Aside from many articles about the sport in general we describe many places where one can go in Colorado. In one sense we provide an online guidebook to Colorado's backcountry. There are some places we keep secret. We won't publicize everything. But places that have a broken trail to the top all winter long we consider not to be a secret. We'll leave it to you to discover the places off of that trail.

We don't want to be snobs about how you do your thing. We recognize AT (alpine touring) parallel turn skiing as well as telemark skiing. We don't care if you use flimsy leather cross country slippers or heavy plastic SuperComps. We don't care if you crosscountry ski the flats or ski extreme. (I hate that extreme word) We don't care if you are a pigheaded nordic pinhead telemark skier or if you're too scared to free your heel. (The telemark craze has taken over but pinheads should be aware that before 1985 skiers somehow managed just fine) We respect snowboarding in the backcountry as long as you're not getting hauled up by a snowmobile. Go to a ski area if you want a lift. We don't need to hear the chainsaw-like, high RPM motors or smell them out there. Waddle up on your snowshoes or get skis. Boarding, riding, skiing snow...if it's backcountry and it's about making tracks in powder instead of groomed slopes this is the website / guide / resource.

The two Dave's put up this site and worry about it. There are a bunch of us who all help by skiing new places and passing down experiences. Others we don't know contribute their articles and wisdom. The people directly involved with this site have been backcountry skiers and winter campers for years.

A lot of material on the net these days is basically a promotion or an ad. Things seldom have enough substance to make it worth the download time. Why surf the net just to see ads and hype? We have made Colorado Firstrax just the opposite. We want it to be like a good book that gets you excited about skiing and helps you do it safely. We are not an info-mercial disguised as a resource. We are the Colorado backcountry skiing resource. .

We intend not to sacrifice the integrity of this webzine by making it a gear showcase. At the same time we recognize that specialized gear is required for the sport and that sponsors finance the site. We hope that you will find the commercialism to be low and the content to be high. We also hope that if you use this site regularly you will consider our sponsors when you need gear or services.

We encourage you to email us about anything. Tell us a story! Be clear what is meant for us and what is meant for the readers. Do you want your email address made available to the readers? We will try to answer all correspondence promptly.

As a side line to the backcountry skiing theme we put up a Wilderness Issues Page where we will try to pay due notice to that which threatens the Colorado habitat we love so much. There will always be direct email hypertext linking you to Washington and Denver government entities for your fan mail.

We want to make this site something special. So please check us out and let us know what you think.

Thanks!

The major difference between the telemark turn and the parallel turn is that in the telemark turn the ski that leads is the opposite. In telemarking the downhill ski leads. The legs scissor apart more so in telemarking thus making the turn more of an effort for the legs than paralleling. One can invision the uphill ski dropping behind or the downhill ski pushing ahead but in truth it is both, as the center of gravity should be based over both skis. Many novices only weight the front ski and not the rear losing the edge control and floatation of using two skis. The distance one ski leads the other is also often exagerated unnecessarily by novices.

The similarities between telemarking and parallel turning are numerous. Unweighting, facing the fall line, and use of poles are essentially the same.

Many believe the telemark turn is superior in the backcountry especially in breakable crust conditions. A parallel turner would have to jump out of the crust for each turn to avoid face planting should they break through. If you are moving at even a slow speed and suddenly break through the rapid deceleration would cause you to suddenly fall forward...face plant. With the inherent front to back stability of the telemark turn you have more of a chance to ride it out. A backcountry skier cannot jump turn with a heavy backpack so the telemark turner has the advantage of plowing through more readily without jumping.

On the other hand, parallel skiers with locked down heels are more stable on their skis in general and thus less likely to fall. In places where falling could have you flopping around in an avalanche path or sliding to severe injury in rocks below the security of locked down heels is an advantage. Of course there are telemark skiers who are so strong and confident they are as stable as any parallel skier. This deserves a lot of respect for they are working harder and have a higher level of developed skill.