-- Tom's Trip Reports --: 2015

Monday, June 22, 2015

Loveland Pass Ski #2 062015

After a traffic holdup affecting the northern Front Range participants, Joe, Chris, Bob and Tom met up at HH and went straight to Loveland Pass, to connect with Candace coming over from Breck.

We strapped the skis on the packs and hiked to the saddle. Snow coverage was down significantly from last week, but still skiable, especially as the day went on.

Leaving the parking lot.

Heading for the saddle.

Bob blends in with his snow-camo tennis whites.

After a challenging first run on a steep slope in the early cool temperatures, we moved to less steep slopes as the day warmed up.

Ready for the first run. Candace and Chris got squished by the Google Panorama.

Group photo at the top, without Photoshop thanks to a friendly passerby.

Due to temperatures heading for highs in the 70s, we stayed on the higher altitude slopes, which meant 4 shorter runs instead of 2 longer runs. The smooth snow surface of last week had transitioned to deepening sun cups and incipient runnels, but the warm temperatures softened them enough to let our skis slice through the ridges.

Bob demonstrates his sun cup crushing technique.

https://goo.gl/photos/dzrQpbz91qhEKysG7

The skies stayed sunny the whole time through our 2 pm exit up the summer trail on a mix of snow and bare ground.

Wildlife sightings: Dogman entertained us with his ski traverses over bare ground and snow and some occasional howling. His dogs remained quiet.

4 runs / 5.5 hrs / 2000'

GPS Track map.

3D view looking south.

Trip profile.

Links to pictures:

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Google Photos

Monday, June 15, 2015

Loveland Pass Ski 061315

Buddies Phil, Bob, Scott, Joe, and Ken joined Cheryl and Tom on a CMC trip to Loveland Pass. We met at Wooly Mammoth HH at 7:30. Dave F and Vaune were scheduled to join us but were foiled by evil new phone alarm clock settings.

Traffic was relatively heavy on the drive to Downieville and up to the Loveland Pass exit. We stopped for a survey of conditions at Loveland Ski Area where the Valley runs had a lot of bare spots and the base of the Loveland Basin runs were also without snow. We finally decided to take a chance on the weather and head higher to the Pass. There was plenty of parking at the pass at 9:00. We strapped the skis to the packs and hiked up the usual route to the saddle at the top of the bowl. From that point, we could see the snow conditions at 4 ski areas: Loveland, A Basin, Keystone, and Breckenridge.

Heigh ho, heigh ho, it's off to ski we go.

Getting ready to ski from the saddle.

Snow coverage was excellent with lots of runs for us to try. We opted for the usual run down the gully for the first run, and the snow conditions were primo. In the lower gully, the snow just kept on going, and so did we.

Cheryl pauses mid-run to watch the next skier descend.

Some other skiers opted to ski out to the road, but our group stopped after descending 800'.

Skinning up below tree line.

The climb up was grueling in the hot sun, but we finally made it to the top an hour later. At lunch, Bob commented how soft his skins were, no doubt due to his patented skin protectors available from his eBay site. Phil probably commented about how his skin protectors also had this feature.

Are your skins "Oh so soft"?

Scott and Ken took a run further to the climbers right, while the rest of the group chose another popular run just a bit north of the first run. By this time it was already noon, and the snow surface was getting softer and less supportive. At each turn, the deep corn formed giant bowling balls that threatened to take out the unwary skier as they passed below on their next turn. Several skiers found the bottom would drop out from beneath them without warning. At one point, Scott ended up waist deep into the corn.

At the bottom, interest was high in doing another half a run, but interest waned within the first minute of climbing. We had to climb up to the usual out track, and found that we could skin all the way to the terrain park just below the pass. On the way we found all sorts of treasures including shovels, keys, golf balls, and a Samsung phone, not to mention an incredible amount of aluminum.

Skinning back up to the pass. Lots of snow!

On the pass the tourist crowds surged, including one guy wearing a pink horse costume. We packed up the cars and rolled down the hill to Tommy's.

A rare Pink Pony sighting at Loveland Pass.

2 runs / 1600' / 5 hours.

Parking is at right, approach is the southern track.

3D looking south. Parking at the pass at left.

Pictures at the usual places:

Google Photos

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Picasa.

