I learned two very important backcountry lessons on this trip: pack light and, when in doubt, use the color test. The test is simple; if it’s white – go. I’ve snowboarded my entire life and grew up on Warren Miller films, watching the pros rip powder lines in remote destinations that I could only replicate in dreams. As a kid from Boston, it always felt unattainable without the help of expert guides, helicopters, or a mountain of cash. But that all changed with a trip to Eric’s cabin.

Mt. Hayden backcountry lodge sits deep in the San Juan mountains of Colorado, just outside of Ouray. We were tipped off by the recommendation of a friend who heard from another friend that this place was pretty special. Booking was pretty straightforward, $120 per night for a bed, breakfast, and dinner. So I got together with two former roommates, Clayton and Tyler, and we booked 3 beds. It seemed easy. Too easy.

We all met in Denver two days before our reservation and picked up the remaining bits of gear we thought we needed. As a filmmaker, I’m used to traveling solo with grossly overweight bags that no human should be able to fit inside an overhead compartment. But this expedition would really put our endurance to the test. Once we got to the trailhead and sat for a minute under the hot March sun, we quickly stripped our heavy packs down to the essentials. From the parking lot to the cabin is roughly a 4.2 mile, uphill skin, covering 2,200’ of vert, crossing avalanche debris and switchbacking through trees in occasional waist-deep snow. Due to a recent storm, the skin track was barely visible. We let Eric know it would probably take us about 4 hours. He replied, “Ok, it should only take you 3”.

6 hours later, we arrived. It was humbling, to say the least. Eric laughed when he saw my massive yellow dry bag, dubbing it “the Yellow Beast”. He helped me carry it inside and I asked him how much he thought it weighed. “Oh, that’s about a typical grocery run for me”.

Eric and his assistant Rowan live in the cabin year-round and make trips down to Ouray roughly every other day. It’s just part of the routine. Our respect and admiration for Eric and Rowan grew exponentially, starting with hefty portions of spicy elk bolognese, salad, and fresh-out-the-oven sourdough, to sharing drinks (yes–whiskey was an essential) and hearing stories of the old-ski bums he used to roll with, living out of shanties beyond resort boundaries. He seemed to know every inch of the terrain that surrounded his cabin and was more than willing to share his personal maps and trail names, though sometimes the descriptions were so detailed it was hard to keep track. We picked his brain at every opportunity, but his relaxed demeanor made us feel like we could send anything. After all, he was the one who introduced us to the color test. But once you left the cabin, you were on your own.

Over the next few days, we stripped our packs down to the true essentials: beacon, shovel, probe, water, snacks, and sunscreen. All we had was Eric’s beta and AIARE 1 training to rely on. Walking out through the trees and across the aprons of 13,000’+ faces is a meditative experience. It was hard to tell if it was the altitude or adrenaline, but each breath and step felt deliberate, knowing that at any point nature could swallow you whole. It was exhausting, but over those few days at Mt. Hayden, I scored the best turns of my entire life.

On our last day, we crossed paths with Eric on the skin track as he was headed up from town with groceries. It was the first time we saw him with skis under his feet, and his dog Brie followed close behind. We said our thanks and goodbyes, and he left us with some parting wisdom… “Never stop snowboarding!”

On our way back to Denver, we decided to make a pit stop in Aspen to remind ourselves what a chairlift feels like. After four days without a shower, the Aspen scene was a bit of a culture shock. St. Patrick's day parties raged all around us, but our focus had shifted elsewhere. As we rode the chair up Aspen highlands, all we could do was look beyond the summit at the epic, untamed peaks surrounding the resort and contemplate, “damn, how do we get over there?”