Alexis had a brilliant idea: why not ski Snowspider Mountain via Caspar Creek, tick off Greifswald and Konsengarten Peaks, and then do a scenic exit down VanHorlick FSR? It sounded ambitious, like an epic two-day loop adventure, basically the Mount Everest of backcountry cardio .
The weekend forecast? About as promising as a soggy sandwich. Cold, windy, and enough snow to remind us that Mother Nature isn’t messing around. We didn’t see any fresh avalanches, just a few “relics of past dramas,” aka old debris fields that gave us a chilly reminder of the mountain’s mood swings.
Our ride ended at Caspar Creek FSR gate off Duffey Road, where we kissed the car goodbye and said hello to 7 km of skinning on a logging road. It’s like a cross-country ski marathon, but with way less cheering and way more existential dread. Then came another 4 km to the col between Greifswald and Konsengarten Peaks. The wind hit us like an icy slap, and my fingers started auditioning for a horror movie as they screamed in pain.
We bagged Greifswald with no fanfare because the cold was a total party pooper. Then Alexis, ever the overachiever, suggested charging up Konsengarten Peak. We ditched the summit dreams and skied down the south side of Greifswald toward the Snowspider hut, steep terrain peppered with avalanche debris and corn snow. My thighs and back went into full protest mode. They’re still filing grievances.
By 3 PM, we collapsed into the hut, a cozy, partially snow-buried fortress with just the door sticking out like it was saying, “Yep, I’m still here.” Night came with more snow, no reprieve.
Morning brought more overcast skies and light snow, but the visibility was decent enough to try for Snowspider’s summit. We set off at 7:15 AM, ascending a gully to the NE ridge. Boot-packing the last 200 meters felt like a leg day workout on steroids. The summit greeted us with low visibility, but hey, we were there.
The descent was a mix of sketchy bowl skiing and track retracing back to the hut by noon. After a quick lunch, we started the grand VanHorlick FSR slog back to the car, arriving around 4 PM.
And now, the real challenge: the drive home. New snow had turned the roads into a treacherous slide-fest. We witnessed a parade of cars in the ditch, apparently, “snow” and “traction” don’t get along well. What should’ve been a quick trip turned into a 6-hour slow crawl.
Despite all that, it was another unforgettable outing with friends: cold, tired, and happy to have survived the Snowspider Shuffle. Until next time, Mother Nature/
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