Eiseman Hut Trip

What can you get for 100 bucks? It's not a menial amount of money but when you're talking skiing, there's not much you can get or do for $100 anymore. A lift ticket costs almost that much these days. So...yeah...i went on 3rd hut trip this year. So what?

It previews like a Visa commercial -- $60 per person for the hut, $20 per person for shared dinners, and another $20 for your own breakfast, lunch, snacks, liquor, and gas money for the two night/three day trip = Priceless. It's yet another trip I'll never forget and it cost me less than 100 bucks. The main problem with these types of trips is the harsh reality check that one cannot stay at the hut all winter. You unfortunately must go back to the political reality and grind of work life. Work's good and all, but you can't beat life at the hut.

A couple of weeks before, I got an unexpected invite from the Frozelaps to their bro-in-law's Rescue Team's Eiseman hut trip. A safe group to go with for sure! It was great to meet new people and make some new friends for future adventures. Eiseman is a prized hut, the only 10th Mountain Division hut north of I-70 and it's famed for having the best terrain for advanced backcountry skiing of any hut...right off the front porch. It sits a few miles west of the Gore Range in an area that was pretty severely logged around 100 years ago. That means there are lots of roads but also that the trees are widely spaced and great for backcountry turns.

Almost 14" of new snow in the last week made the north-facing slopes dreamy, but the very warm days approaching 50 degrees at 11,200ft made for some seriously sun-crusty slopes on all but the most north-facing and shaded aspects. We did a good job of finding those stashes though and as you'll see from the video were able to ski some great lines with great snow.

The last day provided the classic Colorado bluebird skies with temperatures up in the 40s. It was a Monday morning and the third and last day of the trip, so we quickly got out of bed, ate, coffee'd up, and put our skis on for some last turns. A perfect ending, but the drive back to work nearly ruined the high. I can only dream of future hut trips and backcountry adventures while sitting 8 hours at my desk, and like I did at the meeting that night, to make the yin and yang of life stay together. So I sit here at my desk watching the snow fall from the biggest storm of the season, thinking about the turns Hayride, Donny, and I will be getting tomorrow up there...some-where...out THERE...!

Here's the Picture album link to go check out.