June 7, 2015, Sundance Mountain, CO
6/7/15
US elsewhere
1987
0
Day 54
June 7, 2015
Sundance Mountain (12,310'), RMNP
2,300 vf descent
It has been a fantastic late season in Colorado. How very strange. All winter long it's been feast (3 feet of snow) or famine (the whole month of February or thereabouts), and the long dry spells becoming more and more troublesome for the summer pack - until - the end of April and the first three weeks of May winter returned with a vengeance. 75% of normal pack soon reached 175% along the Front Range as typically receding snowpack added feet at a time.
So Robbie's visit was well timed.
We arrived at the respectable hour of 800 am, and farted around for an hour checking out the sights along Trail Ridge waiting for the corn to soften up. There was still a body length of snow along the north side of the road, some years this can be melted out already into June. Not this year. In fact, the snowpack was still consolidating from the new snow from the prior two weeks, the pack still acting like early May instead of early June. The first couple runs on Saturday were crunchy up top, the snow turning in earnest between 9 and 10 in the morning. We, being wise creatures, learned the best window. We had a target: 930 am from the top.
And so it was.
Bluebird skies, gentle breezes, puffy clouds along the horizon, and a first descent for Rob of one of the classic lines of Trail Ridge Road.
Surprisingly, we only saw 6 folks all day, and only three of those on the descent. Either all the snow created more options, or everyone skied it on Saturday...either way, we enjoyed somewhat solitude as we dropped into the steep 50 degree headwall at the bottom.
Perfectly timed on the descent, there was only minor sloughing at the steep lower 1/3, and we enjoyed smooth junk-free skiing all the way to the valley floor. We found the bootpack up the left hand side and almost three hours later we were back in the car. An impressive climb for an old man right off the couch at 400'.
And an older man at 5,000' I suppose.
June 7, 2015
Sundance Mountain (12,310'), RMNP
2,300 vf descent
It has been a fantastic late season in Colorado. How very strange. All winter long it's been feast (3 feet of snow) or famine (the whole month of February or thereabouts), and the long dry spells becoming more and more troublesome for the summer pack - until - the end of April and the first three weeks of May winter returned with a vengeance. 75% of normal pack soon reached 175% along the Front Range as typically receding snowpack added feet at a time.
So Robbie's visit was well timed.
We arrived at the respectable hour of 800 am, and farted around for an hour checking out the sights along Trail Ridge waiting for the corn to soften up. There was still a body length of snow along the north side of the road, some years this can be melted out already into June. Not this year. In fact, the snowpack was still consolidating from the new snow from the prior two weeks, the pack still acting like early May instead of early June. The first couple runs on Saturday were crunchy up top, the snow turning in earnest between 9 and 10 in the morning. We, being wise creatures, learned the best window. We had a target: 930 am from the top.
And so it was.
Bluebird skies, gentle breezes, puffy clouds along the horizon, and a first descent for Rob of one of the classic lines of Trail Ridge Road.
Surprisingly, we only saw 6 folks all day, and only three of those on the descent. Either all the snow created more options, or everyone skied it on Saturday...either way, we enjoyed somewhat solitude as we dropped into the steep 50 degree headwall at the bottom.
Perfectly timed on the descent, there was only minor sloughing at the steep lower 1/3, and we enjoyed smooth junk-free skiing all the way to the valley floor. We found the bootpack up the left hand side and almost three hours later we were back in the car. An impressive climb for an old man right off the couch at 400'.
And an older man at 5,000' I suppose.
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