A Walk in the Mountains

Like any good husband with a pregnant wife at home, I decided to spend my Sunday morning cavorting around the woods with two unmarried women.

Our goal was to climb and ski Williams Peak, a small, low-angled mountain near Glenwood Springs. A tour on Williams is really more about getting out into the mountains for a scenic walk and avalanche-safe descent, as the terrain simply isn't big enough or steep enough to offer a thrill or pose a threat.

Lori and Sara working the skin track along the ascent route. Lori previously taught with Lauren in Pennsylvania and made the move to Aspen at the same time in August 2006. My wife and I are still repaying a Karmic debt to Lori from that summer, stemming from a glowing recommendation Lauren had given Lori of some movers we were planning to use for our cross-country relocation. They had given Lauren an estimate that was $2,000 less than the competitiors, and my wife, God bless her, had apparently never been taught the age old adage, "If something appears too good to be true, you're probably getting mixed up with the Russian mafia."

Luckily, Lori took the bait and was the first to use the movers. I think she's still waiting for her kitchen table to arrive.

Nearing the wind-blown summit of Williams Peak. Cool Donnie Darko-esque cloud formations hovering above the peak.

Once on the summit, a couple of shots of the surrounding peaks. Here's a view of the Crystal Couloir on the western flank of Mt. Sopris. I skied from the east summit of Sopris in May of 2007, chronicled in great detail here, but have yet to make it to the west summit.

A shot of perhaps the Elk Range's most famous summit, Capitol Peak. By my best count, it's only been skied six times. Perhaps it's because the approach looks like this?

After a victory shot of the three of us standing on the summit (photo ommitted due to boogie issues on the only male member of the group. these things happen at 11,000 feet), we enjoyed six to eight inches of light powder on the northern flank of Williams. Here's Sara getting her tele-turn on.

/pulling out my best Chris Farley as interviewer impression.

Remember that ocular-illusion photo from the movie Mallrats? And remember how that guy from My Name is Earl becomes obsessed with it because he can't relax his eyes enough to see the hidden sailboat? And remember how at the end of the movie he gets so angry he kicks the picture and inadvertanty saves the day for that other guy from My Name is Earl? That was cool.

/ends impression. Sheds tear for Farley's early demise.

Well, this is just like that, except completely opposite. Somewhere in this photo is a big-ass porcupine. Can you spot him? No? Loser.