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With temperatures soaring into the 70's in town, even Berthoud Pass had 40°+ temperatures to soften the slopes.

High clouds could not delay the softening of the snow.

Cheryl, Norm, and Tom left the park and ride at 7:30 with no other familiar faces in sight. With the warm temperatures discouraging the crowds, traffic was in spring mode with smooth sailing to Downieville. After the quick coffee stop, we headed for the Pumphouse parking lot. The lot was empty as we pulled in, and probably remained empty all day except for our trusty Xterra. The hike to the snow was slightly longer than previous trips this year, but we safely dashed across the highway and up the hill to the snow.

Old tracks were raised up due to the preferential melting of the uncompacted snow around them, but they still provided a guide to the Pumphouse ridge. We took a different route more to the west which caused some steeper climbing in places, even involving some undisturbed along the way. Powder was not part of the plan on this trip as we climbed above tree line up the sunny nose of the ridge.

Cheryl trudges up the nose of the ridge.

After reaching the top, the sun had not soften the slopes to our liking, hindered by the high clouds and smeared contrails. After a patient wait of 5 minutes or so, Norm and Tom decided to kill some time by making a run. Tele turns hard to coax on the hard pack, so we switched to a combination of parallel and snow plow (pizza-french fries) to get through the hard pack. As we descended, the snow softened a tiny amount, but enough to get the tele turns back in gear.

At the bottom of the run, we decided to explore further to the south where the aspect and slope definitely improved the snow condition. On our way up, Cheryl radioed that she was coming down and met us half way. She announced her intention to wait for us to return, then radioed that she was heading down the open south-facing snowfield. 

Norm summits the high point of the run.

For our second run, the snow condition was improved, and by the time we hit the south face, it was perfect. However, but the time we headed up, Norm found a place that collapsed into a pit, and we worked our way around the obstacle. 

Cheryl is thrilled to be at the lunch stop.

At the top, Cheryl and Tom stopped for some lunch, while Norm took an extra run to burn off the goo calories. We all descended the nose of the ridge for the final run, where the aspect, slope, and high clouds combined for perfect conditions.  

Norm heads up for a bonus run.

In the trees we found a combination of crust and a couple of collapsing pits near tree wells, and descended a bit further down the nose than usual. By the time we turned to the north to get off the ridge, we were already below the elevation that would allow us easy access around the gravel pit. Rather than climb, we descended into the pit and found a flat exit towards the parking area.

Norm offers helpful advice for Cheryl.

It's just one little drop, like a cornice jump.

Cheryl demonstrates her ski-glissade method prior to a more conventional descent.

We made our way through the trees with only minor snow collapse, crossed the creek at the pumphouse, and stepped out of the bindings for a short hike to the car.

Still plenty of parking at the trailhead.

We stowed our gear and rolled down the hill to Tommyknockers, where the IPA was still flowing from the beer engine.


Stats: 2.7 mi / 2 - 4 runs / 1400' - 1800'. 

Ski track in red with yellow highlight.

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Even though the parking lot was packed, we found great powder even close to the beaten up-track.

Scott gears up in the crowded Berthoud Pass parking lot.

We gathered at a relaxed 7:30 meet time at Woolly Mammoth HH. Scott came down from the north country, and Cathy, Norm, Dave, and I made up the group. Scott drove separately in case we ran late, and the rest piled into the Xterra. We avoided the traffic at Floyd Hill be ducking off the exit to the frontage road, but Scott was trapped in the slow flow so we beat him by 20 minutes to Downieville. Norm graciously treated all to coffee as is his custom, and we made great time to the parking lot at Berthoud Pass.

Dave and Norm buckle up the packs at the parking lot.

There was a chance that we wouldn't get first tracks
on the slopes across from the parking lot.

