Welcome to my annual refresher about Backcountry Avalanche Awareness 2023/2024. I am no subject matter expert, but Stella and I are always eager to explore new terrain in search of an off-the-beaten-path adventure. Thus, when you leave the cozy confines of the groomed trails at the ski resorts/nordic centers, you must understand your environment and … Continue reading Backcountry Avalanche Awareness 2023/2024
2023 has been an emotionally charged year for us, for a multitude of reasons. And the culmination of those situations significantly impacted our winter travels. With that said, we only embarked on two winter trips in 2023, both of which were to Grand Lake. Even though that is all we did, those trips possessed elements … Continue reading 2023 Winter Wrap-Up and What’s Next?
Some of you may be wondering why BaseCamp@GrandLake has not posted anything for winter adventures, especially considering the abundance of snow. Normally, we travel extensively in the winter but this season has been quite different. We have only taken one winter trip thus far, to Jackson Hole the week prior to Christmas, and it ended … Continue reading 2023 Winter Adventures: What’s Going On?
Last winter (2022) when Larry and I (Stella) were in Crested Butte, we discussed purchasing a different type of cross-country ski. We wanted skis that were much wider and possessed more float to provide a better experience while backcountry skiing in really deep snow and on hills. We had researched three different companies that manufacture … Continue reading Madshus Panorama M78
This past weekend we ventured to Aspen for our second trip this winter season. It is logical to think that we would have done something different from our earlier trip there, but we ended up doing pretty much the same thing. That being the case, this post will be much shorter than that of our … Continue reading Aspen Winter Adventure II
It is always a struggle returning to the city after spending time in the mountains, regardless of the season or mountain range that we are in. Although, the sting is slightly more potent when returning from Jackson Hole/Alpine because of how much we love that area. There are so many trails to explore, and each … Continue reading Jackson Hole/Alpine Winter Adventure
Last weekend we embarked on our Gunnison/Crested Butte Winter Adventure, with great anticipation to explore this beautiful area with our cross-country skis and snowshoes. While this had been our very first visit to Crested Butte, we had visited the Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park in April 2021. Last winter, we had a trip … Continue reading Gunnison/Crested Butte Winter Adventure