2009.03.13 - Citadel Ski Descent

The month of March in Colorado usually signals a renewed ski season as early spring storms bring plenty of snow to enjoy in the warmer temperatures. However, there hasn't been much snow lately so finding good conditions (let alone powder) has been a bit more difficult than usual. After doing some extensive searching last week, I came across a north-facing, high-elevation bowl in the Front Range mountains that I thought might still hold some soft snow with minimal avalanche danger. Caleb, Devon, and I joined up for the second time in a few days and made our attempt on Citadel Peak, just east of the Continental Divide on a beautiful bluebird, spring-like Colorado day.

Skinning through the Dry Gulch area on the early morning approach:

The southern face of the Citadel is littered with numerous chutes and gullies, all waiting to be skied. Devon decided to ski a section lower on the ridge. After watching Devon make smooth powder turns, Caleb and I were stoked about the conditions and hiked farther to find a more challenging and aesthetic line.

Devon makes tele turns down a chute:

Hiking along the ridge to find a suitable ski descent:

After finding a good line and assessing snow conditions, it was time to get ready for some skiing:

Myself dropping in:

At this point, I yelled back to Caleb: "I'm not waiting. I'm going to bomb this thing!":

And off I went, making fast turns down 1,000 vertical feet of powder:

Devon's view of my descent from below:

Caleb takes his turns in a more controlled manner:

Caleb and I look at our tracks and reflect on a day's work:

The Herman Gulch area was absolutely beautiful and the ski conditions amazing. It is always satisfying when a little bit of research pays off with great skiing. I'm hopeful that I'll be able to get back to Citadel Peak in the coming weeks to check out some of the other ski descents in the area.