October can be a tough time to be stuck in Colorado's ski country -- not enough snow to ski where you want, too much snow to use the singletrack. The Himalaya, on the other hand, is an excellent place to spend October. Monsoon season is over, the arctic winter blizzards have yet to arrive, and the peaks are for the taking.

That's what I learned as I got ready to join three ski mountaineers -- Jamie Laidlaw, Kris Erickson, and Kip Garre, all backed by The North Face -- on a 40-day expedition through far-western Nepal to the remote Saipal region, a tantalizing corner of the Himalayan range. Their targets: a number of 6,000- to 6,500-meter peaks that have never been skied and likely never been climbed.

We leave September 21 and return November 1.

If you happen to see my mom in the meantime, wish her a happy 60th birthday on October 15th!

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