April 9th = Columbus, OH to Hays, KS

4 AM this morning i loaded up the last few bags and hit the road. I like to get an early start and a big day in on day 1 as it makes travel on day 2 feel shorter. Driving this morning was very smooth with little to no traffic through Indianapolis. I decided to make a stop in Casey, Illinois to check out the “World’s Largest Golf Tee”. That is a hallmark of little midwest towns; some sort of tourist attraction to try and bring people in off the highway. Casey is also home to the largest mailbox and large coin token. I decided to skip those as I did not want to waste a ton of time. Travel through St. Louis was very busy. I bypassed downtown, so no photos of the Arch, but I did get to see it from quite a distance.

Next stop was Kansas City for lunch. I picked Slap’s BBQ out of the lineup of popular spots in the city. Pulling up, the line was out the door. Figuring this was good sign, I pulled up across the street and hopped in line, striking up conversation with the two facilities maintenance workers in front of me. On their recommendation, I got the Cattleman’s plate, a generous pile of brisket, jalapeño cheddar sausage, and burnt ends, a Kansas City staple. My sides were potato casserole and mac n cheese at the recommendation of the lady behind the counter. I side outside on the deck and polished off my platter. Definitely worth a stop next time though town.

The rest of my drive across Missouri and Kansas was pretty uneventful. Watching the landscape change from mixed agriculture to high prairie highlighted the change in elevation and climate I was experiencing. Apparently it is prescribed burn season here in Kansas and I saw probably 20 different burns happening along I-70. my last landmark before Hays was a wind turbine farm that seemed to stretch for miles and miles. I talked on the phone with my parents for the last hour and a half of my drive, making a boring section of the country go by much quicker. My dad would track my location on the Find My app, asking me about landmarks he couldn’t identify as I drove by them.

I was supposed to stay at a campground in Hays, and was looking forward to a campfire and peaceful night. Unfortunately, the campground had misrepresented the site and amenities I had paid for. I got my refund and checked into a hotel in town as I needed Wifi for a job interview tomorrow morning. I checked a local burger joint out for dinner then came back to write this entry. I am absolutely exhausted, driving from 4 AM till 6:30 PM. Time to watch hockey and go to bed.

April 10th = Hays, KS to Denver, CO

I had a slow morning in Hays. I had hotel breakfast and did some interview prep while the cars went by on the highway. The interview went well and was shorter than I had anticipated, so I hit the road about two hours ahead of schedule. Western Kansas is a desolate and flat landscape, punctuated by wind turbines and farms as far as you can see. Some highlights from the drive were an F-14 Tomcat of Cold War and Top Gun fame in a park, some large drum thing on a trailer, and a pretty cool overlanding rig consisting of a FJ Cruiser and trailer.

Some time after crossing the CO/KS border, I crested a small hill and got my first view of the mountains. Based on the direction and size, I’m reasonably sure this was Pike’s Peak above Colorado Springs. Home of the Pike’s Peak Hill Climb car race and the former Olympic Training Center for the USA Weightlifting national team, CO Springs is a destination I would love to make it to, but geographically just doesn’t work out a lot of the time. Oh well, maybe the next trip. I am reminded of what it might’ve been like travelling across the plains 200 years ago in a wagon. Seeing the mountains but still being 80 miles away would’ve been another week’s worth of travel by horseback or wagon. This trip would’ve been a several weeks trip just to get to the mountains back in those days. How lucky we are to have cars and water everywhere.

The first major landmark outside of Denver is the Denver Airport. Miles and miles away from the city, it feels like I’m still in Kansas as I drive by, with just the slightest view of the Front Range in the distance. As I-70 winds into the city, traffic increases greatly. I really did not miss driving in Denver. My first destination was Cripple Creek Backcountry in Englewood to secure some crampons and an ice axe. I also snagged a Loveland Pass ski map and an extra stick of SPF lip balm. Don’t want to get some sunburned lips out there that’s for sure. Having secured the necessary pointy things for uphill travel and self arrest, I headed to the largest REI I have ever set foot in just north of downtown. Unfortunately I did experience the usual issues with REI, namely being lack of experienced associates or diversity of options in stock. I picked a few Stinger waffles and got out of there. Down the street is a Rab factory store. I like the Rab brand so I popped in and had a look around. I ended up talking to Luke the employee for an hour or so about skiing, mountaineering, and general outdoorsiness, connecting on those kinds of activities that I can’t necessarily connect with people on in Columbus.

