“Skating is the closest thing to flying.”
I remember the words of my host, ski legend Mike Hattrup, as I looked down the side of the cliff, completely terrified. I’m sitting atop a rolling ledge in the West Elk Mountains, and even though Colorado just had its driest season on record, everything below me—the aspen trees, the jagged rock spiers—is covered in a thick blanket of snow. And with great powder comes great responsibility.
A special snowcat had placed me above the tree line, and it was time for the first run of the day. The last time I embarked on a snowboarding adventure was, for sure, one of the most stressful days of my life. It was six years ago, on the Powder Highway in British Columbia, and I was definitely the weak link in my group of skiers. Maybe I was overconfident in my abilities at the time. There are the skis, picking up the resort’s first runs, and then there is the backcountry, where the movements of the sport itself change when you encounter waist-deep powder (and hidden tree wells).
As with anything else in life, trust is everything. I was too conservative with my skating, not aggressive enough. I was slowing down to the point where I routinely found myself buried in snow after not achieving enough speed to execute a proper turn. I was constantly rescued by a patient Canadian guide, and I swore to myself that I would never find myself in that sinking place again.
Fortunately (or unfortunately, at that moment), my memory is very short. Since then, I tore my ACL in Jackson Hole (always an encouraging development), but that hasn’t slowed me down yet. I embarked on another off-trail pursuit last winter, skiing Alaska’s Chugach Mountains, and found that the backcountry was happiest when above the tree line. But here I was not so lucky. The only way down is down.
“We’re skiing at such a high altitude,” my guide, Megan Baden, reminded me. “Pull, plant, breathe.”
I repeated these words like a mantra as I fell into the unprepared abyss, sailing into a winter paradise of fir trees sparkling with ice crystals, and a clear blue Colorado sky above me. Reader, you have survived. We spent the rest of the day navigating over a thousand acres of exclusive terrain, and amidst the sacred silence of the Rocky Mountains, it honestly felt like we were flying.
After the initial tour, we returned to the hot Snowcat, which was stocked with drinks and snacks, and played a Grateful Dead game – an invigorating break before what came next. The snow cat crept up the mountain, dropping us over fields of untouched powder. The terrain featured delightful trees, steep chutes, and alpine bowls, and with each round, I felt my confidence grow (I had survived the previous round, after all). We always had a guide showing us the way, alerting us to any obstacles to avoid, and another trailing behind – both of whom were encouraging and made it seem easy. You don’t need to be an expert skier to participate, as intermediate skiers can navigate down the hill on easier runs if necessary. Our lunch break was in a scenic cabin around a roaring fire (and a cold beer for added confidence).
The elevated amenities—from the cabin to the deluxe snowmobile—helped the experience be much less dangerous than my previous outing on the Powder Highway, and much more communal. The beauty of our surroundings was transporting. It’s rare to be in a part of nature that’s inaccessible to other skiers (aside from your snowboarding buddies), and every run we took was a descent into untouched powder. However, the after-event was my favorite aspect of the experience – we gathered around a bonfire and enjoyed Moscow mules and champagne overlooking the valley and surrounding mountain range. The snowcat ride to Crested Butte at the end of the day was always full of energy and celebration, and I had completely forgotten about my nerves from that morning.
So what made me head to southwestern Colorado next January to try my hand at snowboarding again, despite my fear after my first experience? Aside from being an eternal optimist (which in this case is wise), I was motivated by my long-standing desire to hit the slopes with an adventure travel company Eleven experiments. The brand has a cult following among adventurers like yours truly, who yearn to maintain the luxurious feel of the wilderness.
Include their own hostels Diblar Farmwhere you can ski under the northern lights in Iceland, or Chalet Bellerinin France, where you can take helicopter rides in the winter, and hike from hut to hut in the summer. But it is the leading company eleven sopris house, In Crested Butte, Colorado, this is perhaps the purest embodiment of the brand’s spirit.
“Eleven experiences from Spinal tap“Why go to ten, when you can go to eleven?” “And for our founder, Chad Pike, his whole goal was to think about what you want before you do it,” Baden explained in our briefing. “Nothing seems far-fetched with what we’ve seen in the last 17 years – this is a man with a dream.”
Sopris House is outfitted in chic Western décor perfect for après-ski and après-ski (the jukebox in the barn, where the full bar overlooks the pool table, gets plenty of play as the evening progresses). The lodge is the perfect place to recover after a day on the slopes, whether in the sauna or outside in the jacuzzi, watching the sun set over the mountains. We were well served morning, noon and night by the in-house chef – a luxury that seems so much more necessary when you’re expending all that energy on the mountain, but I’m still feeling sad right now despite it.
The local area only contributes to the charm, in the form of a quaint western village with cozy wood-paneled restaurants, lively lofts and music venues lining Elk Avenue. Crested Butte is located just across the Elk Mountain Range from Aspen, but it feels much further than the 11-mile distance that connects the two on West Maroon Pass hike. We had dinner at Public house and slogan, He grabbed the pints in Irwin Brewing Companythe city’s festive spirit matches the twinkling lights that illuminate the downtown sidewalks weeks after Christmas.
But, of course, the main event is the countryside. We spent our days snowboarding at Irwin, in the private West Elk Peaks. The expansive terrain of more than 1,000 acres is only accessible to guests staying at Eleven Experiences. The entire area we were exploring was about two-thirds of its size Mountain Crest Boat Resort-And during my visit, we had double the inches of snow in Crested Butte despite it being only 12 miles away. Irwin receives more than 450 inches annually, the highest annual average in Colorado.
“There’s no skiing in Colorado where we can get snow like this at 11,000 feet,” explained Eric Henderson, another ski legend who works with Eleven.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, the people who work with the company tend to be great, or embody the soul of the company (including the aforementioned Mike Hattrup, who was also present on this trip, the star of the film). Blizzard of Aahhh). “As you all know as skiers, a lot of the fun of a ski day is in the people you spend your time with,” Baden said.
So, although I was definitely the weak link once again in my snowboarding adventures, this time I was in really great company. I’m proud to report that I’ve not only been able to survive, but thrive in the West Elks wilderness. The 45 minute ride on our private snow cat was exciting in the morning and festive in the evening. Although I have to admit, I loved my last day, wandering around the resort in Crested Butte – for once, I really earned my turn.