We scurried across the highway between the onrushing Winter Park traffic, and clicked into the bindings, and headed up the well established up-track (to the left of the slopes in the above picture). Only a couple of the heartiest young punks passed us on the up-track, because, well, that is all there were behind us on the first climb. On the way up, we noticed that the snow looked very tempting on the climbers' right in the trees, and at the top we decided to hit the trees for a warm-up run. The snow was great on top and in the shade, but crusty when we ventured out of the protection of the trees. Still, a great fun run for starters. 

Scott heads down from the top.

Some of the group stopped halfway down at the up-track, but I ventured onward for at least 20' through the lower trees until reaching a lower up-track parallel to the usual track. We skinned up and headed up again. 


This time we continued past the weather station and found our track down to the "Meadows" runs of the old ski area. Somehow, we found untracked powder all the way down to the trees!  It was wonderful.

We ventured into the trees a bit further, then four of us dropped down into the upper part of the chute leading to the aqueduct. Though we all agreed that it was doable, the climb up from the aqueduct convinced us to forgo the run, at least this time. 

Cathy and Norm get ready for the climb out of the chutes.

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Dave led a great CMC trip to the glades to enjoy the new snow. 

Cathy gives us the pit-zip salute on a stop on the way up to the glades.

 Dave rousted us early for a 7:00 am meet time at the HH section of Woolly Mammoth. There we saw Cathy, Sarah, Kashia, Ginger, Norm, and Bob. We quickly loaded the gear and our way up the highway. Mrs. Droid warned us of a slowdown on Floyd Hill, so our car detoured along the frontage road, allowing us to be the first to Downieville.  Soon afterwards, the Boulder contingent arrived with Diane driving Judi, Ted, and Jacob. The other car arrived after 10 minutes or so of slogging up the interstate. After a bit of coffee and greets, we headed up to the Current Creek trailhead, where we unloaded in the freshly plowed lot and clicked into the bindings for the climb up the hill. Dave took us up the creek trail past the cabin, and the snow was looking good on the edges.

Bob, Ted, and Ginger head around the Peter Rabbit cabin.

Soon after the cabin, Bob took over the front position and plotted a great switchbacked track to the aqueduct. From there we climbed steeply up the aqueduct road to where it leveled off, then contoured over to the aqueduct gate at the bottom of the glades. After a quick snack, we resumed the climb.

Sunny skies and warm temperatures favored us for the first couple runs.

With no sign of the predicted storm and wind, we ascended a bit higher than usual to de-skin above the willows. With a couple of inches of newly fallen or windblown powder, we all enjoyed our turns on the upper section. As we descended lower, we found that staying on the groomed slopes was the best course, as off-piste lurked the bottomless powder traps of the previous weeks. With a great run, we quickly re-skinned for a second climb.

Clouds are moving in as we de-skin for the second run.

Dave and the crew prepare for the run.

This time we headed for the bowl to the skiers right of the glades, where untracked powder beckoned. With the firm wind crust beneath a few inches of powder, we all started off well, though many were trapped by the sneaky change in conditions half way down. We triggered a major whomph as the snow settled, but the low angle slopes precluded any avalanche worries.


(Google is having trouble displaying the videos from Picasa in Blogger, probably due to integration with Google  Plus, so click on the captions to view the videos, or click here to see all the pictures and videos, either on Picasa Web or Google Plus. Please leave a comment to let me know which one shows up.)

Ted hits the slope.

Kashia carves some turns.

Jacob hits it from the top.

Norm takes his turns.

Dave carves the lower slopes.

  

Lots o'turns after we get it done.

The bowl was great, but getting back to the glades took its toll on some, including a major face plant for me. Despite that, I and all the others were ready for another run. This time, the clouds and wind moved in, and the temperature seemed to plummet.

Wind blows the snow around on the ridge. Compare to previous picture (#3 above).

After climbing up for the third run, half the crew continued in the white-out to the previous starting spot to hit the bowl again, while the smarter half stayed in the trees to enjoy the glades. After rejoining at the aqueduct gate, it was all smiles.

Ted is ready.

Norm takes a poll for the down track choices.

Cathy bundles up against the elements.

Judi is ready to descend.

Kashia uses her skins to puff up the jacket.

