Feels Like Spring

The temperature is in the mid 30's today and it feels like heaven. You know it's been ridiculously cold when you walk outside and think it's warm, only to have the temperature gauge read 8 degrees. The low to mid 30's feel like a summer day. The snow is supposed to move back in by Thursday and winter will be back.

On Friday I begged my friend to go out for a skin/ cross country ski with me. Since she's in the process of acquiring gear, I let her use my AT (alpine touring) set up and I used my cross country skis. We headed up Baldy and had a gorgeous night ski. The best part was watching her try to skin with adjustable poles that kept shrinking until her hands were practically at her knees. Eventually she figured out how to tighten them up and the ensuing ascent was enjoyable. I wish we had a camera that night, the town looked gorgeous lit up against the snow.

The view of the ski area from the summit of Baldy. We were a little lower than this, but a couple of weeks ago, I headed out with Brett before work and skinned up to the summit and had a great ski down.

Although we've had a ton of snow, the typical Breckenridge wind has been blowing and packing down that gorgeous powder. I headed up Little French Gulch with a friend on Sunday and the snow was wind crust for the first half of the turn and the second half would be super soft, sink down to your knees snow. It was a tough ski down, but the skin up and the views were more than worth it. I had been up there two months ago and the wind drifts were five times the size they were the first time. Ridiculous.

I also made it up to Peak 6 for the first time a week or two ago.

I don't know how I have been missing that. The skin up was a little sketchy- wind buff was maybe an understatement at times, but the ski down was more than worth it. The snow was soft and deep and completely untracked.

Next week The North Face corporate and The Skylark Group, our rep group, are sending two of us from TNF Breck to a two day avalanche workshop. I lucked out and grabbed a spot. It is an industry-only avy workshop with speakers Martin Volken, an IFMGA, AMGA Guide and author of "The Backcountry Skiing Book," Andrew McLean, a ski mountaineer and author of "The Chuting Gallery," Ace Kvale, an adventure photographer, Kasha Rigby, a ski mountaineer and TNF athlete, and Brad Sawtell an avalanche forecaster. The opportunity to attend a workshop with experienced outdoorsman as well as recieve my avy one cert is pretty incredible.

I hope your winter has been soul-fulfilling thus far.

Snow, Parties, and Jackets

Main Street traffic has greatly decreased and the weather, well, the weather does what it always does. Sun, snow, rain, sun, rain...

We've been enjoying our couple of days of 50 degree heat- bringing out our shorts and sandals for the two hours a day it is warm enough and trying to ignore the snowy days, knowing they will eventually pass.

We had our annual end of the year party at Carter Park.

It was goregous and the food was wonderful, as were Steve's famous margaritas. They warned me ahead of time not to drink too many.

Japser and Margo photo op.

True to the North Face Breckenridge tradition, Greg, Brett, Margo, and I were matching in our Meru Paclites.

Really, Greg is just irresistable, even Brett thinks so.

Greg and I tested the jackets out about a month ago on a hut trip up on Vail Pass.

Before we left, a group of us decided to brave the 50+ mph winds and skin to the ridgeline.

Although it was windy, it was a gorgeous sunny day to be out.

Andy's comment was the best: beautiful conditions...no wind and the snow was so soft.

Vail Pass is behind me and off to the right are the mountains of Vail Ski Area

We enjoyed the view for about thirty seconds, then took off our skins, I wallowed in the snow for a couple of minutes, sunk to my hips in snow that I couldn't get out of to put my skis back on, and then skiied down a decent pitch to get a couple of turns in.

We ended up having to traverse some tight trees to get back to the hut. Although we snagged about fifty branches between the six of us and a couple of us almost lost our balance into some tree wells, the jacket looks like I've kept it in the packaging.

It is now in the "take" pile for our Moab trip.

Bluebird Week

I hope you have a goregous bluebird week.

The last week was incredible here, sunny and in the 50's.

Today has been incredibly cold, but next week's forecast looks warmer.

Here's to warm sunny weather so we can get outside and bask in it.

Photo via: the amazing photographer Katie Thurmes, check out her wedding photos

A Whole Lot of Awesomeness

I have been down and out for the past month- one sickness after another. Luckily, I am now on the mend and itching to adventure again. It doesn't need to be a big adventure, I just want to be out in the snow and sunshine and on a trail or mountainside. Finally, I'm craving it again.

Yesterday, Andy and I had a day off together and I begged him to skin up Baldy with me.

Andy skinning up Baldy a couple of years ago- the views of the ski area are incredible.

It took us about two hours with Jasper and Lulu, the dogs, in tow.

Jasper

Lulu and Margo

We felt especially slow when a woman skated past us on the steepest part like it was no big deal- leaving us far behind. I was exhausted by the end and Andy wanted to go to the gym. Typical.

Today I hiked/ran the Peaks Trail, right outside our apartment door.

It's my new obession. It is uber-close, you could go for 20 miles roundtrip if you wanted, and it is amazingly beautiful up there. In our county full of dying trees, the trees here are (shhh) big, close together, and most importantly, green. I found a little loop that has steeps, fall lines, and flats that is perfect to do in a fast hour. I just can't get enough of it. 

I am also obessed with the best purchase I have made all season. My Shugga Thatch suit. It is incredible. I know one pieces are out, but everyone should wear one of these. You're warm, you look like a super steeze, and it's incredibly comfortable. No more cold winds blowing up your back.

Andy is embarrassed of me.

