Words and Photos by Chloe Hammond
WHAT DREW US TO THIS MISSION
In May 2023, Outdoor Pursuits (OP) at Fort Lewis College had this same ski traverse scheduled to be a student trip. It was called the Woo Woo Ski Chu Traverse, and we would leave Durango via the Silverton Railroad to access the backcountry. This trip was going to be led by Brett Davis and Josh Kling. The route and nature of this trip are incredibly unique. The utilization of the railroad to access some of the state's most remote wilderness is such a privilege. We were a day and a half out from this trip departing, and it had to be shut down due to a poor weather outlook. Josh and Brett tried to run this trip once in the past, but that trip was also cancelled. Everyone was disappointed that the trip was going to be postponed for the second time.
After this point, Josh and Brett continued to empower Piper and me to get after it on skis to make this trip happen. This year, for my third time applying for the Seek Your Adventure Fund, we applied for this same route. He had mentioned that he simply wants someone to complete it, as he has never been able to pull it off. Through his support and over the years of building up our movement skills and knowledge of snowpack, we received funding to make it happen.
While we had a horrible snow year, we were still able to go for it! Looking back on the trip in 2023, Piper and I have both agreed that we were not ready for it at that time. We had less training under our belts, and we simply were not prepared. Thank goodness it was cancelled then! We were able to use the past two years to gain more understanding of snow, the mountains, and of each other, and use that as fuel to make this venture happen!
Piper and I met through working at OP at Fort Lewis College. Brett Davis was one of our supervisors! We came into the program at different times but met through the Student Outdoor Leadership (SOL) program, where we take other Fort Lewis students on trips around the Durango area. We've bonded over skiing since knowing each other, while also having similar ties between where we are from.
Being from Montana and Piper, from Idaho, we've learned that we have lots of mutual connections. Two years ago, we took our Avy 1 together, and this past March, we took our Avy 2 together. Being part of similar friend groups interested in the same things, we have now been skiing together all over the San Juan Mountains outside Durango. Through OP, we've also gotten to ski together in the backcountry of Mt. Baker, Washington, and Japan! Additionally, last summer, we received funding through the Seek Your Adventure Fund to do a backpack traverse over similar zones as this ski traverse. We've spent lots of time outside together!
PLANNING PROCESS
This brainchild came to us when skiing in Japan with OP over this past winter break. We knew we wanted to apply for the Seek Your Adventure Fund again, but it took us a while to come to the conclusion that we could apply with this already created route. Josh helped us understand that we could still be considered with a route he somewhat created. After this, we dove into the planning and preparation process! I led one of OP's first-ever student-led backcountry ski trips in Japan. We also pursued mentorship through OP and elsewhere to build up our movement skills. In the application process, we reached out to Hyperlite Mountain Gear for Headwall 55 packs and Farm to Summit, a local dehydrated food company, to help fuel our adventure. In understanding the significance of this trip for the application process, we saw this as a cumulative opportunity to put our skills and knowledge to the ultimate test! We had never planned a ski traverse before, but we utilized our resources well to make it happen. The weather aligned, and all our work seemed to fall into place!
This trip was single-handedly the most rugged and challenging one Piper and I have ever done. There were a number of moments where we had to nail a very specific move or transition to maintain our safety. Although it may seem dramatic, we are lucky to have survived. The remoteness of the trip made it more daunting in the aspect that we were as committed as we could possibly be. We were in the heart of the Weminuche Wilderness, traversing on some of the most remote 14ers in Colorado. It was a great reminder that although Durango is sunny, warm, and beautiful, in the mountains, it is still winter.
All these elements made this trip incredibly unique and rewarding. As busy Fort Lewis students, this was an excellent way to slow down and move intentionally after a busy semester. It was a great exercise to think critically about snowpack, conditions, and our next move while seeing how our bodies adapt to the high demands of our route. I feel as if I blinked and this trip wrapped up. It reminded me that stillness is necessary in our busy lives. It also reminded me of the importance of companionship. Piper and I had a number of discussions about how absolutely no other person would agree to do this. This venture has only helped our relationship grow, and for that I am so thankful!
THE RUNDOWN
DAY 1: We began by taking the historic Silverton Railroad up to Needleton, which is a wilderness access point for folks to get off the train and enter the backcountry. This automatically jumpstarted the remoteness of the trip as Needleton is only accessible by train or trail. The hike began with skis on our packs as we walked into Chicago Basin for our first night in the backcountry.
DAY 2: We set out to get into Chicago Basin proper, meeting snow as we bootpacked up to the top of our first ski descent. We had the option to ski a couloir called Widowmaker Couloir, but given the wind and low visibility, we decided not to go for it. We topped out on the north ridge in Chicago Basin, surrounded by a number of Colorado's most remote 14ers. We descended on skis for the first time on the trip to Noname Creek, where we enjoyed brunch and a little sunshine. We were able to continue hiking towards Jagged Pass and camp just above treeline after some major thwacking through bushes and downfall.
DAY 3: This was one of our longest days in the field. We started our day by venturing up to Jagged Pass, where we were met with another opportunity to ski a couloir called Jagged Couloir. Given our fatigue and the decent warming, we decided not to ski this. We had a number of high and low points throughout the day, climbing various mountain passes and descending the north aspects of them. We passed Jagged Mountain, Leviathan, Storm King Peak, and Mount Silex, some of the most remote mountains of the Weminuche Wilderness, before descending down to camp in Stormy Gulch. We camped in the trees for the first time since we had been above the treeline for the majority of the past two days. Descending into camp on this day were some of our favorite turns of the trip!
DAY 4: Likely our longest day in the field, we started by climbing the south-facing ridge of Needle Mountains Peak One through scree, plenty of downfall, and eventually reaching snow at the summit. Overlooking White Dome towards the north, we decided to stay low and traverse the backside to avoid a mandatory climb had we chosen to summit. Looking back, we anticipated this being a shorter day, but we were very wrong! Getting to that first ridge and around White Dome proved to be very challenging and time-consuming. The next portion of the day was traversing across a large plateau where the Colorado Trail meets the Continental Divide NST. We anticipated this being much faster than it was, and we had to take a moment to bust out the stove to melt snow for water. We arrived at our final camp around 6 PM after having what felt like a million different transitions throughout the day. At this camp, we were thrilled to see our final high point of the trip for our ski out the following day!
DAY 5: This was our final day of our trip! At the beginning of our day, we were able to see our final high point, Mount Rhoda. From there, we would simply ski as far as we could until walking was necessary to reach Silverton. While there was hardly enough snow to make our final ski descent, we found a sneaky line that took us to our road that we hiked out on. We had rerouted this day, knowing that there was not enough snow to actually ski into Silverton. Upon arriving in town, one of our great mentors, Josh Kling, greeted us proudly and drove us back to Durango! This trip was amazing in so many ways. Piper and I had so much fun while also being very challenged. We are thrilled to have pulled it off.
