Hike to Ski

…or how to avoid the crowds at the resorts on busy days. The early ski season is over, the warmer temperatures are here and so are the crowds. While skiing at the resorts is great for getting lots of turns and vertical in, the increasingly long lines at the lifts is taking away from that. There are ways to get away from the crowds, though; one of course being to avoid the resorts completely, but at the resorts there is another answer: The back bowls.

Hiking Tucker Mountain with Paul, Mike and Sue

We especially like the back bowls at Copper and at Vail. This weekend, however, we also visited the back bowls at Keystone. Keystone, like Copper Mountain, have snow cats running in the back bowls to give you a head start; bringing you a mile or so up the mountain. At Keystone, the cat costs 5 bucks, while its free at Copper. And while the cat at Keystone does get you up the mountain, it didn’t really seem worth it. The hike to many of the same areas the cat brings you too is not that long.

Hiking to the South Bowl at Keystone with Doug

The hikes in the back bowls are great in themselves, but the real carrot is what you find at the end of the hikes: The great views, the good terrain, solitude from the crowds, fresh tracks, …

The view of Copper Peak (12,441 ft) from Tucker Mountain

Doug in North Bowl at Keystone

Jen in North Bowl at Keystone

Doug in North Bowl at Keystone

The following is a short montage from Copper; mostly from Tucker Mountain.

While the back bowls are great and are a nice retreat from the front side of the resort mountains, the real back country has started to call. I think it is about high time to get skins trimmed for our new skis…