 degrees for the first 1,000 feet. In the first picture below, you can see the intended line marked by red dots and dashes. The second photo highlights the drop zone.

Other than that, the temptation to continue skiing will only be reserved for those bluebird days with no wind and plenty of warmth. One exception to this rule is to join a bunch of friends at A-Basin for Mardi Graz on ice:

Arriving at seven in the morning with my better half and Eric, we took great liberty in cracking a few beers while sitting down on the couch waiting for the sun to rise above the mountains to the east. This would be ground zero for the better part of the day:

Pretty soon, more people were showing up and it wasn't before long that we had quite a scene brewing:

Then it was my job to get the bacon and burgers ready:

(photo by Brennan Metzler)

While a few people took a liking to the hula-hoop action:

(photo by Brennan Metzler)

And yes, We did manage to get some skiing in ...

Here's Brett flying over a rowdy group:

(photo by Brennan Metzler)

Bernardo turning in circles:

(photo by Brennan Metzler)

Nick exposing his manhood to all the ladies:

(photo by Brennan Metzler)

And Brent sailing high and tight:

Some of us couldn't handle our liquor:

And soon found a corner to hide in:

Others simply couldn't ski too well:

(photo by Brennan Metzler)

No day at A-Basin should be considered complete without the always necessary kayak race down the Hogan Headwall:

Until next time ...

Click here for the complete photo gallery.

120 | And then there were none ...

2009-05-05T09:26:00.008-06:00

I rarely cross-post other people's adventures, but this one deserves all the recognition it can get. Over the weekend, Jordan White completed his quest of skiing all of Colorado's fifty-four peaks that top out higher than 14,000 feet. Not only did he do this in a day short of three years, but he did so at the incredibly young age of twenty-three and is now the 5th person to accomplish such a goal. I had the pleasure of skiing with Jordan at Independence Pass last year and little did I know how close he was then.

To read more, follow the link below to his final climb which was appropriately situated in his backyard:
The Last One: Snowmass Mountain

119 | 11 Miles of Failure

2009-04-27T10:20:00.002-06:00

With recent warm temperatures along the Front Range in Colorado, Eric and I decided to make an attempt at skiing Dead Dog Couloir yesterday off Torreys Peak which sits at 14,267 feet. Once the summer arrives and the snow melts away, access to the summer trailhead is relatively easy and from here, it's about 3.5 miles to summit. Because it is neither summer yet nor has any of the snow melted, our trip began 3 miles further away and a stone's throw away from I-70.

Click here for the topo map with route.

(click image to view in larger size)

Because temperatures would be below freezing above 12,000 feet and with the bottom of the couloir situated at 13,000 feet, we got a late start without fear of having to rush against the clock and against any solar impact upon the snowpack. Along the ninety-minute hike from the interstate to the summer trailhead, we met two other skiers that ultimately wanted to ski the north chute off Kelso Mountain. But after digging a pit and assessing the rotten snow conditions at the exit of the chute around 11,000 feet, they decided to bail. Usually, this would be a clear sign to abort and head back home, but we would be 2,000 feet higher and the snowpack could very well be vastly different and more stable since it would have been less affected by a strong warming trend without much of an overnight freeze over the previous week.

Regardless, Eric and I continued through while snow kept falling down along the entire hike up. As we reached the start of the summer trailhead, weather appeared to be moving through from the west with whiteout conditions off in the distance. Visibility was less than a mile, and we were feeling less optimistic about reaching the summit. We discussed our options and even thought about skiing back down to the car, but with plenty time left in the day and nothing to lose in trying to reach our goal, we decided to keep trekking along.

Over the next 2.5 miles, Torreys made itself more pronounced as sparkles of sunlight illuminated the summit while peaking through the dark, ominous clouds. Hope and confidence was soon regained and three hours later, we found ourselves at a crossroad beneath the 1,200-foot couloir. Most of the overnight snow had slid off the chute leaving what we presumed to be a firm layer to tackle at 40-45 degrees. Even more disheartening, was that the bottom half looked pretty chunky from side to side which would have most likely made for a very unpleasant adventure. Then we received final assurance as to what appropriate action we should take once Eric dug a pit in the middle of the apron only to discover 4-5" of new snow on top of a thin crust layer on top of 10" of sugar powder.

