Powder Hunting in Cactus Country (Hardwear Sessions)

San Francisco Mountains, Arizona

View More Photographs from Cactus Country on Flickr.

By Nathan Friedman

Arizona.

Home to hundreds of species of cacti, thousands of miles of sandy desert, and a seemingly endless list of venomous creatures.

Not exactly the prime location for a powder hungry skier.

Or is it?

February in the Valley of the Sun has a pleasant temperature, allowing the baggage handlers in Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport to wear shorts and t-shirts as they unload your baggage. They may exchange quick glances at each other as they unload your ski bag, but will quickly forget among the hundreds of golf clubs carriers.

Point yourself north and take the I-17 out of urban sprawl and the allure of commercialized fast food. The drive will wind through the hills outside of Phoenix, through planned communities and sprawled suburbs on the outskirts of the 5th largest city in the US. As you push further north, the Saguaro and Cholla begin to spread apart, the southwest themed overpasses fade into the rear view mirror, and scrub brush begins to take over. The change is subtle at first, but if you push onward, the terrain begins to change more rapidly with each passing mile.

As you pass the one hour mark, the rate of ascent begins to increase, and you'll soon forget that you began the journey around 1000 feet above sea level. The signs begin to tick by.

3000 feet...

4000 feet...

5000 feet...

6000 feet...

The cacti have turned to gnarled Juniper trees, followed closely by a transition to alpine forests of Aspen and Ponderosa Pine. The air takes on a chill, and you begin to realize that the heater dial had been slowly inching further from the blue, and is well into the red by this point.

Snow soon appears on the side of the road. As you round a bend in the highway, the Ponderosa's eventually part to reveal a view of the San Francisco Peaks and you wonder "Am I still in Arizona?". As if transplanted from somewhere 300 miles northeast, the peaks (as they're called locally) spring out of the surrounding Mogollon plateau to top out at an impressive 12,600 feet above sea level. In February, they are typically covered with a layer of snow, beckoning to those who crave backcountry adventure.

There is no guidebook for skiing the San Francisco peaks, and the most you can expect from the local gear stores is a topo map with summer hiking trails on it. If you want to find the good lines, the primo powder, and the info on what is soft and what is bulletproof this week, the best way is by word of mouth. If beta on the peaks is what you seek, I would recommend venturing out into downtown Flagstaff, sampling some of the fermented beverages offered, and asking the occasional casual question about the backcountry travel in the area. You'll find that people are friendly, and although there are not many who venture off the groomed runs of the Arizona Snowbowl in the winter, you can usually find somebody who can give you a nudge in the right direction or even a pen scribble on your topo map.

You may even get lucky and find a guide for your adventure.

Remember though, you are in a bar, so pay your soon-to-be guide accordingly, as the sure way to get you a good day on the snow is to sufficiently lubricate your guide first. Also keep in mind that whomever you meet has lungs, legs, and a liver which are accustomed to living at 7000'. If you swap stories and beers late into the night, you're guaranteed a good time, but don't expect to get out of an early start the next morning. If you do make it out onto the peaks, you can be rewarded with runs that range from 2000' avalanche chutes with untracked powder to perfectly spaced turns through the Aspen and Ponderosa forests. Days easily pass by the 5000' human powered vertical mark, and can even approach double that if you are motivated. The peaks can be fickle, however. Sun and wind can wreak havoc on slopes depending on Mother Nature's whim of the day. Being such a prominent feature, the peaks create their own weather patterns and can change in a matter of hours. Runs which were filled with snow the day before can be windswept rock piles the next, and avalanches are a real danger. As with all backcountry travel, precautions are a necessity, but lots of treed areas and easily discernible avalanche paths make backcountry travel safe for those with the time to read the telltale signs.

I was once told that there is always powder on the peaks, you just have to know where to look. This has proven to be the case time and time again as I strap on the skins and head into the mountains for another day.

Venturing into the double digits of ski days I've seen this year on the peaks, I have not been disappointed with a single one.

Skinning up under blue skies; skiing down in whiteouts; crossing bulletproof slopes of sun crust; dropping knees in powdered glades; switchbacking up impossibly steep ascents; cursing skins for not gripping better; cracking a celebratory beer at the top of a relentless climb; cracking a celebratory beer at the bar after we made it back.

And doing it all again the next day.

Not many people will go to Flagstaff just for the skiing, but if you happen to be in town with a set of backcountry equipment when there's snow on the peaks, stop by Pay N Take and buy me a beer. I promise, it'll be worth your while.

When Nathan Friedman isn't out dropping tele turns in the San Francisco Peaks, he can be found seeking out epic rides on his singlespeed mountain bike, writing on his blog HandlebarSandwich.com, and drinking celebratory beers at Pay N Take in Flagstaff, Arizona.