Saturday, June 6, 2015

Sundance #2 060615

Buddies Phil and Bob met Cheryl and Tom and the CMC parking lot at 7:30, and at the west Rock Cut parking lot by 10:00. The snow cover still reached to the parking lot, but now you can see the fence and there are sun cups and bare spots. Bob, Cheryl, and Tom skinned from the car, and Phil hiked to the usual start of the slope.Sundance Mountain still had sufficient coverage, so we crossed the drainage and climbed almost to the top of the same point as last week. The snow was a little dirtier, a little wetter, and a little grabbier, but still a pretty good ski down to the grassy Rock Island that we usually stop at. While we attached the skins to the skis we heard several rounds of thunder, which prompted was worrying. Skies were dark, and we were pelted with several rounds of graupel and five minutes of rain (ugh!). At the top of the slope skies were still dark, so we decided to head back to the car for safety sake. At the car we started getting rained on, and as we sat in the car eating lunch, it really came pouring down.

Tom Bresnahan's photos

A Google sphere panorama on top of Sundance Mtn.

1 run / 1300' / 3.5 hours.

Pictures:

Saturday, May 30, 2015

Sundance 053015

Buddies Sandy and Bob met Cheryl and Tom at the CMC at 7:30, then it was off to Rocky Mountain National Park to meet up with Chris at the Beaver Meadows visitor center. Even then, we wondered what our destination would be as Trail Ridge Road was still in overnight closure at 9:15. Finally we heard that they had just opened the gate, so we combined into one car and headed to Sundance after a stop at the toll gate to get my $10 lifetime pass.

The snow coverage above treeline along Trail Ridge Road was simply amazing. There were towering snow cuts through the drifts, and practically no bare spots. The Rock Cut parking area by the outhouses was almost empty, and snow covered the fence and trail into the bowl. Temperatures were in the 40s with light winds which increased to 10-20 mph at higher elevations.

Start skiing at the car!

The fence is mostly buried.

We skinned from the car through about half an inch of fresh powder over a firm but forgiving crust. We skied to the first rock formation, only to see that the usual de-skinning area at the 12,310' point was off in the distance. We continued on to the 12,310' point, and were amazed to see that Sundance Mountain was totally covered in snow. Fresh tracks prompted us to ski down into the gully and up the slope to one of the peaks along the Sundance ridge to top out at 12,400'.

From there we de-skinned and headed down the long slope to about 11,500'.

As usual, we were down before we knew it, and it was time to skin up the long, long slope to get back to the top.

We did 1-2 more runs, then climbed up the usual route to return to the 12.301' point. With some kick and glide, we were able to make a couple turns and ski down to the car.

After dropping Chris off at Beaver Meadows Visitor Center, we headed back to Golden with a stop at Tibet Kitchen for momo dumplings and noodle soup.

2-3 runs / 2000' - 2900' / 6 hrs

Route in red shows Saturday's trip.

Blue route is an old trip.

Pictures:

Sunday, May 17, 2015

Current Middle 110s 051615

Buddies Judi, Bob, Cheryl, and Tom gathered at HH at 8:00 to ski the Middle 110s of Current Creek on Saturday May 16, 2015. Departure from HH was only slightly delayed by the detour on Heritage Rd, and the drive up to the Current Creek trail head went smoothly.

Detour options for Heritage Rd (Jeffco 93).

Weather was sunny and very warm at the start, with temperatures in the 50's in the sun and a recorded high of 42°.

A warm and sunny sky over Mines Peak.

The predicted high temperature on the NOAA weather site was for 29° and snow, so the buddies had to shed some layers to keep temperatures regulated. There was about an inch of wet powder on a semi-solid base at the trailhead, and the buddies made the climb to the north to peak 11721' on the eastern part of the ridge between Current and Second Creeks.

Heading up to 11721'.

Snow conditions were great at the top, with the same inch of wet powder on solid crust. At the slope break, conditions changed to what Cheryl called breakable mush, with the surface snow and soft crust giving way to a lower layer of sugar corn saturated with water.

Water-saturated corn in the pole holes.

Cheryl and Tom stopped at the aqueduct, while Judi and Bob ventured 100' lower.

Judi and Bob skin up from below the aqueduct.

We trudged our way up to the top and during a stop for a snack and de-skinning, we heard our first thunder as the storm pushed its way in from the south and east.

Enjoying a break at the top. (Photo credit - Judi)

With dark clouds looming, we skied off the peak to the south. After coming out above a large bare spot on the south facing hill, we angled west into the trees by the Upper 110s, and made our way down to the aqueduct.

There we found another stretch of bare ground, with no way around it but to take off our skis and walk down to the next patch of snow. From that point on, we found continuous snow cover, albeit heavy, saturated corn. Despite the description, we were able to make some turns if we were willing to make the needed commitment to carve the stuff. Bob and Judi lead the way through some tight trees and past an unexpected rail feature until we emerged in a familiar bowl just above the main Current Creek. The weather brought us some fresh snow and graupel.