With winter in full swing, it was about time to head up into the backcountry and spend a few days skiing pow, chopping wood, and tending to some fire. I managed to convince some friends, both returners and newbies (“fool me once…” they said), to make the trek up to Fabi’s Hut.

The approach was straightforward enough, about 2.5K feet of elevation gain over 5.5 miles. Blisters in tow, everyone made it to the hut in high spirits; which, is certainly an aspect not to be taken for granted! With some birthday celebrations in order, we had some pre-made Espresso Martini’s poured for the group.

Snow dumping, we woke up the next morning eager to ski and find some turns. Despite the relatively mellow terrain that surrounds the Benedict Huts, we managed to score some playful lines on the E aspect in the No Name Creek drainage.

After two days on skis, we were pretty wiped heading into Friday night. Opting for a more relaxed evening; books, boardgames, and early dinners made the rounds. Sounds pretty fitting to celebrate a 30th birthday… sheesh!

On Saturday morning we quickly cleared the hut, filled the melting pots with snow, and made our way back down towards Aspen. With all of the recent new snow, we figured the skiing at the resort would be quite good — straight to the Bowl!

The deep winter nights in the woods with friends are always special… especially grateful for the good company and good conditions this season. See y’all at the next one!