Skier finds snow in Colorado 12 months out of the year

WINTER PARK, Colo. -- Seeing hikers in Colorado is a common sight... seeing someone hiking in July with skis and ski boots is not.

Fritz Sperry refuses to say that the ski season is over.

"It just keeps on going until I can't find any more snow," Sperry told Denver7’s Cory Reppenhagen.

His summer hikes are a search for summer snow, something he has a nose and a need for.

"Some people need to ski year-round and they can't wait for that fix,” he said. “I mean you can go to South America, but that's not Colorado."

Sperry said patches of snow that may not look like much from the highway may be nice ski lines if the weather cooperates. Icy and crunchy snow isn’t good for skiing. Fritz said he likes to let the sun loosen it up for a few hours, which often only leaves him with a short ski window before the threat of lightning arrives.

Denver7 caught up with Sperry on Rollins Pass where he was skiing a 700-foot vertical run called the Iceberg Coullier.

“You’re all in your zone, and you’re sliding, going 20-30 miles per hour down this steep slope,” Sperry described the moment he drops into the run. “Then you got your adrenaline, and adrenaline... you just got to have it... so that you realize that you are alive."

Sperry has shared his knowledge in a series of guidebooks.  His latest one will include the run on Rollins Pass, and will be released later this year.