Finally the temperatures rose into the teens this weekend…balmy! After this deep freeze and feeling so out of touch with the outdoors I packed myself and a couple of friends visiting from CA and we headed out on a ski tour! Have to admit that at times I do suffer from that little thing called “selfishness” and I get a bit impatient waiting for people when there is blue skies and fresh powder to be had.

On the other hand, what is better than combining good friends, great snacks, and an amazing outdoor backdrop all together? Can’t think of too many things! Taking it back a pace or two creates such a different perspective in the back-country. Sometimes you find yourself so focused on topping out that you forget to check out what’s around you.

After skinning up through what felt like Narnia we had an epic snack break of course. I invented my own yummy treat. Take a Newman’s Own Organic Fig Newton and place a piece of dark chocolate (I lean towards the Green and Blacks Organic Espresso or Ginger Chocolate.) on top. This is pure delight! Mix this up with some hot tea and you are energized to go. Ahh life is good.

It took us a bit longer to get to the top so it limited our time to lap some of the north facing bowls. We treated ourselves to one amazing powder run and then made our way out. Skiing back to the road we found ourselves on this endless ridge with an amazing sunset. My friends were on Split-boards which tend to be a dealing session at times, but this descent was perfect and pretty much dropped us back at the road clean. They did not have to shake, shimmy, and pole their way…Anyone who has ever Split-boarded knows this pain!

We must have almost blinded passing cars with our huge gleaming smiles! After big hugs we made our way back down the road to the car…reality…bummer! Our fairy-tale day in the back-country is one we will never forget as close friends. It might not have been the most epic day for totaling up the vertical, but it was an epic experience as a whole.