February 5, 2006, Loveland Pass, Colorado
2/5/06
US elsewhere
2093
0
Day 34
Loveland Pass, Colorado
2-5-06
Loveland Pass (11,990'); North side runs 750 VF, South side 500 VF
8" new (35" storm total!), 81" base
3 degrees F, 40 MPH N-W winds
Total Ski Descent: approx 10,000 VF
I arrived in Denver at 10 am Sunday morning, eager and ready, the Colorado sun a change from the gloom of the PNW. Seconds after leaving the baggage claim I had my gear stowed in Sean's Forerunner, and a fast 1 hour and 45 minutes later, I was searching out face shot at 12,000' on Loveland Pass. It seemed luck was a lady for once.
My arrival in Colorado was not without incident, as it seems all visits from the Walker Brothers generate gear mishaps and Derry-do. My flavor of the month was forgetting my poles back in Seattle. We stopped in Downieville along Hi-70 at the convenient Breeze Ski shop for a remedy. It was mid morning so the daily rush had ended and the place seemed rather empty. As the store rep fetched my new ski poles, he overhead our plans for The Pass.
Loveland Pass? Its closed. He said eagerly, hoping to elicit some sort of agony from us.
Sean looked amused. Wanna Bet?
OK. The rep grinned smugly, My buddy works for the Colorado DOT up on the Pass. He says its been closed for two days due to high winds and avy danger.
Sean smiled back knowingly. Well, my buddy has been skiing there this morning and I just spoke to him. Waist deep. How about we say the rental is for free?
And so it was.
Arriving at the switchback below the North side, we saw the lot was sparsely plowed and a dozen cars parked. Not bad for a weekend. Not too crowded at all. And a huge powder day. Wonder why? We saw Andreis Passat and parked nearby. Soon enough we were all rallying up to the Divide - Andrei, Sean, Alex and Anne, and me - a veritable ski reunion. The five of us began running laps on the north side, one would drive down in the tempest and the other four would ski off the edge of the highway into the trees with whoops and howls just like old times.
The Tempest. Did I mention why it was not crowded? Only a fool would ski in conditions like we did.
There was plenty of snow this Sunday afternoon, but the weather sure could have been better. The Rental Shop rep was right, the Pass had been closed until this morning, and the 8 of fresh mixed well with the snow from the previous couple of days: 10, 9, 8, 6, 2 for a storm total of 35. Wowwy! In the wind sheltered areas the snow was waist deep. And cold, producing billowing cold smoke with each turn. The convenient thermometer inside the car said the outside temp was 3 degrees F. Combined with a wind that nearly blew you over, fog and intermittent snow, visibility was reduced to a few yards. The snow blasted exposed skin like sandpaper, and frostbite was a real concern. Each time we had to emerge from the car at the top of the Divide, you had to suit up like you were deep sea diving.
We stopped often at the cars on the top, enjoying a living room like atmosphere of homemade foods, refreshments and beverages. Many smiles. Many laughs. Oh, it was worth the torture! The powder was light, dry cold smoke and it skied just divine. And runs were separated by decompression in good music and catching up.
Drama!
On one of the North side runs, Andrei had pulled off the side of the road (lucky for all of us in his own car!) and ran over the edge, the soft snow giving way until he see-sawed off the highway. He was now stuck, a very ungainly whale beached on the pavement. Our group of five and another car of four tried to muscle the car back on the road, but that was to no avail. Things were looking bleak. Just then a Tundra pulls over and offers to pull us out using brand new cables, all we have to do is the attaching. Alex attached the cable and in a gentle pull from the Tundra, Andrei was back on the road, tragedy narrowly averted. A few tugs on the now-stuck tow line and the cable broke free and was returned to owner. Good karma was reaped and sowed. We were back in business.
As the afternoon wore on, the south side traffic began to increase as skiers were returning home from A-basin and Keystone. The weather had prevented most from trying the runs to the south during the morning, but weather wasn't going to stop our merry group. We took full group runs, no shuttle needed as the volume of traffic grew, and we stuck our thumbs out repeatedly at the lower switchback.
The snow was untouched and deep on the South Side and the sight of skiing helicopter turns right down to baffled tourists ogling from frosted windows brought a special thrill. Surf was up and we took a number of runs as the Super Bowl traffic raced to reach a TV in time for kickoff. As evening approached, it snowed harder and harder, until driving became a nightmare, whiteout conditions common, especially near the top. At 5 pm it was time to call it a day.
Dinner in Idaho Springs helped avoid a majority of the Sunday traffic, as well as watching a couple of quarters of the Super Bowl. None of us were all that concerned with the outcome, so we skipped town before the finish.
Of course, we forgot to return the ski poles on the drive back down to Boulder. There's always a gear issue, isn't there?
