Page 1 of 1

Front Range

Posted: Mon Jun 15, 2015 5:32 am
by skykilo
Somehow it happened. Given the desire to make another ski trip this year, plus a weather forecast that only seemed to give a hint of cooperation in one zone, we made a ski trip dedicated to skiing Colorado's Front Range. And it was good!

Did a bit of climbing at Diablo on Friday, had a soak in the hot springs at Joyful Journey between Moffat and Poncha Springs in the San Luis Valley, then pulled into the trailhead for Gray's Peak after 11 pm. Elevation: 11,200 ft. Set the alarm for 5:30 am, well after droves of fellow outdoor enthusiasts from the greater Denver area, then finally started hiking at about 6:45 am.

Shortly after 9 am we were skiing perfect corn from the summit of the highest peak on the Continental Divide in Colorado.
front-range, cgray
That's Torreys Peak across the way.

It was great to get some extra tuns on silky snow and link two 14ers, but the real goal was to ski the Dead Dog Couloir, which is a beautiful plum line almost directly from the summit of Torreys.
front-range, ctorrey

In no time we were on the summit of Torreys. The snow toward the couloir looked slightly over-ripe, but manageable.
front-range, dog1

The Dead Dog Couloir is beautiful!
front-range, dog2

front-range, dog3

front-range, dog4

We were able to ski almost the whole way to the trailhead, walking on a couple hundred yards. Ice cold, stout IPAs capped the buzz in the sunshine at the parking lot. I am not ashamed and I would do that again.

We drove to Boulder, got lunch at The Sink, then I let Micah rope-gun me up Bastille Crack at Eldorado Canyon. That was quite the day.

Our plans of even easier access for today were foiled by a closed road on Mt Evans. We made a last minute adjustment and drove to a different trailhead not too far from Breckenridge. Rain, overnight cloudiness preventing a good hard freeze and all-around fatigue prevented a rally for another objective today, but we made some consolation turns and cruised home.

The End.

Re: Front Range

Posted: Tue Jun 16, 2015 10:24 pm
by ryanl
Pretty nice looking line there Jefe

Re: Front Range

Posted: Mon Jun 22, 2015 7:12 pm
by DonJuanPakistan
Looking good, Sky Doctor.
I was wishing I had scrambled and made a trip to Colorado this spring, conditions were looking incredible.
How's the boy?

Re: Front Range

Posted: Sat Jun 27, 2015 4:23 pm
by skykilo
Kaj is good, crawling and climbing on stuff and making a mess with food when he gets the chance. He was playing the UP and DOWN game with his arms all the time a few weeks ago.
Image