Skiing at Cooper - expert - After doing a multi day tour on Mt. Massive I found myself driving over Tennessee Pass (10,195 feet) home to Carbondale at around noon one spring a few years ago. I bought an afternoon lift ticket to Ski Cooper because I wanted to hike up the fabled Chicago Ridge, where the snowcats operate. I ended up having no reason to, spent the entire day playing around in perfectly spaced spruce and fir tree runs that faced due north. It had been days since the last snowfall and years, apparently, since anyone had ever decided to ski in those trees. This was a shame because the spacing and exposure were the kind of things dreams are made of and I would have actually stayed out there for days if I didn’t have to go straight back to school. While I still haven’t made good on it, I’ve always intended to stop back there one day. When I do, I’m going to ski every tree run that there is. As with every ski area (and perhaps even more with this one) the view is absolutely phenomenal, and the crowds simply do not exist. Joey Smallwood