Sure we got knocked around a few times on this trip, but that's all part of the game when skiing such high peaks in Colorado. It's usually quite the physical and mental mind game that tests your intestinal fortitude, drive, determination, and will to succeed. In the end, we didn't achieve our goal, but we got damn close enough to remember what it will one day taste like.

Below are a few pictures from the day.

Grays Peak

(click image to view in larger size)

Torreys Peak

(click image to view in larger size)

Dead Dog Couloir

(click image to view in larger size)

118 | Loveland

2009-04-22T22:12:00.007-06:00

As stated in the previous post, most of the Front Range in Colorado scored between 36 and 48" of snow from a storm that crushed through last week leading into a very prosperous powder-filled weekend. Unfortunately for those that had to work on Friday, all the main corridors leading to the mountains were closed. Along an eighty-mile stretch of highway, I-70 was shut down in both directions from Friday early afternoon until 11am on Saturday. This meant that I would not be able to enjoy the season's last great storm until Sunday, and when offered that chance, I joined Hans for a fun day at Loveland and eventually met up with a bunch of people I haven't seen for the better part of the year. Eventhough it was quite a powder day, I decided to ignore slashing turns in an effort to choke myself to death with cold smoke, and instead laid train tracks down Patrol Bowl, Headwall No. 4, Super Bowl, and Marmot while other skiers were busy throwing backflips:

Loveland, Colorado (2009.04.19) from Thomas Armento on Vimeo.

117 | Ode to the Big April Snow Storm

2009-04-17T11:10:00.005-06:00

As I type this quickly before a weekend guaranteeing powder insanity, all I can say is "wow".

Most snow storms bring out the greatest weather forecasters in the country and their ability to over-predict with incredible enthusiasm. The April 16-18, 2009 edition of this plague is striking far new levels and one that us skiers can appreciate wildly. It is the storm where people politely call for 18-24" of new snow (which is great), but know what's better? When those 18-24" magically become 30-48".

Mountain resorts today and through Sunday will be buzzing excitingly. There will be a certain youthful Christmas Day giddiness illuminating smiles amongst the darkest of dark souls. Skiers and snowboarders of various abilities will reach newer and higher levels. Voices will go lost in the days afterwards from hooting and hollering far too much. Everybody will be your new best friend, and this is all why we ski. We live for this moment and the energy associated with it.

This is also why I live in Colorado, and why I'm quite content calling it home for a long time to come.

So enjoy the powder. Enjoy the endless companionship you'll find. Enjoy the post-pow PBR in a can which you'll share with a complete stranger. And enjoy all the smiles and laughs that you'll remember until the next big April storm that hits hard.

For those that can't relate, you might want to consider visiting sometime during the second week in April. After all, this isn't much of a fluke.

116 | A-Basin

2009-04-14T21:07:00.006-06:00

This past Saturday, I joined Hans and his girlfriend Melanie for a backcountry tour near Loveland Pass, only we didn't get very far. The plan was for me to show them Grizzly Gulch, a place they have yet to venture out to and one that was a lot of fun just recently. Unfortunately, the weather was far from cooperating so I bagged any and all substitute ideas for a trip to A-Basin. My would-be partners instead went to Berthoud Pass and found decent snow in the trees, but at this point in the season, I will be selective towards where I ski and will most certainly not waste time with anything below treeline.

With that said and with the help of two chair lifts, I was able to get close to 13,000 feet after a quick hike to North Pole off the East Wall. Luckily, the wind was coming from my back which helped speed up the process. As for the ski down, it was a bit rocky:

A-Basin | North Pole (2009.04.11) from Thomas Armento on Vimeo.

115 | Ski Review: 190cm Bibby Pro from Moment Skis

2009-04-10T10:32:00.028-06:00

With the lack of recent snow and the grand arrival of red dust screwing up the snowpack in Colorado, I figured a review of next year's Bibby Pro from Moment Skis is in order. Not sure I'll be doing anything exciting in the mountains this weekend, so I might as well keep the stoke flowing. If you want to read about the red dust and what it means for us, this abstract is a good place to begin.