Hanging out on the cornice overlooking the Imperial Lift- the highest lift in North America. When you hike up here to the top you're at about 13,000 ft. Usually the hike feels like you're climbing Mt. Everest because it's blowing at 50 mph. It's great.

Even with all of this awesomeness, I find myself wishing for this

 

and this

and this

Soon, soon mountain biking season will be here. Now hopefully El Nino doesn't decide to dump feet of snow in June. Please no.

Skiing, Biking, Learning

Those are the three things I've been doing since posting. Well, maybe there are a couple more in there- working, sleeping, eating, you know, the usual. Those, however, are the most important. And, I thoroughly enjoy those three together.

Skiing: A couple of friends came up from Fort Collins two weekends ago and we headed out to the Basin (as us locals call it...I mean, it sounds far more "in" than A-Basin and exponentially better than Arapahoe Basin. So if you're visiting and are heading up Loveland Pass to ski, make sure it's the "Basin" you're referencing. [Just a tip])

Roxanne, Me, and Keeley in the short lift line. Can't you tell?

Luckily it was Keystone's opening weekend, so the lift lines at the Basin (see how I slipped that in, doesn't it sound like I'm in the know?) were pretty fast. We headed up the Exhibition Lift and headed straight for the Norway lift. The snow was decent, the day was unbelievable and we were having fun. In the lift lines we were practicing our best pick up lines and luckily a guy heard us and decided to use it on me on the way up the lift. Another guy turned around in line and told us we were "a hoot," which of course, we already knew as we had accompaniment from the chair in front of us while we were singing Don't Stop Believing the run before.

I mean, we just look fun.

I had to head out early to get to work, but for the first day of skiing, I was satisfied. Especially when dinner was ready for me, complete with table setting and tea lights when I got home that evening.

Biking: The next week was warm and sunny so a friend and I headed out to a trail in Dillon and rode our mountain bikes again.

Sara stuffing dog food in her bike bag. We like to attract bears.

The mountains were brilliant against the blue of the sky and the trees actually looked green.

Looking at Baldy and Quandary from across the county

(I guess most of the trees still look brown)

We both agreed it felt good to be out on our bikes before the snow really comes. The most exciting part of the ride though, was when we found a bear track. I used to bike alone quite often on the trails behind Summit Cove, and being afraid (ok, terrified- it might be a phobia) of bears, I would constantly be finding "bear tracks" in the mud. On closer investigation they were always footprints. But, truly, this time we went back and it looked like this: bear print. There was only one, but the ground was pretty hard.

Smiling before finding the bear print

Sara and Maddie, the real reason we had dog food

Skiing (again, it's what we do): Last Thursday was Breck's opening day, as Andy posted, and we definitely walked our eight minute walk up to the base and enjoyed some pancakes. Neither of us could ski that day, we had to be at work, but Timmy and Margo from The Main Street Outlet took one run and said it was great for opening day. I headed out on Saturday and though it was crowded, we took three runs and enjoyed getting out for the day.

Learning: Saturday night was the Colorado Avalanche Information Center's Benefit Bash (yes, those are two separate links). The only thing anyone could talk about during the day on Saturday was the benefit, so I figured I should go check it out. It was a fundraiser, complete with sick give aways like free skis from Fat-ypus, a sick ski company here in Summit County, and gnarly backcountry skis from G3, as well as trekking poles, packs, coffee, and jackets. Pretty much anything you need when you want to say, "yeah yeah gnar gnar shred some pow pow" and send it off a cornice. Anyway, everyone who is anyone in Breck was there- I swear I saw everyone I know in this town, including my cousin, which I was stoked about. There were vendors set up such as- Mountain Outfitters, Mammut, and Berthoud Pass Backcountry, where you could check out their products and they could feed you all their techy info while you sipped on your three free drinks and ate free food with your 2000 closest friends, all while it dumped outside. I would say that is a damn good night.

P.S. Check out this awesome blog from a college friend living in Crested Butte. Please don't defect blogs now that you've read his, though:
Tales from the Midcountry It's also linked on our sidebar.

First Skin of the Season

Brett, Sara, and I headed out for the first skin/snowshoe of the season on Wednesday. It was a gorgeous mid-fifty bluebird day. Although the snow was a bit hard and rutted in some places, we couldn't have asked for any better for the beginning of November. We hiked up to Francie's Cabin, as Sara hadn't been there yet and the basin it's in is hard to beat. Getting ready to head out


Brett is stoked be in the woods, especially in his Sedition II Gore-Tex Softshell jacket and Park Cargo pants


Sara looks like a pro already, I however, look like I have a crazy foot.


Montana, Sara's dog, wondering when we're going to catch up


We had to be creative in getting a group shot. I'm rocking my El Cap Temple 1/4 zip, which is made of 100% recycled fabric. It's wonderfully breathable and kept me dry the entire hike.


Brett's Patrol Pack and the ridgeline between Mt. Helen and Father Dyer peak. Check out this brief history of Father Dyer. He was quite the mountain man.


After hanging out on the hut's porch enjoying the warm day, after last week's frigid temps, we packed back up and headed for our "ski" down. The snow was less packed than the route we took up, but that meant that there were some rocks that were simply dusted with snow, rather than covered and we did a little tip toeing (as much as you can tiptoe in skis) down the trail. By the end our quads needed some rest.



I was so glad to be getting out and doing something fun. This shoulder season has been spent moving (literally my posessions to Breck) and working. Not much adventuring has happened in the last month, so this was a much needed mountain fix for our souls.