Apex / Jenny Lind Gulch 051411 or Gorillaz in the Mist

A misty foggy day at lower elevation salvaged the day with surprising spring skiing.

Wendy materializes out of the fog.

Cathy rounded up the usual suspects, including Wendy, Cheryl, Sandy, Diane W, Bob, Phil, and Fred.  We departed from the lot across from the CMC and headed up US 6 towards Blackhawk.  After a brief stop at Bullwhackers gas station where skiers and non-skiers eyed each other with equal amounts of curiosity, we headed on past Blackhawk to the turn off for Apex.  The cloud base was low, and we moved ever closer as we gained altitude.  At the trailhead, we gingerly avoided the mud puddles as best we could as we unloaded the gear and skinned up.  The temperatures hovered near freezing, and the snow was soft and wet.  We ascended to the saddle, and took the contour road towards the middle of the bowl.   Finding this route from the saddle is easy if you know to look for it, but finding it from the bowl can be maddeningly difficult if you don't have tracks or GPS waypoints, as I found out the hard way on a previous trip. 

We emerged from the trees and climbed to about 10,550' where the ridge flattened out.  We de-skinned in the fog as the drizzle turned to tiny icy pellets that wafted in th breeze.  

Any concerns about our skis sticking in the wet snow quickly vanished as we discovered that the temperatures had provided the snow surface with a thin icy topping that provided more than enough glide to compensate for the heavy wet snow beneath.  Combined with the intermittent near total gray-out, it was a challenge to tell the difference between up and downhill.  

Phil descends into the mist.

Phil, Bob, and Wendy appear out of the fog.

Using periodic calls into the void and echo-location, we somehow managed to regroup at the bottom of the slope.  After a quick snack, we made the ascent for another run.

After a couple more runs, we met at the bottom and decided to take the switchback route out.  Following the existing tracks, we made the easy climb to the saddle, then down to the car.  The descent proved tricky, as the icy topping was thicker and more difficult to cut through to make turns in the trees.  We packed up the gear and headed back go Golden.

3 runs / 3.7 mi / 1700'

Interactive track, GPX, and pictures also at EveryTrail.