Stardate 2016.129

A Grand Mesa Birthday
Snowcatcher and I spent a heart-filled birthday and Valentine's Day on Colorado's West Slope. We spent Snowcatcher's birthday on the Grand Mesa and then spent the evening in a rose petal- and candle-filled room. Our intention was to ski Sunday as well. However, stormy conditions on the passes had us heading home a bit early. Following are some pics from the weekend under a big sky at 10,600 feet in elevation. In the following pic, a pickup in the upper left can be used for scale. Albeit the snowpack has settled a bit, depths stilled averaged 4 to 5 feet.




Groomed trails exist for classic cross-country skiing and skate skiing. Off trail skiing abounds too.



The Mesa having been warm and without fresh snow for a week or so, existing snow was beginning to take on spring conditions a month early. This will change; it's still February. Our big month for snow accumulation is March. Nonetheless, as seen below (blocky fracture of snow), there was a bit of firnspeigel (sun crust) developing.




... and baby blue was the color of her eyes.
Baby blue like the Colorado skies...
-George Strait




A heart for two!




The Flake Master at work!





Pinwheels can result when dry snow (cold winter snowpack) becomes wet (melt) for the first time. Pinwheels are more common farther into late-winter/spring when the snowpack is taking on spring-thaw conditions and becoming saturated. Pinwheels also are called "rollerballs" or "snow snails". They indicate a good time NOT to be on steep slopes. We easily stayed off steep slopes this trip.






That's it for this round. Check back. I always have some sort of adventure to share.

Adios

Stardate 2016.058

A Nordic Day At Mill Creek

Snowcatcher and I recently visited another area where we like to cross-country ski. Mill Creek is just a handful of miles north of Gunnison, Colorado, in the Ohio Creek Drainage. Mill Creek is a major stream flowing east out of the West Elk Wilderness. The area is known for its dramatic, cliffy ramparts, as well as the highest peak in the West Elk Mountains – West Elk Peak at 13,035 feet (state rank # 617).

After an uneventful drive through a sun and snow layered ground-blizzard in South Park, we reached the intersection of the Sangre de Cristo and Sawatch Mountain Ranges. The northern terminus of the Sangre de Cristo (Blood of Christ) Mountains refused to relinquish their cloud cover.



Above treeline, snow received overnight doesn't last long on high 14ers like 14,229-foot Mount Shavano (state rank # 17). Cold temps, very robust winds, intense sunlight, and low air pressure is a perfect potpourri for sublimation to occur. Sublimation is the conversion between solid matter (snow and ice) and their gaseous phase, with no intermediate liquid phase occurring. Snow also is deposited on lee slopes, setting up ripe conditions for slab avalanches. Colorado's cold and shallow snowpack provides very exciting backcountry conditions – and deadly too.



Twenty miles to the west found us crossing the southern Sawatch Mountains in heavy snow before dropping into the Gunnison Basin. Note the structure behind the sign. That's a very snowed in, almost covered, visitor center.




About 1.5 hours later, we enjoyed viewing the lower ramparts of Mill Creek; which are silently waiting out the winter.




The Ohio Creek drainage is high, cold and quiet this time of year.




The silence of a sleeping forest can be surreal at times. It's like entering another dimension.




Slowly fading to an eye-pleasing alpenglow, sunlight on 12,544-foot Castle View reminds me how fast time seems to go with age -- another day, lost forever.




So much for the alpenglow, an early evening storm took aim on us. We returned to the car just as the snow picked up in intensity. Time to hit the Jacuzzi!



The next morning we began the drive back to the Denver Metro area. However, our first stop would be the Hartman Rocks area to photograph a rustic quilt I had just finished. Hartman Rocks is home to numerous mountain bike races, novice to professional to 24-hour endurance. Moreover, the parking area stop sign seems to get picked on a bit. Just think, each one of those stickers has a tale to tell.




My Ice Queen goes to work on icicles.



Later in the day, after a snow-packed drive over Monarch Pass, we enjoyed clearing weather and seeing some of the Collegiate Peaks (southern Sawatch Range) we've ascended over the years. This Blog's opening pic is 14,197-foot Mount Princeton (state rank # 20). One of Snowcatcher and I's early dates was an ascent of Princeton. The below pic is 14,269-foot Mount Antero (state rank # 10). Regretfully, the actual summit shyly remained hidden in the clouds.




Clouds were lifting off of Mount Yale. This somewhat shy mountain touches the sky at 14,196 feet (state rank # 21).



Gentle Mount Columbia rises to 14,073 feet (state rank # 35). Even the clouds look gentle. It's also a very stiff hike. Don't let the rounded curves fool you. Once on top, you will feel like you earned this one; and once you've descended, your knees will hate you!




Eventually we made it home. I have more adventure on the docket as we slowly make our way into March, April and spring. I know, I'm pushing the season a bit.

Stay tuned...

Audios

Stardate 2016.036

The Grand Mesa Is Quite Grand

My secret cache from the previous post is Grand Mesa. It towers above my home town of Grand Junction, Colorado. It often collects massive amounts of snow, and this may be one of those years. Snow depth during our visit was well over 4 feet.



For Day Two, we journeyed back to the top of Grand Mesa for another round of cross-country skiing. We parked at the Nordic Center at Skyway, which is on the western lip of Grand Mesa. The top is a relatively flat area full of subalpine parks, meadows and lakes dispersed throughout a forest of Engelmann spruce. The Skyway elevation ranges between 10,600 and 10,750 feet.



A person could do some backcountry skiing here, but not too much in the Skyway area, considering it's flat, with no downhill reward for hard skinning up to a summit or ridgeline. Being a Nordic center, most of the trails have been groomed for basic cross-country skiing, skate skiing or classic cross-country skiing in machine-groomed snow tracks. Moreover, you can still ski off-trail if desired.



Grand Mesa is billed as the largest flat-topped mountain in the world. That's a pretty big statement, and I don't know if it's true or not; there are a lot of big mesas around the globe. Moreover, I'm not sure if there's an "official" dividing line between mesa and much larger plateau.



Moons ago Grand Mesa was born from basaltic flow of a shield volcano. Basaltic flows capping Grand Mesa are up to 400 feet thick. The summit area is 800 square miles of rarified air at an average elevation 10,000 feet. Leon Peak is the highest point on Grand Mesa, touching the sky at 11,234 feet. Did I mention lots of fluffy snow? We enjoyed intermittent flurries and sun. Enjoy the pics.




Notice the animal tracks that are afloat over the rolling sub-alpine terrain.




We played hide and seek with the sun all day.




The small clearing might be home to a pond in hiding.




The northern rim of Grand Mesa is in the clouds (pic taken from the 9,600-foot contour).




To the northwest, late afternoon light is washing the flanks of the Roan Plateau.




That's it for this set of Grand Mesa pics.
I'm sure I'll find something else to post; stay tuned...

Adios

Stardate 2016.033

Secret Cache

Hi folks, here's a short blog of things to come. Snowcatcher and I recently traveled to a favorite cache of snow for some exquisite cross-country skiing. I'm posting several teaser shots from our late-afternoon glissade.


I'm not sure I want to reveal the location of the cache because I'm stingy. But, here's a hint: It's due east 1-hour and about 6,050 feet higher in elevation than the largest city/town in western Colorado. Another hint for readers of this blog; my home town sits due west of the snowy horde of snow.


The Nordic area can receive copious amounts of snow, especially in late winter and early spring. The current snow depth is over 50 inches. It's a veritable winter wonderland. If you've read this far, note that I'll dismiss the secret with the next batch of photos from our second day of skinny-skiing.



Check back in several days...

Adios