Some pictures from Spring 2017
Saturday, June 10, 2017
I wanted to get some pictures posted before the current summer-like weather progresses any further! This sunset was taken on 13 March 2017
Another one taken on 13 March 2017.
A sunset from a few days later on 18 March 2017.
Taken on April Fools Day 2017 - No joke!
After 2 months with hardly any snowfall, winter returned during the week after the Steamboat Ski Area closed for the season. A trip to Winter Park after a couple of feet of snow was followed the following week by a hike on 3 May starting at the base of the Thunderhead lift. Conditions were ‘grassy’ and ‘muddy’ at the bottom! I had to take off my skis about a half-dozen times to navigate around the unskiable areas.
I hiked to the top of Four Points and took the following photo from Flat Out. Two weeks later later, after about 10 days of mountain biking, we received a foot of snow in town on 18 May and I did my last hike of the spring the next day. I would have taken some pictures, but skied down in a raging snow squall. Turns were difficult as we had another freezing rain event and there was a crust on the snow, so best that day was not documented. And skiing down Vagabond was treacherous as the foot of snow fell on bare ground - I probably should have just skipped that last outing!
Some moose, fall color and sunsets from the past month
Saturday, November 12, 2016
Continued warm and sunny days have allowed for a great fall mountain season that looks to continue for several more days until winter arrives about a week before the Steamboat Ski area official opening.
The moose are also out on the trails enjoying the beautiful weather. The picture of the one on the right was taken yesterday on 11 Nov on the Creekside trail right below the Pioneer merge.
The picture of the two moose below was taken on 9 Oct as they rested on lower Tenderfoot. They weren’t moving and they weren’t looking like they would be moving, so I backtracked to find a detour around the family.
On the way up Zig Zag yesterday, Milly surveyed the latest efforts by the Steamboat Ski area’s excellent snowmaking crew. There were some isolated islands of snow she could roll around on, but winter will have to wait for a few more days.
After seeing the first moose in the pictures above, I headed up Pioneer on my way to Rainbow Saddle and then the gondola. The next 3 photos are all taken in a very similar spot a bit before the uphill trail crosses the Pony Express lifline. That there are no leaves on the trees on 11 Nov is not surprising, but the speed at which the color changed and the leaves dropped was, as shown by the next 2 photos taken less than a week apart, on 15 Oct and 9 Oct.
Also on 9 Oct, the photo on the right was taken on the Elkhead trail.
I just can’t resist documenting a nice sunset; the first two were taken on 14 October from the top of Creekside looking south across the Yampa Valley.
This last photo was taken the next day on 15 October further down the mountain on Gunsmoke.
Some sunsets from the first half of June
Saturday, June 18, 2016
A few sunset pictures taken from my deck during the last couple of weeks. This photo was snapped on 5 June.
This was taken on 9 June.
This was taken on 11 June.
And this was taken the next evening on 12 June.
First tracks on Tornado Sunday after the area closes
Tuesday, April 19, 2016
After receiving 9” Friday morning in town, and another 2” Sunday morning, Milly and I headed up the Steamboat ski area to ski some powder.
Parking at the base of the Thunderhead lift, we hiked about 90 minutes on Alpine Touring gear to reach the Four Points lodge, rested, and caught First (and only at that time) tracks next to the Storm Peak liftline.
There was about a foot of medium-density snow with a bit of a crust, though the turns were bouncy and consistent. The chunky snow was flying around thigh-deep on the descent. The observant will notice the rest I took about half way down to fully enjoy the remaining turns.
The picture was taken from the bottom of Tornado Lane and you can see Milly’s paw prints bisecting my tracks!
On the left is a panoramic shot of Tornado and the Four Points lift, with the very top of Nelson’s and Twister in view. The picture was snapped from Flatout near Surprise.
The next day, while riding down the Core Trail to the gym, I noticed another skier had laid down some nice tracks next to mine.
I am heartened to see some powder etiquette and artistic skiing displayed as that seems to be sorely lacking these days!
Video of Third Pitch with the boys
Thursday, February 4, 2016
Another great day at the Steamboat Ski Area with mid-80” base up top and the antenna snow stake at the very top of Mount Werner reading 92”. We had about two feet in the past 4 days and temperatures were below zero up top. Mitch, Dean and I skied East Face, then hiked up to Second Pitch, then out the backcountry gate to Third Pitch, where Dean made the sacrifice to stop and shoot the video. It’s about a 10-15 minute hike out with complex terrain, so know before you go!