Having ran my errands, it was time to brave the rush hour traffic to get to Greg and Erica’s south of the city in Highlands Ranch. the 16 mile drive took me almost an hour, winding my way through the sprawling metropolis of southern Denver. It really did not feel that much different from the drive in Columbus going Grandview to Dublin. I hadn’t seen Greg, Erica, and the kids for probably almost 15 years(?) since they lived in Maryland. Everyone is all grown up now; Emerson is 24, Zack and Ellis are 20, turning 21 soon. we went to a newly opened Italian place with Greg’s mom Ellen (my mom’s aunt?). She is aging gracefully, much like my Korean grandma, maintaining her mental and physical faculties. Ellen was always very generous to me and John growing up, sending us birthday and Christmas gifts until we were 18. Now we still get cards and letters, but no more gifts. Thats a pretty fair deal in my opinion, seeing as we are now full grown adults fending for ourselves. I greatly appreciate getting letters in the mail now since I know that it take more effort to write things out rather than send a text. Tomorrow should be a busy day of touring around Denver with Erica and Emerson!

April 11th = Denver, CO

Erica and I went to downtown Denver and walked around, checking out cool spots such as Larimer Ave, the Dairy Block, Rockies Stadium, and Union Station. Denver certainly is an old city that has done a decent job of maintaining its old buildings. The old Union Station has a lot of original stone and lighting, and it feels like an old rail station. Now it has a bunch of bars and restaurants, even a bookstore and mercantile. In the evening, we made salmon with veggies and grains. Aunt Ellen came over to hang before I leave tomorrow to go ski. Always good to spend time with family. Greg and Erica were so hospitable and generous. It’s great to know I always have a base in Denver to jump off from. Looking forward to driving up into the mountains tomorrow, A-Basin is first on the list of ski spots.

Arpil 12 = Denver, CO to Breckenridge, CO

Today was an epic that’s for sure. Probably the wildest day of skiing I’ve ever had. I woke up at 6 am, made a quick 3 egg omelette, packed up the car, and hit the road to Arapahoe Basin ski area. I hit first chair and started getting the legs warmed up. Conditions were very firm due to springtime freeze/thaw. Anything groomed was awesome but anything off-piste was so bumpy and firm. As the morning progressed, the sun thawed out the snow and I was able to get some great turns in on the East Wall. My favorite run from the morning was probably Willy’s Wide, a several hundred vertical foot bootpack up the east wall that was delightfully soft around 11:30 AM. A-Basin is one of my favorite ski areas in Summit County. Its terrain is butt-puckering at times but the fear locks you in, making for some epic runs. Unfortunately my GoPro battery died because I forgot to stop recording, so I have no footage of Willy’s Wide. I did get some great early morning footage from the groomers though. I was able to talk on the phone with Miyako before her flight left for Paris. Nice way to round out the morning.

Around noon I decided to drive back up to Loveland Pass and do some light backcountry touring. I sat in the sun for a quick snack of summer sausage, cheese, and ginger snaps while I chatted with my friend Kristy for a bit about life and travels. Having gotten some fuel in me, I geared up and started up the bootpack out to Loveland Bowl. It was a beautiful day of light winds and sunshine, the temperature reaching almost 47 degrees at its peak. From the top of the bowl I could look West and see Breckenridge, Keystone, and the Beavers area of A-Basin. Looking North I could see Loveland ski area, and looking East I could see the road up and over Loveland Pass and I-70. I facetimed my dad from the top to show him what I was looking at and to catch up in a scenic area. On the bootpack behind me I could see a few guys walking up. When they reached me, we struck up conversation and I ended up joining them for a few laps. Ollie and Erich were in their 50s, erich from Boulder and Ollie from Frankfurt, Germany. We got in some immaculate spring snow on the untouched Loveland Bowl that feeds directly to the road up Loveland Pass. At the corner parking lot, we hitch-hiked back to top of the pass in the back of some pickup trucks for another bootpack and lap of the bowl. The vibes were high, avy danger low, and snow was incredible. After getting back up to my car, I packed up and started my drive to my hostel in Breckenridge. I got settled in and walked to a Mexican place in town for dinner. I got a duck confit quesdilla, which absolutely hit the spot. I was definitely behind on my nutrition and hydration for the day, so in the evening I went through about 4 Nalgene bottles to try and catch up. I ended up hanging with the guys in my bunkroom till about 10 PM just chatting about life, skiing, ended various experiences. The them of today was really in the people you meet and connections you make!

