If you re lucky enough to run into the fast-paced trio of Eben Mond, Doug Evans, and Mark Morris at their home ski hill of Loveland, Colorado, good luck keeping up. They can rip laps at this underrated ski area, which overlooks Interstate 70 and tops out at the Continental Divide, faster than anyone.
Mond met Evans while they were both working at Loveland s ski shop years ago. Not long after, they were both launching the cornice under Loveland s Chair 9 when some other guy showed up. It was Mark Morris, who played in a local bluegrass band and worked in a ski shop down the hill. I hit the cornice harder, then they d go back up and go even bigger, Morris remembers. Finally we met up and we were like, Who the hell are you? We ve all been best friends ever since.
They re an impressive crew, a rat pack that miraculously knows when ski patrol is about to drop a rope and can find every pocket of remaining powder left at the mountain. It s in this cool little pocket at the top of the world at 12,500 feet, Morris says about Loveland. The wind blows around. You don t get the snow that hasn t been touched, you get this whispy powder that s been blowing around and settling in the trees. So even on the iciest day, we can find soft snow because the wind is always honking.