Backcountry Places to Explore
All Season Skiing in Colorado
From late November through April in Colorado we probably have more accessible skiing than any place around. As a backcountry ski addict with a goal to ski 300+ days a year and over 2000 miles in a season, I have learned much about year around places to ski in Colorado and in other locations. (A few years back, I did manage to ski 365 days--and I kept my day job!)
Most years mid April to May is the transition month for snow. Most higher and protected areas are still skiable, and it is the time to start skiing the high peaks. In April you can ski Mount Elbert and Mount Massive, the two highest peaks in Colorado. Come the end of May places like Butler Gulch, Brainard Lake Area, Mayflower Gulch, James Peak near Idaho Springs, Yankee Boy Basin, Owl Creek Pass, Wolf Creek Pass, Grand Mesa, and Snowy Range near Laramie still provide great touring.
Beginning Memorial Day when the high mountain roads open, many areas that are very difficult to access during the winter season become accessible. Independence Pass provides many miles of great terrain into mid June. There is also great skiing near Silverton into June near Animas Fork and Handies Peak. In the Indian Peaks, the Diamond Lakes area and the area between Mt Neva and Mt Jasper are good into June.
As Summer Solstice approaches the true summer ski places usually need to be searched out. Isabel Glacier in the Indian Peaks west of Boulder provides year around skiing. Rollins Pass particularly the west side from winter park offers year around skiing on skyscraper glacier above Bob Lake. There are also many other smaller snowfields near the pass: on the East side is Beacon Point and Iceberg Lakes. Mt Epworth is particularly nice and easy to access providing up to 500 vertical feet into August most years. Most years, the Ruby Range near Crested Butte offers skiing into August near Yule pass, Bear Basin, and Poverty Gulch. I have skied 3,900 vertical-foot runs there at end of July off 13,500 foot peaks in a good snow year. Mt Augusta, Purple, Treasury, and Treasure provide skiing from late June and into August on the north slopes.
Imogene Pass and Ice Lakes Basin areas near Silverton also provide skiing into July. On Georgia Pass there are two snowfields, one you can drive to that lasts into August and the farther one all year. Mosquito and Hagerman Passes have snowfields that last into August. Jones Pass has skiing in the whole basin above timberline at summer solstice and along summit cornice into late August. On Castle Peak near Aspen, Montezuma Basin, the site of a former ski area, offers skiing into late August. St Mary's Glacier near Idaho Springs offers skiing all summer but can get very rutted and dirty and shrunken later in the season. The China Wall/Devil's Causeway in the Flattops near Yampa offers unlimited skiing from mid/late June to mid July. A spectacular stretch of about 2.5 miles with only a few bare spots lasts until mid August.
Fall is the most unpredictable time for skiing. In early to mid September snow sometimes falls at the highest elevations and you can ski if you are there at the right time. It usually melts as soon as the sun comes out. I have skied at Wolf Creek Pass, White River Plateau near Dotsero, and Buffalo Pass in September and October. Buffalo Pass is usually good by mid October most years until the snow closes the road. Shrine Pass and the upper basin of Jones Pass are also good early season. By late October, Cameron Pass, Independence Pass (until road closes), and Butler Gulch among others start getting skiable snow. By mid November, Tennessee Pass, Mayflower Gulch, Montezuma, Red Mountain Pass, and many others start off the regular season.
Beware that off season skiing involves hidden risks like crevasses, cliffs, hidden rocks, hollow snow, etc. Be aware and properly prepared. The snow conditions and amounts vary greatly from year to year.
Tom Szwedko is a computer programmer. He has lived in Colorado since 1979 and has been skiing since he was 10. He has been a volunteer member of the Backcountry Snowsports Alliance since 1995.