Now that it's springtime in the Rockies, mountains that are typically too avalanche prone in the winter become skiable. Witt and I hiked up Mt. Guyot, a 13er near Breckenridge, to grab a couple turns. We got a bit later start than we should've, so we didn't reach the summit (once the snow turns from frozen crust to soft melty snow, you're pretty much done ascending) but we did manage to climb 2500 ft and ski down 1200 ft of that.
Mt. Guyot, from the trailhead Witt ready to go The backside of Bald Mountain The snowy valley leading up to the summit The snow was very uneven and cratered - our best guess was recent rainfall and melting traveled along the snow surface. The dark patch in the middle of the photo is a frozen pile of pine needles traveling just above the creek, as if it overflowed. Brian hiking up the valley Our valley ascent The Gore range from within the valley on Guyot. Looking down the valley from 11,500 ft. Witt continues to boot pack up the rough slope. I'd switched to skinning up at this point We descended down the snowfield in the very right of the frame, which was much smoother than the frozen slope in the foreground Looking down the bowl at 11,800ft. Still climbing Brian skinning up the slope Our descent slope Brian The backside of the front range Just below treeline, a few remaining snow-covered runs at keystone are visible. The two tall peaks in the center are Grays and Torrey's (14ers). Brian Witt, with Bald Mountain in the background Panorama before we dropped in The snow started to soften up on us, so we decided not to try to reach the summit, but to turn around and ski before the snow became mashed potatoes. Looking down at Summit County from 12,500ft. Like Dillon is just barely visible from this angle. Brian skiing Clinging to the last bit of snow on the trail ...some spots required a bit of walking Witt crosses a stream once we shed our skis Peak One and Tenmile Peak from the trailhead