Backcountry Skiing around Rocky Mountain National Park

Here are a few back country ski areas within Rocky Mountain National Park. These areas are easy to get to by car for people who live along Colorado's Front Range, and would make for great areas to train for a Colorado hut trip, as you can trek for six miles and get 2,000 feet of vertical. Hidden Valley was a functioning ski resort within the park up to 1991, and the Flattop Mountain Area provides a great place to trek safely, but also has some expert terrain towards Hallett Peak. We'll concentrate on the hikes that are focused on their similarity to a hut trip, and have low avalanche danger:

Hidden Valley Ski Area

Flattop Mountain - Banana Bowls - Fern Lake

While I pretty much enjoy every aspect of the hut trip (ok - not the cleaning the dishes part), I really love being in the Colorado back country, and the best way to enjoy the back country is to be strong enough to be in it. Taking advantage of these amazing hikes before you set off on a hut trip will make your experience at the hut so much better. It's like a win-win, while you prepare for your hike, you get to experience the beauty of Rocky Mountain National Park in the winter.

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