Diane tries to get the ice out of her helmet buckle.

Ginger waits to make her move.

Jacob buckles up for the down track.

Half the group followed Norm down Ginger's track from Friday, while the other half followed Dave down the uptrack by the cabin. Both reported good skiing, though there were some trapdoors off-piste once again. Back at the cars, we all basked in the afterglow of a great trip. We loaded up the gear and headed to Tommyknockers. The storm stayed at high elevations, so the traffic was not bad.


3 runs / 1600' / 3.6 miles.

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Dave lead us to a breezy but mostly warm trip to the Pumphouse ridge.

Mark and Norm enjoy the rays at the base of the slope.

Dave gathered some of the usual suspects plus some new faces on his CMC trip to Pumphouse. Sarah, Sandy, Sue, Mark, Norm, Quinn, Marty, Rob, Bob A, and I met Dave at the usual WM HH at the relaxed hour of 8:00 am. Cathy and Kay visited briefly before departing for the Loveland. After a stop in Downieville, we headed to the Pumphouse parking lot where we were joined by Judi, Ellen, Bob, and the ever elusive Will. 


After preparing our gear, we scampered across the highway and ascended through the trees past the gravel pit / mine to the open slopes of the Pumphouse ridge. In the trees the powder was again bottomless unless some kind soul had tracked it previously. Up on the ridge, we found a mix of hard crust, soft crust, and wind-deposited powder. 


Norm and I split from the group to explore the more northerly-facing slopes where we dodged most of the rocks, skirted the hard crust, carved the soft crust, then glided through the wonderful powder at treeline, just prior to bogging down in the trees. We climbed out of the powder holes and thankfully ascended on an old track that we could mostly discern beneath the overlying powder. We reached the top of the ridge again, then descended to the breakout spot where we rejoined the bits and pieces of the group as they yo-yo'd the east-facing slopes. The top of these slopes had a bit of hard crust, but this quickly transitioned into soft crust that could be carved with a bit of effort. The lower slopes were generously broken up by the traffic, and for once, this was a good thing, making the turns easier as the day went on. 


Some of us broke for lunch at various times at the bottom of the run while others just kept on skiing.

Lunch time at the sunny base of the slope.

Quinn enjoys a more relaxed lunch.

Dave is looking for powder. Careful Dave, careful!

After a few more runs, Dave herded the group together at 2:00 for the exit run down the up-track. The track got progressively faster as it saw more traffic, and the deep off-piste powder was still ski-stoppingly slow, making for some interesting maneuvers. 

Dave collects the crew above the gravel pit to wait for the rest to descend.

Down at the road, we took off our skis and hoofed it back to the car, an amazingly tiring trek despite the short distance.

Norm and I did 3 or 4 runs for about 1500' in 3 miles. I'm sure others who stayed in the main group yo-yo'd faster for more. Apres-ski at Tommy's where they still have the cask-conditioned beer engine for a creamy Pick Axe IPA.

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Finally! Some new snow made for a good ski day.

Sue displays the latest snow hair-do.

The park and ride was sunny and warm, but we were ready for the new snow that was forecast for the weekend. We met at a leisurely 8:30 at Woolly Mammoth HH. After the struggles with conditions last week, it was tough getting the skiers out. Cheryl, Sue, Mark, and Dave showed up with their snowshoes, and Norm and Tom had their skis. As we got set up, another car pulled out celebrating Joel's 65th. Joel enthusiastically signaled his agreement. Unfortunately, pictures of his action are not allowed on this family-friendly blog.


It was still sunny at Downieville, where we ran into a CMC trip to Butler with Ted, Ginger, Sarah, John Stidman, and others. On the road, the weather soon turned to clouds and snow, much to everyones delight. The trailhead was still warm as we geared up, clambered over the parking lot snow bank, and headed up the trail past the cabin to the aqueduct, where we circled around to the glades. 


