Loveland Ridge

Type: Backcountry or Sidecountry

One of the most popular approaches in all of Colorado, Loveland Ridge provides access to North-facing ski awesomeness. This area gets skied so often that it has a well-defined bootpack and skin track for most of the Winter season.

From your car (or where you got dropped off) at the top of the pass, you can see all of the ski lines accessed from this ridge. Take care to note cornices and slope angle - most of the pitches here are in the danger zone and have the potential to slide after big snow. However, most of the time, this is so skied out you'll be hard pressed to make fresh tracks on any of the lines here unless you live in Silver Plume...

This area skis well all season long and, due to its altitude, has some of the best early-season snow in the state. Additionally, the end of this run is rife with people passing by in trucks willing to take skiers back to the top, so it almost feels like a ski resort in its own right!