I met up with BlackStrap athlete Corey Van Aken and photographer Cooper Long out in Colorado, they didn’t hesitate to bring me out to their favorite zone. Corey and Cooper shuttled me out on the snow pony’s and once we broke through the trees my eyes widened with excitement! An Alaska type terrain that was completely untouched. I immediately started pointing to all the lines I wanted to hit.
I asked Corey if he felt comfortable to party a couloir together.
Both feet strapped in, balancing on the edge and peering down the rocky corridor. Adrenaline was coursing though my body. We radioed to photographer Cooper giving him a 10 second countdown till we dropped...
1, 2, 3 drop Corey drops 1st and I followed close behind. With the snow being wind affected at the top, our turns were slow and controlled. The second our boards hit soft snow we both opened up, a beautiful moment I’ll never forget. Being walled and riding through Corey’s spray as we charge through the couloir together. It felt like we had a perfect rhythm as we danced down, yelling with excitement as we exit the couloir and make turns for another 300ft.
We spent the rest of the day playing on this magnificent blank canvas. Corey mentioned that it was rare to have these lines filled in before late March or April. The fact that we got to snowboard this face in February was pretty incredible.
I would say we definitely scored. Having this zone to ourselves, stable snow, and good weather. This day is going down as one of the best backcountry days for me.
Corey and I are were stoked to be rocking BlackStrap base layers and balaclavas that day. Being comfortable in the elements is key to long days in the backcountry.
Written by Claire Hewitt-Demeyer
