May 27, 2025

Pow, Goats, and Spoons: A Weekend at the Raven’s Nest

Earlier this spring, some of the Bishop team spent a weekend at the Raven’s Nest hut—a recently refurbished backcountry cabin tucked into a beautiful valley at the base of Grays and Torreys Peaks. The goals of the trip, in no particular order: explore a new area, ski pow, and play spoons.

Our crew included four Bishop athletes: Sal Malone, Sofia Whitefields, Nic Hoffman, and Sylvia Kinosian. 22 Designs athlete Gunnar Stoltenow, Brighton patroller Natalie Barr, Tele Colo’s CJ Coccia, and telemark ski guide JT Robinson rounded out the group.

It was JT who got the ball rolling for this spring trip. His friends Darcee and Ebon Mond purchased the Raven’s Nest in 2021 and have been renovating the little cabin over the past few years. By the fall of 2024, they started renting it to guests. The area around the Raven’s Nest is a spring skier’s dream: big open meadows for corn skiing and several objectives to ski off the nearby 14ers, like the Emperor and Dead Dog Couloirs. JT invited us to the new hut as part of a scouting trip for future guiding opportunities, and we were stoked to explore this cool new (to us) zone.

We met up early on Friday, April 4, just off the I-70 exit for Bakerville, Colorado. Fresh snow and surprisingly cold temps had us all crowded into CJ’s van to put on boots. We loaded up the sleds and started the three-mile approach to the hut. Cloud cover and light snowfall made it feel more like January than April, and after settling in and having lunch, we ventured out to explore a few low-angle slopes above the cabin. The snow was incredible—winter-like powder in April—and we all agreed Nic and JT had the best setups for the terrain: fishscale skis. Nic was literally running circles around us, farming a small pocket he dubbed “the pickle jar.”

That night, we had the first of many delicious meals planned by Sofia (dietitian and pro backcountry snack packer). After an early morning and a lot of skiing, we were all in bed by around 10 p.m.

The next morning, we had a lazy breakfast and watched the sun creep over the mountains. The storm had cleared, and it felt like spring again. Yesterday’s cold powder was heating up in the April sun, but we still found fun turns and incredible views above the cabin. In the afternoon, we took a mellow skin up into the cirque at the base of Grays and Torreys. JT wanted to scout some potential future lines, and the rest of us just wanted to have a look around.

On the way up, we spotted a herd of about 18 mountain goats soaking up the sun. A few were perched on a rocky outcrop above the group, but they eventually made their way down—bounding down the snow-covered slope. Watching them gallop down the snowfield (especially the babies) was a highlight of the trip.

On the way back to the hut, a few of us took a detour across the valley to chase one last crust-free pitch. We managed a few more soft turns before crunching our way back. That night, we checked off our final goal: a spoons rematch. Last year, Gunnar was the reigning champ and earned a spoon tattoo from CJ as his prize. This year, Sal took home the championship—but hasn’t (so far) gotten a tattoo.

On the last morning, we skied a few more laps in the backyard and hit a jump built by previous guests in the front yard. From the trailhead, we made a beeline for Hidden Table Games, where CJ and Gunnar treated themselves to some Pokémon card packs.

This was such a fun trip with a great crew. Big thanks to JT, Darcee, and Ebon for inviting the Bishop team to experience the Raven’s Nest!