Here is a video compilation of my better helmet camera footage while skiing the Bibby 190 with the review immediately below:

09/10 Moment Bibby Pro (190cm) from Thomas Armento on Vimeo.

For the 2008-2009 season, Josh Bibby's Pro Model was only available in 186cm, but with growing popularity and demand for something more beastly, Moment will offer a 190cm length for the 2009-2010 season which adds 3mm to the waist for dimensions of 143-118-134. The Bibby Pro was their top selling ski this past season and for good reason. With its progressive design highlighted by tip and tail rocker along with taper that reduces drag and hookiness in powder, the Bibby Pro has become an excellent park ski for backcountry jibbing. The longer edition for next year differs in that it is much stiffer all throughout allowing for greater chargeability in big mountain conditions.

As expected, the 118mm waist and tip rocker gives you great float in deep powder making the tips virtually unsinkable. Of the 10-12 days I've been on these, once was in superb conditions at Monarch with more than two feet of fresh snow to play with. I had absolutely no problems keeping my large size afloat while carrying various speeds down the mountain. What I liked most about the Bibby 190 here was the ability to shut it down almost completely and get lost in the whiteroom while regaining speed quickly into the next turn. They slash with ease and the short running length makes the skis very maneuverable and agile in tight spots and trees.

Once the fresh lines start to disappear, the Bibby 190 still performs very well in tracked-out conditions. As alluded to earlier, the tapered tip design allows the ski to slice through soft crud and the added stiffness underfoot and in the tail give you the comfort of going fast with all the stability you could need. Furthermore, the tips are stiff enough that you don't need to worry about deflection or about being bounce around once it gets considerably choppy.

How these would handled firm crud was going to be the deal maker for me. Most of the rockered skis that have come out recently have been a total dream in soft snow, but haven't performed the greatest in firmer conditions. Last weekend at Loveland, I found some firm chalky firm snow off the Ridge that offered a true test for the Bibby 190. Once I got above 40mph, I began to question my actions but then realized the stiffness underfoot and towards the back of my heel was enough to calm me down as I approached 60mph.

In hardpack and moguls, I have nothing bad to report. If you want to carve a bunch of turns instead of going straight down the groomers, you can certainly do that with confidence (not sure why you would, but you could). And if you want to rip moguls like Wayne Wong, you could do that too. The Bibby 190 has some camber along its 122cm effective edge which is key to making it perform much better than a rockered ski with flat camber in non-soft snow. Additionally, the rockered tail gives the ski forgiveness such that if you find yourself in the backseat or on an off-balance landing, it's pretty easy to recover and get your body more forward.

Construction of the ski is typical of all Moments in that the durability so far was been top notch. While maching down Primer Bowl at Loveland, I hit four death cookies buried shallowly in the snow and was able to continue without completely losing it. Twice my left leg was kicked out far to the side, but I was able to recover in time and finish the run without interruption. I thought for sure I would have a couple of core shots, but at the end of the day, I was surprised to see only a few very superficial scratches along the bases.

Overall, I think this is Moment's most versatile ski and one that has handled all conditions very well. As long as you don't plan on skiing much sastrugi, avalanche debris, or crazy wind-affected snow, you'll be plenty stoked on the Bibby 190.

Specs:
Ski length along topsheet with straight ruler: 188cm
Dimensions: 143-118-134 with tapered tip & tail
Turning radius: 26.7m
Effective edge with skis relaxed: 122cm
Effective edge with skis decambered: 114cm
Amount of tip rocker with skis decambered: 42cm
Amuont of tail rocker with skis decambered: 32cm
Suggested mounting point for jibbing: 4-5cm behind chord center
Suggested mounting point for big mountain: 7cm behind chord center
Weight: roughly 9.0 lbs

topsheet (click image to view in larger size)

rocker profile with skis relaxed (click image to view in larger size)

tip rocker decambered (click image to view in larger size)

tail rocker decambered (click image to view in larger size)

114 | Loveland

2009-04-06T15:49:00.002-06:00

Yesterday, Eric and I continued our lazy path in life and headed towards Loveland for a fun day of straightlining. The snow stopped falling on Saturday, so there wasn't going to be much new snow, but we were just fine with that. Loveland has a funny way of making tracked-out conditions enjoyable and the video below (complete with excessive schoolgirl giggling) aims to highlight that.

