Meadow Creek/Chief Mountain

A gorgeous Easter morning for exploring some new places with my recent friends Jon and JC. A pretty nice climb up from the Meadow Creek trailhead through the aspens in the beginning. I opted for a lighter set of gear and leather boots which worked better uphill than down!


We came out into an open area with views of the Gore Range and Lake Dillon below. The weather was unbelievably perfect with blue skies and fairly warm temps, but oddly cooler than late March should be.


Jon and JC at the top, about 11,300 feet with the dogs, Sally and Charlie yipping and ready for the descent. Peak 1 & 2 near Breckenridge in the background.


I also got a picture of me, but no dogs to make it more glamorous...


The descent was awesome at the top, nice and powdery but the skinny skis were out of their league in the tighter trees below. The trail down was pretty luge-like in places, but I got a few good turns in despite a few crashes and near misses. My huge GS turns weren't quite right for the terrain, so next time it's plastic and fat boards!

A big thanks to Jon and JC for taking me out, it was a perfect day!!

Tucker Mountain Day

Copper Mountain had a fabulous amount of snow last week and I did some hiking to the west ridge of Copper Bowl and some snow cat skiing on Tucker Mountain. Ah, bliss. The day was all sunny in the morning and I was on first chair most of the time. The busy spring break time is all but forgotten once you get to the top.


This is looking at the saddle between Copper Bowl and Tucker Mountain with Jaque's Peak in the background. Mostly untracked whiteness...a perfect playground if you're willing to hike. Next week I'll bring skins for a speedier ascent.

A month gone already?

Wow, time flies in the land of whiteness. Just a spectacular amount of fun these days with more snow each week making the days a blur of ski time and shoveling. Took a trip to Ski Cooper where the 10th Mountain Division practiced during WWII and enjoyed a family day in the sun. Leadville is a perfect little town if you're priced out of all the boutique spots. Access to backcountry skiing is close and there's lots of bars to hang in. 10,700 feet and there's no better altitude.


Neighborhoods are a cool collection of folks who aren't wearing fur and Uggs looking for a cocktail. I could see myself here in a heartbeat.


Between some telemark days there's always some XC to be had and Saturday was cold and sunny so I went out for almost 25km. Truly beautiful.


This week is spring break for loads of kids, college and otherwise, so I get out early and get back early. Backcountry weeds out most pretty quickly and a hour or two hike or skin provides some untouched white.


This week is just one continuous day of skiing with some friends in town. It's snowing again and we can only hope for more! One more month of this and things will be OK again...