Backcountry Ski Area In CO?

Personally I think it's a bit idealistic and not really necessary. As many things woth kickstarter go, people have something they like, and then they decide to embark on a grand business to make some money doing that. Not a bad idea, but some ideas aren't that great imo.

There are already plenty of established low angle places people can ride. A bunch of mountains have free uphill traffic or $10-20 tickets for uphill.

The biggest obstacle is usually gear. A demo/ rental day at an established mellow spot with some guides would do all of the necessary gosls without all the logistical hassles of running a ski area.

Have days where you bring gear, have guudes, sell it in packages based on ability levels. Unless the avy conditions are sketch as fuck, what is the advantage to going to a backcountry ski are to buy a ticket to hike up in a place with a bunch of other people doing the same. Ans if there aren't a bunch of other people doing it, is the concept even viable?

Once you try it, figure it out, get gear, most people are trying to avoid everyone else. And if conditions are ultra sketch Im usually just down for resort laps.

I guess on the gnar pow days when resorts are crowded it could be alright, but it seems like a lot of effort for an idea that has a little bit of use in very specific conditions.

Confused what makes their 1200 acre "out of bounds" "on your own" area any different than taking a backcountry gate at a resort? Are they gonna be doing avalanche mitigation?

Isn't this just another cat skiing venture with different ideals?

BST_PoliceConfused what makes their 1200 acre "out of bounds" "on your own" area any different than taking a backcountry gate at a resort? Are they gonna be doing avalanche mitigation?

Isn't this just another cat skiing venture with different ideals?

From the kickstarter it mentioned having ski patrol to do avy work. I think of of the small mtns or cat skiing ops branching out with some touring gear would make more sense than starting a ski area just for it.

I think it’s a very interesting idea. And it’s only the tip of the iceberg per the Owner. But yeah, seems like they could do a demo day on top of Berthoud for people who want to ski the open slope to the east and learn BC.

Avy work like bombs etc is probably worth it
Be able to ski steeper stuff on the big days

I feel like the crew that founded this isn’t truly thinking through what running a “ski resort” means. Sure you eliminated lifts, but how the hell are you supposed to maintain any level of safety and (more importantly for the business) litigation? Without lifts they need to rely on sleds to respond to any kind of emergency. And then it turns into a game of shuttle bus depending on where the sleds are.

what about maintaining any kind of bounds? Is every visitor guided? If no, how are you going to actually maintain a semblance of boundaries for your XX acre hill? Suddenly Mr. Jerry and his wife who think they want to experience the great outdoors are lost in a mess of trees half a mile downhill from “base” because it’s backcountry and grooming a transition cat track isn’t on their roster. Shit, grooming equipment isn’t even on the menu with a 25k goal.


I agree with your first sentiment. Idealistic and really appealing on paper. I don’t think it’s likely to succeed.

Just dumb unless you can turn a profit charging 10 bucks per day. Throwing up a T bar would be a better idea.

PeppermillRenoJust dumb unless you can turn a profit charging 10 bucks per day. Throwing up a T bar would be a better idea.

Someone just needs to buy a new mountain and only have t bars. Could imagine it would save a fuck ton of mulah whilst keeping it retro core

I hope these guys go out of business.


to elaborate, the idea of a safe backcountry “training area” for beginners is a good idea, but why charge people 50$ for a fucking day pass when they can just go to the real backcountry and ski trees or low angle slopes? Sounds kooky to me

BST_PoliceSomeone just needs to buy a new mountain and only have t bars. Could imagine it would save a fuck ton of mulah whilst keeping it retro core

yes or even just rope or platter tows. all surface lifts all the time

Whiteley Peak doesn't even look like a fun spot to ski haha. It's a foothill in a relatively flat area and doesn't look like it holds snow too well. I don't see any reason why I would ride there over one of the heavily trafficked mountain passes like Berthoud or Loveland where avalanche mitigation is done by the sheer number of people riding them. I mean shit you'd probably find steeper terrain on Rabbit Ears right up the road. I suppose there's the niche market of people who want to get AT lessons but most people who already know how to ski can figure that shit out pretty easily. Yeah... this is dumb.

**This post was edited on Feb 12th 2020 at 7:17:42pm

So based on the interview of one of the owners, ppl will check in at the base (only 300 ppl per day) and then skin up about half an hour to another small warming hut. From there, the skiing is better above. Old growth aspens, open bowls, and steeps close to the ridge of the peak (likely won’t happen this year because they don’t have enough guides in place). I’d be curious to ski the aspens up there...I passed it two weeks ago and it looks fun. The mountain below the middle hut didn’t look good though - it was thin with lots of sagebrush sticking out.

Anyway, I still like the idea but think they could do this on a safer zone of Berthoud.