April 13th = Summit County, CO

Today was a bit more of a relaxing day. I woke up late, had a nice breakfast in the hostel, and just generally hung out talking with people. I’ve met some very interesting people staying in this place. Jason is a playwright from Austin, Texas, who has toured the world with plays that he’s written. He is an excellent skier who has skied Breck his whole life. Darrell is a tech salesman living in Dallas and has climbed many of the iconic mountaineering objectives in the US such as Mt. Hood, Rainer, Denali. He is a former ski racer who has travelled the world in his pursuit of mountaineering. Lastly in our little group is Cyril, a Ukrainian traveling around snowboarding. The 4 of us hang out and chat whenever we aren’t skiing, discussing life, work, gear, and the passions that define us. Our shared love of ice that falls from the sky seems on the surface so simple, but in reality has driven our lives to intersect, something which cannot be understated in its gravity.

That afternoon I drove up to the now-defunct Berthoud Pass ski area, just south of Winter Park. Now that the ski area infrastructure is gone, Berthoud pass has become a mecca for backcountry skiing in Colorado. I was meeting with a group of backcountry enthusiasts for some evening ski laps skinning up to the peaks and then meeting at the car for some parking lot beers under the stars. This group is spearheaded by Ellie Frost, a Florida transplant who has fallen in love with skiing and building community amongst backcountry users. I really enjoyed chatting with her up the skin track, discussing how we found our way to where we are, and the importance of strong group dynamics in the BC. Open communication and expectations are so important in the BC, where poor decisions can have compounding dangerous effects. The evening was full of great company, views, and beer, but some pretty awful snow. Breakable crust was the night’s special, making for a tough ski full of falls. Our group was very diverse, allowing me to chat with a lot of people, and I now have standing invites to tour with some people whenever I find myself in the area. I got back around 11 PM and immediately went to bed for a huge day tomorrow.

April 14th = Summit County, CO

I had this idea on this trip that I wanted to summit Quandary Peak. Quandary Peak is a mountain just south of Breckenridge. Its 3.3 mile approach gains approximately 3500′ of elevation and is often hampered by strong winds that make summiting quite a pain. Looking at the weather, I decided Sunday the 14th would be the best day to make a summit push. The forecast showed light winds and full sun, low avalanche risk due to weather and an early start convinced me to pull the trigger. I woke up at 3:45 AM, downed some instant oatmeal packets, and hit the road to the trailhead. Pulling in, there were probably 10 cars already there, with one group already leaving, their headlamps bobbing in the woods. I got my pack together, skins on, and hit the trail at 5 AM on the nose.

The trail starts up a forest road for a ways before hitting the Quandary Peak trail proper. Once on the trail, the first mile of ascent winds through thick conifer forest before plateauing at the base of the steeper headwalls. I spent some time standing in the forest with my headlamp off, listening to the grouse in the trees and the sounds of the woods. You would be surprised how noisy forests are during the night. As I ascended, I spoke to the mountain, greeting it, and asking for safe passage on my journey. As the sky lightened, I got to experience alpine sunrise while I ascended above treeline. Gaining the saddle at 13000′, The altitude was really starting to wear on me. I made sure I drank enough water and ate enough food, but being from the lowlands still has its drawbacks. the final summit push was the real crux of the ski, having to put my skis on my back and boot up the ridge. Up top, I took a few moments to snack and drink some more water, before transitioning and starting down.

