It’s been a long ski season. A decent one though all things considered, featuring a bit of a roller coaster in terms of snowpack totals and capped off by a temperamental, dusty spring. Some good days were had, but these days I seem to find myself looking forward to the green valleys, raging creeks and dry trails of summer earlier and earlier. I’ve also always been a fan of defined endings to seasons and activities, as there’s simply too much to do in the Colorado outdoors to risk getting burned out on any one thing. So with all that being said, for me at least, it felt like the right time to take the planks out for one final ski and call it a season. Keep reading…
This past Friday I headed up to Blackhawk to run in the 13th annual Golden Gate Dirty 30, a tough 50K race in Golden Gate Canyon State Park that makes for a perfect spring training tune-up and excuse to dive from ski season into running season. It was my 5th time running the race, which made for a cool milestone and came along with a special bib and “5 year finisher” embroidered jacket. Megan’s attention to small details like these is what makes Dirty 30 a great race and one that’s easy to return to year after year.
It was a good day out there for me. Snow season in the Vail Valley ended awhile ago below 10,000 ft so I was able to log several long runs with decent vert heading into race day. Each year the course seems to get slightly easier too, mentally if not physically as well. The weather was also nearly perfect this go around, even for 8am starters, as things stayed nice and cool in contrast to the 80 degree heat of the past few years. Keep reading…
It’s no secret that this year’s spring season has been a temperamental one in terms of weather, snowpack, and ski conditions for just about every skier in the state who doesn’t enjoy absolute freedom of schedule. The high country has been continuously raked by winds and dust storms throughout most of April and into May. Our snowpack ended up being nothing to write home about (slightly below average and with some aspects and ski lines never really coming into condition). Keep reading…
On the last full day of winter Rick, Zach, and I decided to take advantage of the sunny weather forecast and go for a summit in the northern-Gore. We settled on “Northwest Corner” peak (12,663 ft), one of the highpoints along the serrated ridge extending from “East Corner” up to Meridian Peak on the north side of the Piney River Valley. Keep reading…