Loveland Pass, Colorado
2-5-06
Loveland Pass (11,990'); North side runs 750 VF, South side 500 VF
8" new (35" storm total!), 81" base
3 degrees F, 40 MPH N-W winds
Total Ski Descent: approx 10,000 VF
I arrived in Denver at 10 am Sunday morning, eager and ready, the Colorado sun a change from the gloom of the PNW. Seconds after leaving the baggage claim I had my gear stowed in Sean's Forerunner, and a fast 1 hour and 45 minutes later, I was searching out face shot at 12,000' on Loveland Pass. It seemed luck was a lady for once.
My arrival in Colorado was not without incident, as it seems all visits from the Walker Brothers generate gear mishaps and Derry-do. My flavor of the month was forgetting my poles back in Seattle. We stopped in Downieville along Hi-70 at the convenient Breeze Ski shop for a remedy. It was mid morning so the daily rush had ended and the place seemed rather empty. As the store rep fetched my new ski poles, he overhead our plans for The Pass.
Loveland Pass? Its closed. He said eagerly, hoping to elicit some sort of agony from us.
Sean looked amused. Wanna Bet?
OK. The rep grinned smugly, My buddy works for the Colorado DOT up on the Pass. He says its been closed for two days due to high winds and avy danger.
Sean smiled back knowingly. Well, my buddy has been skiing there this morning and I just spoke to him. Waist deep. How about we say the rental is for free?
And so it was.
Arriving at the switchback below the North side, we saw the lot was sparsely plowed and a dozen cars parked. Not bad for a weekend. Not too crowded at all. And a huge powder day. Wonder why? We saw Andreis Passat and parked nearby. Soon enough we were all rallying up to the Divide - Andrei, Sean, Alex and Anne, and me - a veritable ski reunion. The five of us began running laps on the north side, one would drive down in the tempest and the other four would ski off the edge of the highway into the trees with whoops and howls just like old times.
The Tempest. Did I mention why it was not crowded? Only a fool would ski in conditions like we did.
There was plenty of snow this Sunday afternoon, but the weather sure could have been better. The Rental Shop rep was right, the Pass had been closed until this morning, and the 8 of fresh mixed well with the snow from the previous couple of days: 10, 9, 8, 6, 2 for a storm total of 35. Wowwy! In the wind sheltered areas the snow was waist deep. And cold, producing billowing cold smoke with each turn. The convenient thermometer inside the car said the outside temp was 3 degrees F. Combined with a wind that nearly blew you over, fog and intermittent snow, visibility was reduced to a few yards. The snow blasted exposed skin like sandpaper, and frostbite was a real concern. Each time we had to emerge from the car at the top of the Divide, you had to suit up like you were deep sea diving.
We stopped often at the cars on the top, enjoying a living room like atmosphere of homemade foods, refreshments and beverages. Many smiles. Many laughs. Oh, it was worth the torture! The powder was light, dry cold smoke and it skied just divine. And runs were separated by decompression in good music and catching up.
Drama!
On one of the North side runs, Andrei had pulled off the side of the road (lucky for all of us in his own car!) and ran over the edge, the soft snow giving way until he see-sawed off the highway. He was now stuck, a very ungainly whale beached on the pavement. Our group of five and another car of four tried to muscle the car back on the road, but that was to no avail. Things were looking bleak. Just then a Tundra pulls over and offers to pull us out using brand new cables, all we have to do is the attaching. Alex attached the cable and in a gentle pull from the Tundra, Andrei was back on the road, tragedy narrowly averted. A few tugs on the now-stuck tow line and the cable broke free and was returned to owner. Good karma was reaped and sowed. We were back in business.
As the afternoon wore on, the south side traffic began to increase as skiers were returning home from A-basin and Keystone. The weather had prevented most from trying the runs to the south during the morning, but weather wasn't going to stop our merry group. We took full group runs, no shuttle needed as the volume of traffic grew, and we stuck our thumbs out repeatedly at the lower switchback.
The snow was untouched and deep on the South Side and the sight of skiing helicopter turns right down to baffled tourists ogling from frosted windows brought a special thrill. Surf was up and we took a number of runs as the Super Bowl traffic raced to reach a TV in time for kickoff. As evening approached, it snowed harder and harder, until driving became a nightmare, whiteout conditions common, especially near the top. At 5 pm it was time to call it a day.
Dinner in Idaho Springs helped avoid a majority of the Sunday traffic, as well as watching a couple of quarters of the Super Bowl. None of us were all that concerned with the outcome, so we skipped town before the finish.
Of course, we forgot to return the ski poles on the drive back down to Boulder. There's always a gear issue, isn't there?
Reply to this TR
Please login first: