Well the ski-mountaineering documentary STEEP finally came Boulder. I had been waiting for this movie to hit Boulder for a long time and couldn’t contain myself, I went and watched it right after work at their 5 p.m. showing. The movie definitely didn’t disappoint at all, and I had my expectations set really, really high. This movie is very different than your typical Warren Miller or Teton Gravity Research flix. It is a documentary chronicling the evolution of ski-mountaineering in the continental United States, Europe, and also Canada and Alaska. The story follows some of the pioneers like Bill Briggs that put big mountain skiing on the map and also the next generation like Doug Coombs who took it to a higher level. Being a Wyoming native I especially enjoyed the tale of Bill Brigg’s first ski descent of The Grand and also the glimpse into Doug Coombs’ life before it ended much too shortly. I went into the movie completely drained and in a bad mood from a long work week and came out of it completely inspired and invigorated. This movie will either speak to your soul and you’ll dream of taking your own personal games to the next level. Or you’ll be left scratching your head saying, “I just don’t get it, why do they do it?” If you have to ask, you’ll never understand. Anyway, I can’t recommend this movie enough. Here’s the trailer:

These photos are a little late but worth posting nevertheless.  Back in December a crew of 14 invaded the Colorado backcountry near Ashcroft, Colorado.  The Lindley Hut sits at about 10,500 feet deep in the heart of Colorado’s magnificent Elk Range.  The week prior to our trip the area received over 5 feet of snow which made me a little concerned about avalanche conditions.  But we all played it conservative and was able to find some nice moderate tree runs that provided some safe and fun snow sliding.  Check out the Picasa album below to see the photos: