The return of the Sneffels Half Loop backcountry ski race was a welcome one. Forty-one racers took the starting line and forty-one finished at the Ridgway Hut access road and the Blue Lakes trailhead, respectively, the long and short courses.
Mmmm…..pizza…..What could be better than a deliciously hot pizza after skiing in the backcountry all day? Nothing, no ifs, ands, or buts, gourmet pizza is definitely my favorite dinner to eat at a hut….hands down. If your mouth is salivating, but your mind is filling with doubt about the feasibility of pulling off a gourmet pizza in a hut, rest assured Gentlemen and Ladies, YOU can do it. It’s actually quite simple and the ingredients can be lightweight too.
As we enter the modern navigation era of GPS tracks, Google Earth files, and Spot devices, we also want to help our more modern guests with some of the tried and true navigation practices of days gone by. What would you do if your GPS fails? Here is a synopsis, from most to least obvious, of how we have found our way around the mountains for many years.
With a winter like this, you’ve got to get creative. While snowfall sits at below average across Colorado and the country, mountain biking may be calling. But at San Juan Huts we’re thinking ski mountaineering. Because snowpack is so low, summiting some of the Mount Sneffels Range peaks might just be more attainable.