Berthoud Pass Meadows 120410

We enjoyed some nice powder at new terrain (to most of us) on the north side of the ridge on the west side of Berthoud Pass.

Sun and clouds at the top of the west side ridge at Berthoud Pass.

7:30 seemed plenty early when Cathy, Sue, Sandy, Cheryl, Mark, Norm, Dave, Ralph, and Tom met up at the 4th and Union park and ride.  As we headed up I-70, the stop-and-go traffic caused by a minor accident at Soda Creek had us thinking it was time for an even earlier meet time.


None of the Boulder crew joined us at Downieville, but after a refreshing stop we headed up to the Berthoud Pass parking lot.  The roads became snowier as we gained altitude, and the fickle weather alternated between sun and snow.  We chilled as we geared up with boots and skins, but quickly warmed with the climb to the ridge on the west side of the pass.  

As predicted by Dave's BP ski patrol memories, the top of the ridge was wind crust and scoured down to rock in places, but our hopes for better conditions were rewarded as we dropped into a well-tracked route on the north side of the ridge. A mix of crust and aeolian powder greeted us as we descended the track.  The lower we went, the better the powder became.  We regathered the group at an open space, then continued our descent below tree line where the snow gave way to silken untracked powder.  

After regathering at tree line, we descended 

through untracked powder in the trees.

We halted our descent at the brink of one of the steep chutes that connect the upper meadows with the aqueduct and the Current Creek parking lot. Despite the continuing tracks of many a boarder and skier, we opted to skin up and climb for another run.  

We skin up at the brink of the chutes.  
Low clouds/fog obscure our view.

After the rush of the downhill run, the grind of the climb was diminished.  Or maybe it was my new bindings with touring mode. B) 

Earning our turns with the climb for another run.

Clouds to the left and sun to the right 

on our climb for the second run.

Mines Peak shines through the clouds.

On our second descent, we opted for an untracked route through the trees, up over a hump, only to stop at the brink of another drop to the aqueduct.

The precipice beckons, but we hold our ground. US 40 

and the Current Creek parking lot are visible below.

Another skin up, and another climb.  The clouds part again for an expansive view of the Current Creek cirque and the Upper 110s runs.

Current Creek cirque and the Upper 110s 

form the backdrop for our third run.

Our third run was equally fun as we skied a relatively fresh run through the upper meadows and retraced our our first run through the trees to the previous skin up point.

Good turns on good powder in the meadow.

After the third run, it was time to plot our route back to the cars.  We climbed out of the trees to a high point, then veered skier's right to overlook a broad, steep-walled gully.  We traversed the gully, then split up to take our choice of routes below the cliffs or along an old run(?) paralleling the cliffs.  At the bottom, some skiers went to the road for a hike to the parking lot, some sidestepped up a track, and others contoured along the trace of the old road to end up at our starting point.  We packed up our gear with smiles on our faces, and adjourned to Tommyknockers for refreshment and sustenance.

Stats: 3.5 mi / 1600' / 6 hrs.

Slopes and topo map. Track in red with yellow highlight.

3D view in Google Earth looking southwest.

Parking lot is on the left.

A few more pictures are available on Picasa, and a map is on the EveryTrail web site.

Current Creek 112810

The day started with sunny bluebird skies when Sandy, Cheryl, and Tom left the 4th and Union parking lot at 7:30. Half an hour later, they met up with Diane at Downieville.

After a refreshing break, the crew headed up the hill to Berthoud and on to Current Creek. The parking lot had a few cars with people getting ready to hit the slopes. There was about 8 - 10 inches of powder on the approach, but some of the south facing slopes had a little bit of sun crust.

We followed the uptrack towards the Upper 110's, then kept to the track as it wandered aimlessly, finally coming to the glades at the head of the valley.   If only we knew who was responsible for the well-established track, we would commend them for their combination of skin track and snowshoe tracks leading to the usual starting spot.  However, any credit for this wonderful uptrack was totally negated by willful and careless damage inflicted on the beautiful powder slopes as they descended.  In any case, our crew opted for more vertical and untracked powder for their descent so we climbed a bit further to drop into the bowl to the left of the usual slopes.

Sandy, Diane, and Cheryl follow Tom's tracks to the meadow at the base of the middle bowl.

The snow was a bit variable with the combination of the previous days' wind loading and temperatures, but the untracked powder was too tempting to pass up.

We stop to admire our handiwork.

At the meadow halfway down the run, we dropped into the trees and had a great time winding our way back to the aqueduct.

Snack time prior to the next climb.

On the second run, Cheryl encouraged us to head over to the far bowl on climber's right.  There we met up with a motley group of telemarkers, AT skiers, and snowboarders.  One disgustingly young skier practically ran up to the top of the peak.  On his run down, the snow boomed and groaned distressingly.  All this noise convinced us to stay well away from the ridge.  After another snack, we headed down the slopes.

Diane, Cheryl, and Sandy cut over from the far bowl to the middle meadow.

By this time the clouds had moved in and a few light flurries were beginning to fall.

Cheryl and Sandy celebrate the run to the meadow.

After regrouping at the middle meadow, we headed through the trees again, this time ending with a thrilling slot through a final screen of trees and dropping into the aqueduct.  The unconsolidated deep fluff along the steep banks of the ditch provided ample excitement for the gang.

It's time to skin up and climb out of the aqueduct.

Back at the top, we decide to repeat our first run down the middle bowl.

Bundled up against the blowing flakes, Sandy, Cheryl, and Diane regroup in the middle meadow.

After three satisfying runs, we decided to head back to the trailhead via the ever popular Callais route.  The sun crust was minor, and the rocks were easily avoided.  After a quick shot through the luge run, we were at the bottom and ready to call it a day.  Despite the long weekend, ski traffic was minor, and Tommyknockers was nearly deserted.

Stats: 1850' / 3.5 miles / 6.5 hrs.

View the entire group of photos and movies here.

Sundance Mountain, Rock Cut TH, RMNP 060510

Greetings Friends,

June came in with sweltering temperatures on the plains, but good skiing at Sundance Mountain.

Naoki, Cheryl, Tom, Diane, Judi, and Cathy hike up to the snow.

After a holiday break in Canyonlands, Cheryl and I were ready to return to the ski slopes, and Naoki graciously showed us another great spot in RMNP.  Cathy, Cheryl, and I met at 6:15 at 4th and Union, and we made the trek to Boulder where we met Diane, Judi, and Naoki. After many comments regarding the early start for Denverites and the late sleep-in for Boulderites, Naoki led us to Estes Park and on to the Beaver Meadows Visitor Center. After a refreshing stop we headed up to the toll booths, where we blew through without stopping. Somehow RMNP must have known that I bought a pass, because it was free entry all weekend. We drove up Trail Ridge Rd past lower and upper Hidden Valley, around Rainbow Curve, past the Canyon Overlook at 11,716', then stopped at a wide spot in the road at about 12,000', where we had hoped to try some southwest facing slopes that look down on the Big Thompson River valley. As you might have guessed, these south facing slopes were already melted off, so we drove on a little further past Rock Cut to the parking area for the Toll Memorial trial head.

Naoki, Cathy, Diane, and Judi strap on the skis.

Cathy and Judi are ready to go.

Tom, Cheryl, and Naoki prepare for the hike.

We found plenty of parking, though skiers ahead of us were already strapping boards to their packs. Once again we were greeted with strong winds from the southwest. With our skis on our packs, the wind threatened to topple us more than once, but we maintained our footing as we walked up the gentle south-facing paved trail. It was mostly melted off, with a couple of patches of snow to posthole through. We topped out at 12,300' to reach the north facing slopes. The slight gully must catch a lot of wind deposited snow, because the coverage was great with only a couple patches of rocks. We transferred skis from packs to boots at the congested starting point, and quickly spread out to enjoy the slopes. 

Naoki demonstrates his smooth style.

The well established dust layer proved a little grabby for some of us, but we uncovered white unblemished snow with each turn. Although it is theoretically possible to drop 2000' to the Fall River valley, we stopped after a 700' descent to stay on slopes less than 30 degrees. The turn-around point came all too soon, and we opted to boot pack and carry the skis to the top. 

Cheryl hikes to the top.

Naoki, Cheryl, and Diane head up.

After much kick-stepping and more than one rest break, we made it back to the start spot, where we crouched behind some rock outcrops to get out of the wind and have a snack. 

Soon enough we had skis beneath our feet and the turns resumed in earnest. The skies were darkening with the increasing cloud cover, but we were glad that the clouds were moving too fast to build into thunderheads. The second run was a near repeat of the first, ending all too quickly at nearly the same turn-around point. 

Diane, Cheryl, and Tom head down.

I opted to try skinning up while the others repeated their boot pack to the top. Since it was after 1:00, we decided to head back to the cars to play it safe.


Afterwards, we stopped at the parking lot by the lake in Estes Park and walked up the river walk to a Mexican restaurant for a snack and beverage.

Stats: 3.4 mi / 1500' / 2 runs / 4 hrs.

Trip map with route in red, slopes in blue (25°), orange (30°), red (35°).



3D view facing south (from Google Earth).

Pictures and movies at the site listed below.
  http://picasaweb.google.com/tbrez53/Sundance060510/

Next weekend we may take a look at Mt Evans.  Some posts from last week report that there may be thinner snow coverage where I was thinking of going, but I'll keep looking.

Thanks,
Tom

Upper Hidden Valley 052210

Greetings Friends,

The hot weather in Denver did not deter us from carving some velvety corn snow at RMNP.

Naoki, Cathy, Cheryl, and Wendy at the trailhead.

Cheryl, Cathy, and I met up with Naoki and Wendy in Boulder at a leisurely 7:30 for the drive up to Estes Park. We paid the toll and continued up the road past the turnoff for the old Hidden Valley lodge. Naoki guided us to the parking spot on the newly cleared portion of Trail Ridge Rd at the curve below the upper slopes. Hopping out of the car, the baking sun had already raised the temperature to 48 degrees as we switched from sandals to tele boots.