I've been wanting for the longest time to get on some terrain where I can open up next year's 190cm Bibby Pro from Moment Skis and see just how well they can handle high speeds piloted by some goofy bastard rocking out the gorilla steeze with very limited grace. As you'll see, the tip rocker certainly helped me through the chop and prevented a most certain disastrous tomahawk incident from happening.

Also in the video is Nick and Eric who actually enjoy making turns and giving their legs a workout. On the other hand, I prefer going as straight as possible and hope that my equipment doesn't fail me.

Loveland, Colorado (2009.04.05) from Thomas Armento on Vimeo.

113 | Monarch

2009-04-06T09:52:00.005-06:00

Nearly two months ago, JJ and I scored some serious powder at Monarch. With a strong storm cycle entering the state late last week, Eric and I decided against the I-70 shitshow (no matter how good Eagle County would be skiing) and against any form of backcountry skiing in favor for a return trip to the Sawatch Range this past Saturday. I was feeling lazy and wanted to seek the comfort of lifts and lots of vertical. Feeling lucky, we drove down to Salida Friday night and hoped for the best.

While conditions weren't as stellar as other areas that same day, an excellent time was had with a great group of skiers. Mirkwood (Monarch's hike-to terrain) had a late opening, so Eric and I spent some time finding decent stashes tucked away near the Breeze Way lift. The snow wasn't super blower nor was it at all deep, but with the help of Boater Cross, the mountain was pretty damn empty.

Once Mirkwood was opened, we scored first tracks down Staircase and East Trees. For our third lap, we traversed for about fifteen minutes skier's left and slightly further past Elation Ridge. Unfortunately, we didn't loop back around far enough and got stuck skiing super tight trees that eventually dropped us into the power line just above Highway 50 and a good mile or two away from the resort's main entrance. For reference, click here for the trail map.

Because it was considerably windy and snowing all day, I didn't stop to take too many pictures, so here's one of the group and few more hiking up towards Mirkwood:

And here's the video showcasing the day's better moments:

Monarch, Colorado (2009.04.04) from Thomas Armento on Vimeo.

On the drive back, we stopped along Highway 285 near South Park City for a quick photograph:

112 | 私は私が日本人になっていると思います.

2009-04-01T22:44:00.006-06:00

Right when you think winter is out for the count, it storms right back and timely drops over three feet of snow in a matter of days just as you make your triumphant return to the east coast in an enthusiastic effort to dodge it all. With less than seventy-two hours to spare, I was able to spread my time exploring northeast Philly with my better half, find a way to release my inner Axl Rose at the most bizarre Japanese karaoke bar in New York City, and hang loose in the Mafia Capital of the World (or so says Wikipedia which of course is the most factual and credible source of information on the planet).

But more importantly, I got to play with my new toy (at the cost of a few diamonds): the Canon G10. I haven't had much time to fully wrap myself within its capabilities, but below are a few pictures that seemingly turned out alright.

111 | The Beach at A-Basin

2009-03-24T09:39:00.003-06:00

Being that this website has a tagline that reads "Backcountry Skiing and More", I figured it would be very appropriate to further expand upon the "and More" aspect that has been missing for the better part of the year. As alluded to earlier, Gary and I skied down to A-Basin after our killer tour in Grizzly Gulch this past Saturday. We then met up with a slew of usual suspects at the base of the mountain that have always been notorious for throwing it down once the weather warms up.

Below is a short video compilation of a few highlights including my triumphant return to the college years that have long escaped me, Paul's first attempt at snowboarding, and a girl who has more inspirational fire coming out of her mouth than Richard Simmons on speed.

Enjoy.

A-Basin (2009.03.21) from Thomas Armento on Vimeo.