Here’s a few snowy photos from Thursday and Friday.

The San Juan Mountains, smothered in snow in May.

The persistent clouds have kept the temps cool and the powder fresh, much to our delight!

Skier: Chris Jackson.

Probably not the best place to try to hitchhike.

Jeff and Chris and I on our way to a higher place this morning.

Jeff Skoloda skiing like there’s no tomorrow.

Can you believe this is May? It’s like heaven on Earth!

I’d rather not be transported to heaven tomorrow… I’m enjoying it too much here! Bon voyage!

Happy skiers, post-rapture.

This morning we were treated to yet another foot or so of fresh powder up in the San Juans!

Skier: Jeff Skoloda.

Today would have been an awesome powder day in January or February. It’s May. Did I mention that already?

That’s me, and my snow-caked goggles.

Wow.

Ann, Scott, and I met up this weekend for two days of superb spring lines in the Raggeds and Elk Mountains of Colorado.

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I woke up this morning thinking it was February, with a snowstorm outside! Matt and I went up and skied/splitboarded about a foot of fresh powder.

It’s amazing how wintery it still is up in the mountains, with a full mid-winter snowpack, even at the lower elevations. The spring skiing should be great around here, if spring ever comes.

As you drive into the town of Ouray on Main Street, you can often see a gleaming snowcapped peak looming up the valley to the southwest – this is United States Mountain. Today we hiked up there and scored a great ski/snowboard descent!

Skier: Sean Hart.

A view of the line we hiked and skied/snowboarded. There’s a large couloir hidden amongst the top cliffs, which we ascended and descended.

This morning I got out on the snow for the first time since getting back to Ouray. I was surprised at how snowy it still is in May! The spring skiing season is looking good!

Skier: Jordan.

Skier: Paul.

After a series of flights and frantic airport connections on Sunday, I finally made it back home to Ouray from Europe! It was quite a shock to come from full-on spring in Germany and Switzerland to full-on dumping snow in Ouray! It seems that spring is in no hurry around here; the trees are still bare and there looks to be quite a bit of snow in the higher peaks. The photo above was taken on Monday morning after about 8 inches of fresh snow blanketed the town overnight.

The recent snow melted in a few days and today I went on a hike up one of the drier trails in the Amphitheater above town.

It’s always interesting to return to the San Juans after visiting foreign mountains. I see with fresh eyes and appreciate the subtle characteristics that make these mountains unique. For example, while the mountains around Ouray aren’t quite as large, dramatic, and glaciated as the Swiss Alps around Engelberg, these mountains are more complex, with a much broader network of connected valleys and branching terrain.

Anyhow, it feels great to be back, and I look forward to a fun summer – especially when Claudia gets here in July! But first, a couple months of springtime adventures on the snow!

Last week we were in Claudia’s hometown of Dresden, Germany, visiting her family there and seeing the sights of this beautiful city. One day Claudia’s father Gundolf and brother Ferdinand took us to the nearby Elbsandstein Mountains, aka the “Saxonian Switzerland”. I was surprised and impressed by these mountains, which are among the more unique mountains I’ve seen. Large sandstone towers jut out of the surrounding forests and hills like a surreal combination of Utah canyonlands and the Pacific Northwest. Gundolf led us on a fantastic day hike that wound through narrow gorges, foggy forests, high ridges, and also included several climbing routes and via ferrata scrambles along the way. (more…)