Naoki led us straight up the bowl to about 11,400', where the slopes alternated between good snow coverage and melted off rock piles. We managed to keep a firm grip on skins, hats, and ourselves as gusty winds intermittently pelted us with ice pellets that had been lifted from the softening surface. 

Wendy and Cathy hang on to their hats, and

Naoki ducks to get out of the wind.

 The upper slopes had about an inch of white corn, with some abrupt transitions to deeper brown corn where the dust layers were exposed at the surface. This variability in the steeper sections combined with the gusty winds had some of us working on our equilibrium, but eventually we got dialed in to the conditions and started linking turns in earnest. Halfway down, we decided to head up for a second run on a more north facing aspect, zigzagging our way towards the top. 

Cheryl steps into her bindings.

A quick snack before the second descent.

Cheryl is ready to drop in.

Photo by Naoki.

Wendy, Tom, and Cathy frame the scenic view.

Photo by Naoki.

Tom heads down as Cheryl watches.

Photo by Naoki.

Again pelted with sporadic winds and pellets, we stopped at 11,300' and enjoyed additional corn depth on the wide, unskiied slopes. Again stopping halfway down, the temptation to do a third run was at odds with the clock, so we finished the descent to the trailhead. At the bottom, we were pleasantly surprised by the applause of tourists gathering along the highway.  After straightening out some footwear confusion, we hopped in the cars.

Footwear choices abound in the spring.

After slogging through the swelling traffic of Trail Ridge Rd, we stopped in Estes Park at the appropriately named Sushi Yama 山 (mountain), for udon noodle bowls and Staggering Elk lager.


Stats: 2 mi / 1300' / 2 runs / 3 hours.


Maps attached, and pictures / movies at the link below:


http://picasaweb.google.com/tbrez53/HiddenValley052210/

Topo slopes map.

3D topo slopes map facing west.

Next week Cheryl and I are off to the desert to visit Canyonlands, and we are looking forward to more skiing in June.


Happy turns,
Tom

Current Creek 051510 - Upper 110s

Greeting Friends,


With the storms arriving late last week, we had our hopes up for some good skiing, and we weren't disappointed.

Bob and Wendy at the trailhead.

Joel, Bob, Cheryl, and Tom met at 4th and Union at 7:30, and we flew up I-70 to Downieville to meet Judi and Wendy at 8:00. The weather was fair and warm at the unplowed trailhead, where we found a few inches of powder sitting on a deeper base. 


We quickly skinned up and headed up to the Upper 110s at the saddle between Current Creek and Second Creek. As the altitude increased, the top layer improved to 6 - 8 inches of new snow, though the warm temperatures turned it to a heavier consistency. We did hear some whoompfing on the flats below the aqueduct, but the slopes remained stable.


Once we reached the saddle, we climbed higher up the ridge to the south. Despite the calendar claiming that it was mid May, the weather was more like winter with gray clouds, swirling snow, and gusty winds. 

Bob, Judi, and Wendy de-skin at the saddle.

Judi, Wendy, and Cheryl in the wind and snow at the saddle.

We quickly de-skinned and gingerly pushed our turns through the heaviest snow of the year. At first the snow was grabby, with turns resembling short straight lines instead of smooth curves, but by the end of the first run we had the conditions dialed in, and Joel broke a new up-track to get us straight to the ridge. This time we headed further south, but stayed in the trees below the top of the ridge to avoid some of the winds. The steeper slopes through the trees were more of a challenge, because there was no way to make quick turns with the heavier consistency of the snow. With a compensatory fudge factor for the turning radius and a heavier foot at the crux of each turn, the lines opened up and the smiles reappeared. 

Joel skins up as the snow falls.

Judi follows suit with her skins.

Bob skins up as Wendy demonstrates 

the correct way to strap on her beacon.

Cheryl is ready to climb.

After a quick bite for lunch, we scooted up the skin track for the third run, this time taking a more northerly route through the trees on the opposite side of the open space. 

Judi, Joel, and Wendy at the top of the third run.

Our target was to stay above the aqueduct until reaching the up-track leading to the Middle 110s near Teacup Bowl. Finally we dropped down the slopes one-by-one, enjoying the variety of steep and gentle slopes, trees and open spaces, until we wound our way through the short luge run to the trailhead.

Bob, Judi, and Joel scope out their lines above the highway.

Judi heads down to the aqueduct.

Cheryl, Judi, Bob, Joel, and Wendy contemplate

the final slope to the trailhead.

Stats: 3 runs / 1800' / 3.5 miles / 5 hours


Pictures and movies are posted here:
http://picasaweb.google.com/tbrez53/CurrentCreek051510

Simple topo map of the trip route.

Next Saturday I'm taking a break from leading, but not from skiing. A new (to me) locale is the planned destination.