Stardate 2016.121

Winterland
I journeyed up to Copper Mountain Ski Area, Colorado, to make some turns this past Thursday. Almost two out of three of the free parking lots were full; not bad for a Thursday. Lots of folks are possibly playing hooky and enjoying March/April temps. There were more people than I expected. The snow, old and abused, actually wasn't too bad either. (Old and abused indicating some fresh snow would be nice.) Above treeline, things are quite wind-scoured. Some fresh snow would be a boon.



Copper Mountain has natural terrain for all abilities. The east side (below) and backside bowl skiing is expert. The middle area boasts some fine intermediate glissading and the west side makes the aspiring novice grin.




A bird's eye view north above Tenmile Creek and the I-70 corridor.




Here's a typical groomed run amongst the trees. Copper has some nice fall lines.



Copper Mountain has several natural snow bowls on the backside of the ski area. The bowls offer sought-after powder skiing. However, they morph into bump (mogul) runs if the snow gods are playing hooky. This photo is of a mogul-ridden Spaulding Bowl. The ski area's high point touches the sky at 12,441 feet and is in the upper right corner of the photo.



The stately Tenmile Range provides Copper's eastern backdrop. Left to right is Pacific Peak (13,950 ft, state elevation rank #61), Atlantic Peak (13,841 ft, rank #86) and Fletcher Mountain (13,951 ft, rank #59).



A note on peak ranks: if a peak does not have a drop greater than 300 feet between a neighboring peak, it usually is not ranked. Left to right is Peak 10 (13,633 ft, no rank), Father Dyer Peak (13,615 ft, small background hump, no rank) and Crystal Peak (13,852 ft, rank #82).



A mellow-looking Point 12,293 with a nice cornice developing. In the photo, look for the bright, thin line of snow following the right ridge of Point 12,293. For those of you curious as to what a cornice is, it's an overhang of snow deposited by the wind off a terrain break like a ridgeline. One also may be seen in the Pacific Peak photo along the ridge in the right center of the photo. Cornices can be quite unstable and dangerous, often collapsing under their own weight. They also can get quite large and exist well into the spring until they collapse under their wet snow weight.




Late afternoon shadows start to mature on Crystal (left) and Pacific Peaks as I load up the 4Runner and head home.




Thanks for reading.

Adios

Stardate 2015.822

Boreas Pass II

Hi folks, snow finally arrived in the high country this past Thursday. Thus, Snowcatcher and I made a Saturday foray back to Breckenridge and Boreas Pass to polish off some unfinished two-wheeled business. Most of the trail riding in this area probably is done for the season. The lower elevations of Boreas Pass road were wet and muddy but almost melted-off, whereas the pass proper was blanketed with 7 or 8 inches. Closer to the pass, there had been enough auto traffic to pack down the snow into ice; this made for a very slippery decent. I may have descended the upper mile slower than I ascended it.

Boreas Pass sits at 11,482 feet above sea level. It's seen life as a mining, wagon, railroad and auto track. During the warm season, it's an easy drive for most high-clearance vehicles. However, once the snow starts to fall, the road is gated shut, and cross-country skiers take over. Two drafty late 1800s cabins sit at the top of the pass. During the winter, the cabins are rented out to travelers donning skies and snowshoes. Here are some pics from our two-wheeled day.

Snow highlights the midsection of the Tenmile Range.






13,684 foot Bald Mountain (state rank #156) towers above Boreas Pass Road.




Point 12,331 is a weathered bump on Hoosier Ridge (12,331 is the elevation of the bump).



The Denver, South Park and Pacific narrow gauge railroad crossed Boreas Pass. Trains filled up with water at Bakers Tank, several miles below the pass on the north side.




Bakers Tank signage




Approaching treeline, the road surface went from wet, muddy muck, to icier slush and snow-packed conditions.



At the 11,482-foot pass, Section House was built in 1882 and refurbished in 1996. The cabin holds 12 guests. Its original function was to house a resident family who took care of a section of the rail line. Rail workers and other guests would seek shelter here as well.



Ken's Cabin sits at the 11,482-foot level of the pass as well. This quaint, one-room, minimalist cabin was built in the 1860s and refurbished in 1996. Ken's Cabin only holds 2-3 people and is not reserved for multiple groups. It costs $75 (for 2 to 3 people) per night. Sorry, Valentine's Day has already been booked. Section House and most other backcountry cabins rent out per head and are a bit too communal for my liking. On a side note, ghosts also are claimed to reside here.




The Black Pearl likes to ham it up a bit.




The packed snow/slush made for a very slippery descent for a mile or so.




Here's another angle of Bald Mountain basking in the sun.




Look, it's one of those Snowcatcher types.




As we descended, late afternoon shade began to dominate the valley.




Not too terrible for as mucky as it was.




That's it for now. I'm not sure what's on the docket yet...

Adios