Current Creek 040310

On Saturday, April 3, I led a CMC ski trip to Current Creek. 

 
Three of the four runs.  TH at bottom right.

We met at 4th and Union where we picked up an extra skier orphaned from another trip. After packing up the cars we left the sunny and relatively warm weather of Denver and zipped up the highway without any of that annoying ski traffic encountered on previous weeks. We stopped at Downieville where we rendezvoused with the Boulder car pool, then it was off to the pass. It was still sunny in Empire, but we could see the gray snow clouds clustered along the divide. By the time we got to the pass, it was cloudy and snowing. There was a good 6" of snow in the parking lot a the trail head, which caused a good bit of excitement. Our blood must be thinning with the warm temperatures in Denver because the winter conditions seemed awfully cold! Nonetheless, we stayed pretty warm by climbing at a good pace. Under the powder we detected some icy sun crust caused by the hot temperatures during the week, but the crust made for a firm base, and the powder was wonderful. 


We proceeded to the Upper 110's at the saddle between Current and Second Creeks, but stayed below the ridge line to shelter from the wind. It was so windy that there were some cornices along the ridge at the saddle. We played it safe and crossed one-by-one under them. Then it was time to de-skin and sail down the hill. We did some of the steeper runs to the skier's right of our usual spot, and the snow let us make our way down with smiles for all. After two runs we stopped for lunch at the bottom of the ski hill, then it was up to the saddle for a third run, this time on the skier's left. That was so much fun that the group voted to do a fourth run. I may have had some influence on that fourth run, since I decreed that those who did not do a fourth run had to do at least half a run to stay warm. Needless to say, everyone opted to climb the entire way to the saddle. Then it was down again along the edge of the trees, then a big traverse to the far edge of the slopes, then down through the aspen funnel to a fun glide out.
 

Stats: about 3.5 miles, 2000', in 6 hours. Afterwards, it was back to Tommyknockers for the mussels and some brews.

No pictures from me this week, but maybe others will post some pictures. I have attached a map and a Google Earth view of a partial track. The GPS batteries did not last the entire trip, even though they were charged the night before. Probably time for new ones.

Google Earth 3D view looking south to the runs.

Next week: Mayflower Gulch thanks to Dave Callais' trip in the CMC.