Ski Mountaineers To Attempt Colorado's 100 Tallest Peaks
The power trio of Colorado ski mountaineering—Chris Davenport, Ted Mahon and Christy Mahon—recently announced their newest project: To climb and ski their state's 100 highest mountains.
"Our thinking is 'Let's take it to the next level, and let's continue to raise the bar and continue to push ski mountaineering in Colorado and share everything we learn,' " Davenport told Denver Post.
These athletes have been at the forefront of the sport for several years.
In the 2006-2007 winter season, Davenport took on Colorado's 54 14,000-foot peaks, becoming the first person to ski them all in one year; in 2008, Ted Mahon became the third person to ski all 54 peaks; and, in 2010, Ted Mahon's wife Christy became the first woman to summit and ski all these mountains after a six-year effort.
Last year, after the trio completed Davenport's "Ring of Fire" mission to ski 17 volcanic peaks in 17 days across California and the Pacific Northwest, the athletes needed a new goal. Although more and more ski mountaineers were going after Colorado's high-profile 14ers, none were throwing the 13,000-foot peaks—many of which have never hosted skiers—into the mix. Furthermore, the team knew that no one had ever hiked and skied all 100 of Colorado's highest mountains. This became the dream.
Dubbed The Centennial Skiers Project, the trio's mission has no timeline, unlike some of Davenport's previous projects. Still Davenport will need to catch up to the Mahons, who have already logged about a dozen descents of thirteeners.
The athletes will begin this spring with a goal to summit and ski 25 peaks during the season. You can follow the expedition on Centennialskiers.com.