On the descent, the upper bowl snow was horrendous. In skiing we have a word for it, “sastrugi”, or wind-driven snow shapes resembling tiny dunes. Very pretty to look at, but terrible to ski. It is firm and unforgiving, especially through alpine touring bindings and boots, which don’t offer much vibration dampening. My toes became numb with the vibration as I descended the upper bowl to the 13000′ ridge landmark, where I had to take my skis off and walk across the bare patches of rock. the descent slowly improved and my the time I reached 12500′, the snow had turned to soft corn and I could actually start arcing some smooth turns. I continued down towards treeline, enjoying the prime snow conditions. The last 1000′ of vertical to the parking lot got progressively worse as the snow turned to icy or slush, depending on shade or sun. Not to mention I took an alternative route to try and avoid putting the skins back on, gradually turning into bush-wacking through pine trees with skis on. Not my finest moment, but only adding to the adventure. I finally popped back out to the parking lot around 12 PM, making it a 7 hour round trip. Utterly exhausted, I packed up and headed back to the hostel.

Upon my return, I showered and tried to get in calories and water, as I could feel the dehydration and caloric deficit I was in. A nap was also in order. Feeling so late in the day, I drove over to a sushi place in Dillon that had some Sunday deals, and got a big sushi platter with green tea and miso soup. The combination must’ve been just what the doctor ordered, because I seemed to come back alive after that. I talked to my parents on the way back to Breck to chat about the day’s happenings. My mom was very concerned about me climbing Quandary on my own. I had no qualms about this since it is such a popular destination. Despite my early start, I ended up climbing the mountain with what felt like half of Summit County! The parking lot was full and then some when I got back down as well. Upon reflection, I could’ve started at 7 AM for better snow conditions on the way down. Good for future reference.

That night at the hostel I struck up a several hour conversation with an older gentleman named Hugh from Australia. He is a lifelong telemark skier, and we shared our memories of getting into tele skiing on long, skinny skis with soft boots, followed by the revelation of cable bindings and plastic boots. He had just spent the last week touring in the San Juans of southwestern Colorado with his son and daughter. I know have an open invitation to ski and stay in Australia with him and his wife, or meet up in the states when he makes it here! It pays to talk with people I suppose. In fact, in the days I have been here I have been invited to several places around the world and country, just got to take advantage of the time and opportunity! I love skiing.

April 15th = Summit County, CO

Today was a rest day. I hung around the hostel, updated the blog, and tried to nap as much as I could. I ended up driving down to Golden, CO, to get a beer with an old family friend, Abra. She is working as a Geothermal Scientist in Golden, and is really enjoying all the things living in Colorado has to offer. I stopped by the Icelantic skis factory store in Golden, and procured the opportunity to demo some prototype skis coming out next year. I have been skiing Icelantic since 2012. They are known for their durable construction, beautiful topsheet artwork, and innovative shapes. The model I had the pleasure of skiing were the Nomad 112, the first redesign of the Nomad line in 8 years. 8 years is a long time for a produt to not have any design changes besides artwork, so I was pumped to test the new model out. As I drove back to Breck, snow began to fall and by the time I made it home, we had about 2 inches.

April 16th = Summit County, CO

What a day. I woke up to reports that Copper Mountain had about 20 inches of snow and more coming. The tension in the air at the hostel as we all ate breakfast was palpable. I loaded up the gear and hit the road to Copper.

Riding up the Super Bee lift was surreal. Seeing runs completely devoid of tracks that I am used to seeing groomed was hard to believe. I got off at the top and started down. I instantly knew today was going to be a hard day on the legs. The snow was not mid-season blower powder, light and fluffy, but wet and heavy like mashed-potatoes. It was so dense I was straight-lining slopes I’m used to picking my way down. The slightest deviation to turn caused a massive dump of speed. As the snow got more tracked out, it became easier to keep speed, if not a bit bumpy. The proto skis were awesome for these conditions. They were heavy enough to absorb the bumpiness and playful enough to slash through the piles of snow. The real weakness in my setup was in the boots. I only brought my lightweight touring boots, which lack the damping or suspension to really plow through choppy snow. That’s the trade-off for touring ability vs. downhill performance. Despite this, the day was an incredible one. As I packed up the car, I reflected on this being the most snow I had ever skied fresh, an opportunity that does not come often. To ski day of powder when I do not live in the mountains comes down to lucky timing. What a day.

When I got back to the hostel, Jason and I sat and chatted about the day’s awesomeness, politics, careers choices, etc. We then walked down to Empire Burger in Breck for a last supper before we all went our separate ways in the morning. For those interested, his name is Jason Neulander, and he has a film available to stream on all major platforms called “Fugitive Dreams”. I strongly recommend renting it and supporting independent filmmakers!

April 17th = Summit County, CO to Park City, UT

I checked out of the hostel around 10 AM, ran some errands for gas and snacks, then hit the road for Park City, UT, around 11 AM. My first leg was taking I-70 over Vail Pass to Rifle, then heading northwest into the high desert of northwest CO. The drive to Glenwood Springs was wild, following the path of the Colorado River through the White River National Forest. The river cuts a jagged canyon where it feels like the world is closing in on you, then suddenly it opens up to the town of Glenwood Springs, nestled in the rocky landscape. At the town of Rifle, I picked up Route 13 north into the high desert. The lush canyons and greenery slowly gave way to rocks, sage, and tumbleweed as I traveled northward. The two lane highway would enter Main Street towns, lined with cafes, the lone insurance brokerage, and a gas station at each end.

At the town of Dinosaur, I stopped by the visitor center to use the restroom. The woman working asked where I was coming from, where I was going, and recommended I stop at the Quarry Exhibit Hall at Dinosaur National Monument. I originally wasn’t going to based on having an 8.5 hour day of driving, but I decided to support our country’s land conservation efforts and visit. Dinosaur National Monument is the remnants of an ancient river, where large dinosaur bones were deposited, fossilized, then discovered and unearthed in the mid-1900s. I did not realize this, but some of the fossils I grew up seeing at the Carnegie Museum of Natural History in Pittsburgh were from this excavation site. The Quarry Exhibit is an open building built over a large portion of the excavation, where the fossils have been exposed but left in their positions, so one can see the deposits in their natural position. I took the opportunity to hike one of the trails for about 2 miles to avoid having to sit in the car.

I picked up Route 40 heading west, passing through many medium sized towns. Driving through the prairie and desert brought back memories of road trips westward with my parents, where we would read novels aloud to pass the time. One of my favorites from that time was A Long Way From Chicago, by Richard Peck. I vividly remember my mom reading that one. She is an excellent narrator and really brought the stories to life. I found that novel on audiobook on Spotify, and listened to it again. The nostalgia hits as I drove into the setting sun were magical.

I talked to my parents on the phone for a bit as the road angled northwest towards Heber City, and beyond that, Park City. The call kept dropping out from the rolling hills I was passing through, but we managed to connect on the high points. On the long days when I get tired I call them. My mom is always happy to talk about random things for an hour or so. Finally, I started the climb up the back of the Wasatch Range from Heber City, and Pulled into Park City and the Park City Hostel, where I am staying for the next two nights.

April 18th = Park City, UT

I woke up early today, wanting to get going. My original plan was to go to Brighton to ski. I stopped by Atticus Coffee and Teahouse in Park City to get a dirty chai and breakfast burrito. The Atticus is a quirky shop with murals on the wall, books and doo-dads for sale, and a mean dirty chai. For the uncultured, this is a chai latte with a shot of espresso in it, hence the dirty. Fully caffeinated, I made my way up Empire Pass to hopefully get to the ski area over the mountains. Unbeknownst to me, the road over Empire Pass was still closed, meaning I would have had to drive an hour and a half around the mountains to go ski. I put those plans to bed and headed into Salt Lake City to check out some retail stores that I had always wanted to see, namely Skimo.co in Cottonwood Heights. This is the definitive store for anything ski touring and ski mountaineering. My brother John was in the market for some touring skis, so some quick conversation was had and I picked him up a new pair of Dynafit Free 97 touring skis. Skimo.co also had some random bits I had been looking for, such as a handrest for my ice axe and a small screwdriver to make carrying tools in the backcountry easier.

