Sundance #2 070911

We got in a good day of skiing in between the rain showers.

Dave demonstrates proper ski pole grip.

I collected Cheryl, Bob, and Jeff at the CMC. From there we headed to Boulder where we met up with Judi and Dave, then onward to Estes Park and through the toll gates at RMNP. Traffic was noticeably lighter than on the 4th of July weekend as expected, and we had our pick of spots at the Rock Cut parking area. We strapped the skis on the packs at the staging area / sidewalk by the trailhead.  Wildflowers were again abundant, including fairy primrose, cinquefoil, forget-me-nots, and new this week, old man of the mountain.

The cloudy and cool weather was a big change from the sunny slopes of last week, but we figured that it helped to preserve the snow conditions.

Judi prepares to ascend the trail.

Cheryl packs her skis up the trail as clouds loom in the background.

Once on the snow, we found about an inch of softened snow on a firm base. We wasted no time unpacking the skis and making a run. Half the group descended an additional 200' below last week's 700' runs, but the ace skiers took the prize extending the run to a full 1800' to about 10,500', just a couple hundred feet from the bottom.  

Dave tears up the slopes.

Jeff sets his edges as the slope increases. From a video by Dave.

Bob leads the pack down the run. From a video by Dave.

Cheryl cruises the slopes. From a video by Dave.

Judi shows her style. From a video by Dave.

Tom takes a few turns. From a video by Dave.

All too soon it was time to climb back up. Even at our relatively lofty turnaround at 11,375', it was tough to get a grip with kick steps or skins. The guys down at 10,500' later reported a similar experience, though a bit more intense.  

The upper group reached the top first, had some lunch, then headed down for a second run. On the way we met up with the lowland skiers who seemed relieved to be approaching the top. We quickly reached the bottom of the second run, and we were joined by the wayward lowlanders at the end of their second run. 

Dave makes some some turns.

Bob leads the pack. Video by Dave

Jeff fait du ski randonee. Video by Dave.

Cheryl is queen of the quick turns. Video by Dave.

At the bottom of the run, we were all gung ho for another run.  After a 700' climb (and two rain showers), our enthusiasm waned.  I called it a day for safety sake (yeah, that's it) and we headed back to the cars.

After packing up, we made a quick trip to the Alpine Visitor Center, where we could look back down the valley to the Sundance snow field.  

Down valley view from the Alpine Visitor Center.
Sundance snowfield sliver in center of picture.

Dave's Google Earth 3D view from Alpine Visitor Center.
Dave's and Jeff's track in blue.

Cornices from the visitor center.
"We could ski that."

After much discussion of possible future runs, we rolled down the hill to Oskar Blues in Lyons for refreshment.

Though some claim the season is done, others dream of finding good runs throughout the summer. We'll see if plans for Rollins Pass in August pan out.

Thanks to everyone for the great skiing on Saturday and throughout the year! It wouldn't be as much fun without you.

Stats: 2 runs / 3-4 mi / 1700-2600'

Tracks and slope map. 

3D tracks from Google Earth. Looks steep even without vertical exaggeration!

Sundance 070211

Beautiful summer temperatures, perfect corn snow, and great friends made for a fantastic trip to Sundance.

The lineup.

I gathered Cheryl, Cathy, Sandy, Phil, and Bob at the CMC, and we headed to Boulder to pick up Judi. After stops in Boulder and the visitor center, we made our way to the Sundance parking lot past Rock Cut. Traffic was moving but pretty heavy, as expected for the holiday weekend. We piled out of the cars and unloaded skis, packs, and gear. We strapped them all together on the sidewalk and headed up the path to the snowfields.

Hey, watch out with those skis.

The trailhead had bunches of wildflowers, including fairy primrose, forget me not, baby sky pilot, and cinquefoil.

Fairy primrose. Photo by Judi.

Will hike for turns.

On the way to the snow.

 We reached the snow on the other side of the rocks at the end of the trail, and unstrapped the skis from the packs and slid our boots into the bindings. Ahh, snow!

Finally on the snow.

Ready to ski.

Take the picture so we can ski.

The temperatures and the snow were perfect. Sunny but 60's, good breeze to keep cool. The coverage was even better than last year on Jun 5.

Down the slope.

The snow had less dirt than last year, and the skis glided with ease. Before we knew it, we were at the turn-around point after a great 700' descent. Now, it was time to pay for all those great turns with a climb to the top. Some chose to boot pack, while others skinned up.  

Heading back up.

Out of the abyss.

