Here are some pictures from a backcountry ski trip on May 12, 2001.  The trip was to Quandary Peak, which is one of Colorado's "14ers", with a summit elevation of 14,265.  The four of us who skiied the peak (John Crimaldi, Russ Detwiler, Tom Hopson, Jason Kean) make up the core of a regular "old-man" morning cycling group, and we are all in the Civil Engineering department at the University of Colorado.

Here we are approaching the treeline on the east approach to Quandary Peak.  The elevation here is probably around 11,800 feet.  If you look closely, you will see that Russ (in the lead) has some very low-tech ski poles (made from tree limbs found along the route) strapped to his pack.  He left his real poles in Boulder (a hazard that is associated with getting up at 3:30 in the morning).  But everything else is perfect:  the weather is gorgeous, and there is very little wind.
 
 

An amazing development:  We find an abandoned campsite with the remains of a tent, an old gear bag, and two brand-new ski poles.  The gods are shining on Russ today.  Russ takes the poles, and later leaves them in the parking lot for the next hapless, pole-less skiier to use.  Good pole karma.  Only later do we realize that we should probably have checked the abandoned campsite for dead bodies...
 
 

This is a panorama taken from the ridge along the final approach to the summit, looking west.  The elevation here is proably around 13,000 feet.  The huge east-facing bowl visible below the summit is where most people ski.  We ended up choosing to ski the steeper South Couloir, which is just visible above Russ and Tom's ski tips in this image.  Note: depending on your screen size, you may need to scroll to the right to see the entire image.
 
 

This is a closer view of the same location (with me in the photo).  You can see a better view of the couloir above me here.
 
 

We arrived at the summit under perfect blue skies and little wind.  The elevation here is 14,265 feet.  We decide to give the snow a half-hour to soften before heading out.   Photo by Jason.
 
 

Here are Tom (left) and Russ at the summit (elevation 14,265).  Most of us are eating power bars and other unpleasant things.  Russ is eating a Thai peanut noodle dish (with a fork, no less).  Bastard.

This is a full 360-degree panorama taken from the top of the local world.  You will need to scroll your screen to the right to see the entire image.  Most of us are thinking about the impending descent.  Russ is contemplating the wonders of Thai cuisine.
 

Entering the couloir:  the world is not flat.
 

Here is Russ posing for the cover of the Patagonia catalog on one of the steeper pitches.  According to the guidebook, the slope in the Couloir ranges from 35 to 45 degrees.  This is steep, but not scary-steep.
 

Russ, in the foreground, is wondering who stole all the oxygen.  That's me in the background finding a nice line through the rocks.  Photo by Jason.
 
 

This is Jason, making it look easy.  Getting up at 3:30am doesn't seem quite so bad now.
 

The snow is soft and wonderful.  Russ tears it up.