Teton Bros Presents Austin Porzak: A Legacy in the Mountains Continues
As cliché as it may sound, it would not be a stretch to say that the mountains are in Teton Bros' Ambassador Austin Porzak's blood. Austin's father was a Himalayan climber who has tackled a handful of the world's most formidable peaks. So, naturally, Austin's childhood was spent accompanying his father to various base camps around the world, including the base camp of Mount Makalu at age five (the world's fifth highest mountain) and the Everest base camp at age nine. While accompanying his dad on expeditions wasn't abnormal, most weekends were spent in the mountains in Colorado, exploring the high peaks of Rocky Mountain National Park. A location that's still near and dear to his heart and the site of his latest mountain endeavor— skiing the fifty tallest peaks in the park. When I caught up with Austin, it was a chilly January morning, and Austin's backyard, the front range of Colorado's Rocky Mountains, was being peppered with fresh snowfall.
Austin shared that his father was the first to climb the 100 highest peaks in Rocky Mountain National Park, an endeavor that's inspired Austin's current project to ski the 50 largest peaks in the park. In the past, Austin climbed and skied all of Colorado's 14,000-foot peaks and each peak in the Indian Peak Wilderness area, but this project is his most ambitious yet. Over the last few seasons, Austin has chipped away at this lofty goal, tackling some of the state's most rugged terrain in the process. This season, Austin is fourteen peaks away from achieving his goal and following in his father's footsteps. The biggest peaks in the park range in elevation from 12,000 to 14,000 feet and many of the uppermost peaks represent the first descents that Austin has claimed on the path to skiing the fifty highest peaks in the park. Austin tells me, "Out of the 14 left, I want to say nine have never been skied, and some of these things haven't even been photographed in winter. So, I've been studying Google Earth images and stuff just to even figure out what's skiable."
While the mountains are inarguably in Austin's blood, he's able to take on a project of this magnitude because of a lifetime spent exploring the backcountry from an early age and a tireless dedication to the preparation it takes to take on Colorado's backcountry. Austin's mountain mentors included his father, Jim Detterline, a late park ranger for Long's Peak in Rocky Mountain National Park, and Zach Griffin, a former pro skier. Eventually, Austin blended what he learned from his dad's climbing exploits and various ski experiences into a career in ski mountaineering, which culminated with his 14er project. "There [are] 54 mountains in Colorado over 14,000 feet in elevation. Just a handful of us have ever done that. It's a multi-year project. It's very demanding, and some of the ski descents are the real deal."
The 14er project gave Austin the tools he needed regarding avalanche preparedness, weather forecasting, and technical ascent and descents to take on his current Rocky Mountain National Park undertaking. The park project has been in the works for a while. Austin says, " I started it before my son was born, and then after he was born, I just laid off from it for a little while. I've been doing this my whole life, and I just knew that at some point the mountains would call me back, and I'd, I'd get after it, and that's kind of been the last couple of seasons." Austin's son is now seven and joins him often in the mountains.
To take on a new peak, Austin's prep starts in the summer, during which he climbs the peak and familiarizes himself with the terrain and the approach, eyeballing any challenges that could present themselves come winter. "Then, [I start] digging through the historical archives, seeing what's going on. What's been done there? Can I find any information about what this peak looks like in the winter? Has it been skied ever? What's the typical snowfall in that range of Rocky Mountain National Park?"
Austin's prep also includes training, which involves hitting the track, hiking in the Flatirons, and skiing the East Vail backcountry, a notorious area for deep powder and avalanche danger. Austin spent roughly 20 seasons pioneering some of East Vail's most technical terrain and scratching off several first descents in the process. His time in East Vail also included a near-death experience when an avalanche sent him careening off a 50-foot cliff. When it comes to the mountains, Austin's seen it all. When it comes to his seven-year-old son, he takes a similar approach to his dad. "It's been fun to get my son out there and show him what our family's about… I'm heavily focused on safety with him and just, you know, letting him know, you take it the way you want to take it, but let's get your core fundamental skills built now."
As Austin continues his prep to tackle the highest peaks in Rocky Mountain National Park, one thing is clear: the mountains are a family affair for the Porzaks. From honoring his father's legacy to passing the torch to his young son, Austin continues to carve his own path in Colorado's backcountry, one peak at a time.
