Hiking Beaver Creek’s Overlook Trail

June 18, 2023

Hiking ‘On Resort’ at Beaver Creek

Around 7 am, I wound my way up Village Road toward Beaver Creek’s upscale village complex en route to hike the Overlook Trail. The morning sun flickered through stands of quaking aspens and cast long shadows across the lush golf course. In winter I’d of parked a few miles downhill, in one of Beaver Creek’s $10 day-skier lots. But in summer, the far more convenient Ford Hall Lot is free and open to all.

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Skiing Quandary Bowl

May 23, 2023

A stormy spring

I met my friend at the trailhead for a springtime outing skinning/skiing Quandary Peak. From the looks of the parking lot area, a few fresh inches of snow had fallen the night prior. Even at Quandary’s lofty trailhead—roughly 11,000 feet above sea level—the snow looked wet. But with any luck, things would be a different matter near the 14,271′ summit.

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North Table Mountain and Lichen Peak

April 2, 2023

Almost summer on the high plains

April arguably ranks as Colorado’s most versatile month. Folks in Denver or Grand Junction could be enjoying 70F+ temperatures and endless sunshine while other snowsport-diehards are simultaneously skiing powdery slopes in the high Rockies. Of course, sometimes you’ll find spring corn in the Rockies and stormy weather on the plains. But regardless, the span of climates within just 100 or so miles is truly astonishing.

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Taking an AIARE 1 Avalanche Awareness Class in Colorado

December 18, 2022

A cold start

We gathered just beyond the parking lot below Fremont Pass for day two of our AIARE 1 Avalanche Awareness course. I felt nervous and excited. But mostly I felt cold. The sun had yet to climb above the nearby ridgelines and the thermometer read ~0F. In light of this, our instructor had us start up the old logging road immediately. We’d stop a few minutes later, after warming up a bit, to begin the day’s informational components.

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Mount of the Holy Cross via Halo Ridge

September 10, 2022

Arrival

Around 3:15 am I drove through Minturn, past empty streets and darkened windows. Then, I began the long winding dirt road up towards the Halfmoon Campground. The sun wouldn’t make an appearance for another three hours at least. But even still, I arrived at a bustling trailhead filled with headlamp beams and dimly lit truckbeds.

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Wetterhorn Peak (Colorado)

September 3, 2022

Lake City and the San Jauns

The late afternoon sun poked in and out of view as I sped along Colorado 149 into the heart of the San Juan Mountains. It occasionally ducked behind increasingly rugged mountain peaks and silhouetted stands of aspens. Suddenly, the road dipped into a canyon directly beside the Lake Fork of the Gunnison. It was the Friday of Labor Day Weekend, and I saw maybe two other cars.

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