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.
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.