Having done some retail therapy, I headed back up to Park City for a hike. I grabbed a quick snack and walked over to a trailhead near my hostel. The trail wound up and around a hill above the town, giving me great views when I got to the top. Afterwards, I walked into a sleepy ramen shop get dinner. Either I must’ve looked hungry or these people needed to offload ingredients, because this bowl of ramen came out piled high with toppings and extras. Multiple poached eggs, dumplings, scallions, corn, pork, naruto, and nori sheets were piled into the bowl or rich, creamy broth. Probably the best bowl of ramen I have had in the states. I wandered back to the hostel to update the blog and get some rest before a travel day tomorrow.

April 19th = Park City, UT to Boise, ID

Last long driving day for a while. I went back to Atticus Coffee this morning for another dirty chai, then started to hit the road for Boise. The drive out of Utah was busy with traffic, but it slowly gave way to wide open prairie full of nothing. I stopped for gas at a little gas station in Idaho where gas cost “an arm”, diesel cost “a leg”, and they had goats, donkeys, and llamas you could feed and pet. I’ve found Idaho to have lots of quirky little things like that. The rest of the drive into Boise was uneventful and boring to say the least. I pulled into John and Rachel’s apartment around 3:30PM. We caught up a bit then went to an ice cream shop/bar, where you could order boozy ice cream and beer. I got an Idaho bourbon ice cream and a coffee porter. Sitting outside it was immediately apparent that Boise is very bike and pedestrian friendly. Coming from Columbus that is a different feeling for sure. Later that night I made some roasted veggies with potatoes and asparagus. It felt good to be in a more stable living environment for a bit.

April 20th = Boise, ID

We woke up with some coffee and veggie egg scramble followed by a decently long walk up the trail along the river. It is courting season for the ducks and we bore witness to some interesting bird interactions, mainly males fighting over females. We did see a goose standing atop a dead tree honking at anything that moved, along with a family of ducklings and a female Mallard. John and I dropped the skis off to get bindings mounted and took a drive up Bogus Basin road towards the ski area. There are mountain bike and hiking trails all over the foothills outside of Boise, something I would very much like to explore in the future. The mountain biking here is fast and flowy, not the rocky and technical terrain of PA and WV that I am used to. That afternoon we met some of Rachel’s friends at a brewery, then walked to a food truck park for some live music and snacks. Downtown Boise is so walkable and bikeable I would hardly have to drive my car anywhere on a day to day basis. The parking lot of the brewery was full of bikes when we left, as was the park with the food trucks. Fueled by beer and dumplings, the rest of the evening consisted of sitting around and making banana bread. We went for an evening walk followed by warm banana bread and ice cream.

April 21st = Boise, ID

Today was started again with coffee. John and I dropped off his other ski boot, then hiked almost 5 miles at Camel’s Back Park just outside of the North End neighborhood. There are trails that wind all over the Boise foothills here; you could just keep on riding up and up if you wanted to, then have a nice long descent back into town. the mapping is very well done, with accurate distances and condition reports updated online. We met back up with Rachel in the afternoon, then just hung around till dinner. It was decided to go walk around downtown and pick a spot for dinner down there. Downtown Boise is so walkable with plenty of restaurants and bars. Maybe not the largest variety, bit I feel like there is a little bit of everything. There is an alley in downtown that has become the canvas for local artists, covered in artwork ranging from psychedelic to cartoon/funny. We settled on Bittercreek Alehouse, a western bar with an emphasis on local ingredients and beers. I had a burger and fries, presented to me with fry sauce, ketchup, and ranch. We midwesterners love ranch. They offer 4 oz pours for around 3 dollars, so it was nice to be able to sample several for the evening. We walked back to parking garage, came home, and passed out.