Getting closer.

Not as steep.

Smiles = Almost to the Top.

At the top we had a snack and a Spanish lesson (nos gusta esquiar).  Hostilities broke out in the form of a brief snowball battle.  Despite the underage reinforcements recruited from passing tourist families, the battle ended inconclusively.

Incoming at 12 o'clock.

We turned around and headed down again. Snow conditions remained wonderful. But we reached the bottom all too quickly and prepared to head back up.

Leaning into the hill.

Uptrack.

Lunch #2.

At our second lunch we hung out in the beautiful weather and views.  Many headed down for a third run.

Gliding into the turns.

What's down below?

Picking the line.

Cinquefoil and ski boots.

Lots o' turns.

Even after the last brutal climb, we were giddy with excitement over the great skiing in July. We all thank Naoki for showing us this fantastic ski spot.

Everyone is happy after a great day.

On the way back to the cars.

After we loaded all the gear in the cars, we made a quick trip to the alpine visitor center, then crawled back to Estes park.  We dropped Judi off at her car only 30 minutes later than her scheduled dinner, then drove to Golden and stopped at Santiago's for some super food.

Hungry.

Trip route looking south in Google Earth.

Trip stats: 4 mi / 3 runs / 2100'.

Topo and slope map.  Current trip in red.  See also EveryTrail.

Hidden Valley 061811

On the last weekend of spring we spent the longest ski day of the year skiing at Upper Hidden Valley in Rocky Mountain National Park.

Picking our way through the krummholz at the ridge.

Cathy organized the meet at the CMC parking lot for Ginger, Fred, Phil, Bob, Cheryl, and me.  We piled into two cars and made it as far as Boulder before a pit stop.  From there it was on through the back streets of Boulder, heading north on 30th until we hit the Diagonal and rejoined 28th / US36 out of town to Lyons and Estes Park.  As we left Estes behind, the high peaks swung into view, with a mound of fluffy clouds at the top.

The high peaks topped with clouds and framed by the windshield of Cathy's Jeep.

With park passes distributed between the cars, we rolled through the toll gates and up Trail Ridge Rd.  Our plans to ski Sundance were thwarted by the road closure at Rainbow Curve, just past Upper Hidden Valley.  Overnight a couple of inches of new snow combined with high winds to clog the route with 2 - 3' drifts, according to reports from the rangers at the road gate.  We retraced our tracks to the Upper Hidden Valley pull-off, and emptied the cars of gear and crew and crossed the road to the trail head.  Snow melt poured from beneath the snowpack at the edge of the road, but the snow surface was still skiable.  We strapped on the boards and headed up the incline.   The new powder had long since turned to mashed by the time we hit the slopes.

Cheryl and the rest of the crew make the climb up the slopes.

We headed up to the trees, then curved around to the southeast to build a longer run.  Unlike our previous experience two weeks ago, temperatures were moderate with a gentle to stiff breeze to further help us keep our cool.  

Cheryl nears the top of the run.

When we started running out of snow, we ran into the rest of the group on their way down.

Fred, Bob, Cathy, and Ginger above the krummholz.

The snow was good enough at the top to make some fun turns, but the going got more difficult down lower.  We followed the drainage through the trees, then cut across the drainage where some organized group with harnesses was having a field day.  The remnants of might drifts were still tall and nearly vertical here, but we contoured around the nose of the drifts and over to some dry ground for lunch.

A fun lunch bunch on dry ground.  Photo by Phil, courtesy of Fred.

At lunch we ran into a couple of characters who knew Ginger.  

Jim sports some stylin' mirrors on his helmet.

After lunch, half the group went straight up 500' for another half a run.  As at lunch, the weather alternated between bluebird skies, squall graupel, and snow.

Phil and Ginger prepare to descend.

Ginger pauses her run.

 The upper slopes were once again fun, but the lower slopes devolved into a mess of runnels and wind-deposited dirt.

Not quite pristine powder.

At the bottom we headed for the cars and packed up to go.  Fred's car scouted the gate at Rainbow Curve and found it had opened after all.  Down at Lower Hidden Valley, we made a changing stop, and found ourselves in the middle of a short-lived cloudburst.  After a quick dash back to the cars, we headed back to Golden.  After a meal and bottomless chips from El Tapatio, we bid a fond adieu to Fred who announced he was hanging up the boards for the season.

Stats: 2.25 mi / 2 runs / 1600'.

Tracks: red: Tom; maroon: Fred.
Zoom out at EveryTrail to see the terrain map.