Just over an hour’s drive from Denver, Colorado, stands Berthoud Pass.
Watch: Friends of Berthoud, Peaks & Passages, Season 3, Episode 2
This interview has been edited for clarity and length.
Do you have any memorable days that stand out from Berthoud Pass?
I think my most special day was probably the first day I ever splitboarded up there. When I was at [the snowboard company] Never Summer, my mentor, Vince Sanders—still at Never Summer today—took me out and just showed me the ropes of splitboarding. And I mean, from that day on, I was hooked. So I’d say the most memorable day was the first time touring and not boot packing. And then 2017 is another year that comes to mind. It wasn’t a great season for us. So then in May, winter turned back on. We got a couple of feet in a couple of days, and I was snowboarding, you know, 24 inches of snow on my birthday—which is late May—up there. Just one of those cycles that came in. It was pretty moist, great bonding. Avalanche conditions were low, and we were able to get out and hit it pretty hard and ride good snow. That happens a lot, so it’s hard to pinpoint it, but I’d say the two most memorable days—it’s probably, yeah, the first day ever splitboarding up there and just riding deep snow in May with friends…