Our experience from Monday taught the skiers to keep to the groomed trails, because off-trail was loaded with bottomless, ski-stopping sugar. We climbed high above the normal starting point until the wind crust was winning out over the newly deposited powder. The upper and lower slopes gave us some fun turns, but the middle slopes were a bit choppy beneath a couple inches of powder. Still, the run was good enough for a couple of yo-yos.  Even the snowshoers chose to climb again, especially when the choice was to succumb to the chilly temperatures. 

Cheryl and Mark take a picture break on the slopes.

Not shown was director extraordinaire Dave with his HD cam. We look forward to seeing the results. 


Edit: Dave posted his Current Creek Movie

After 2 runs, the snowshoers headed down the cabin track, the powder continued to fall, and the skiers headed up for a third run. After reaching the aqueduct, the skiers continued down the drainage. The tracks from Monday provided us with safe passage to the trailhead, avoiding the powder traps in the untracked territory.

The groups reconnected in the parking lot after a great trip.


As we turned off at Idaho Springs, I-70 was at a standstill. It remained that way until late into the evening. We snuck out of town on the frontage road, took a shortcut to the highway, turned off at US 6 where the frontage road was closed, and we crept along to the intersection at route 119. One car stayed on 6, and the other took the long route through Black Hawk and Golden Gate Canyon. Both groups made it to park and ride 3 hours later, where the frontage road was closed, forcing those parked at Woolly Mammoth to hike to the cars. After they emerged from the closure and got their gear, the cops opened the road and left the scene.

3 runs / 3.3 mi / 1400'.

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A nice warm day provided a bittersweet opportunity to enjoy the slopes on Naoki's last ski trip before his flight back to Japan.

Naoki and Richard head up from the sunny shores of Current Creek Lakes.

Our hopes of pleasant skiing improved with reports of warmer weather as we gathered at WM HH. The cast included Cheryl, Cathy, Dave, Richard, and Phil from Denver, as well as Wendy and Diane from Boulder, and our honored guest Naoki from Japan via Boulder. After the usual stop at Downieville, we headed to the Current Creek trailhead.  We were the only ones at the immaculately plowed parking area.

Phil, Dave, and Diane at the trail head. 

Cheryl, Naoki, and Phil get ready to climb.

Naoki catches me stealing a picture.

Eventually we get it together and head up the hill. Snow conditions are a mix of deep powder in the shade and thin coverage with a touch of crust in areas that get some sun. We stay to the climbers right of the drainage, following an old track consisting of toboggan and boot tracks. At regular intervals, we note a deposit of pre-split firewood, probably too heavy to lug through the powder when you don't even have snowshoes. 

We reach the elevation of the aqueduct below the Upper 110s, and decide to continue to follow the track where the snow is packed, rather than wallow in the bottomless powder. The track lead us into unexplored territory, through several drainages and past the lovely Current Creek Lakes at the headwaters of Current Creek.

Heading up over hill and dale.

Climbing up the steep valley.

Climbing over another ridge in search of the glades.

Lakeshore property available at Current Creek lakes.

Finally we were at the top and it was time to de-skin.

Phil takes the skins off.

Richard and Cathy are ready.

Naoki carefully de-skins.

Wendy preps for the descent.

The lineup waits for their turns.

Without new snow, we were tempted to leave the well-groomed slopes in the center of the glades. It only took a few face plants in the bottomless powder off the groomed hardpack to discourage all but the most determined. 

Dave pauses on the slope.

Naoki is ready for another climb.

Lineup at the bottom of the glades slope.

A lot of standing around before the next climb.

We did another climb and another run down the same slopes. Two runs was all we could convince everyone to do, so we made our way down to the trailhead. Even on the out trail, we had to carefully stick to the previously skiied slopes, or fall prey to the deep slow powder. Finally we made it out and packed up the cars for a trip to Tommyknockers, where we toasted Naoki bon voyage for his trip back to Japan.

Richard, Naoki, Diane, and Dave at the table.

Diane, Dave, and Wendy.

2 runs / 1300' / 3.2 miles / 6 hrs.

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