Well, August is in the bag.
And if I had a buck for every idiot who asked, "Are you going skiing?" I'd be a millionaire.
"No, I just like hiking with all of this crap on my back."
I pulled up to the checkpoint at the base of the Albion road where you enter conservation land. "So, where are you going?" the Marshall's Office employee asked.
"Gunsight."
"Oh, have fun," she replied, "but be careful of the moose. One chased my friend off Gunsight two days ago."
Moose? What other hazards would we have to contend with?
Marc_C, Dale & Pat arrived around 10:30, but parking was scarce thanks to the hordes of wildflower peepers that reminded me of leaf peepers in Vermont in late September. We found a parking spot up on Vail Ridge and headed down to Alf's, under Sugarloaf for 100 yards or so, then up the East Greeley work road for a few switchbacks. We then struck up a foot path through Susie's Trees right to the bottom of the snow on Gunsight.
We were looking at a narrow chute of about 500 vertical feet, reaching nearly to the Greeley ridgeline. A couple who were just finishing a run warned us of boulders ("one the size of about 4 bowling balls") tumbling off the cliffs above and running the whole length of the snow. We switched into ski boots and started up, creating a boot ladder as we went.
The snow was surprisingly firm, and I wasn't able to easily kick steps of more than an inch or two deep. About 20 minutes later, we were clicking into our skis at the top of Gunsight. It was right there that my camera battery died.
The sun cups too were much firmer than expected, and really didn't give a heckuva lot. However, it was August 6, and we were skiing. And the run was over way, way too soon.
We had other places to be, though, and one run it was. Now it'll be an even bigger challenge to find some snow in September.
Below is the first set of pics. Once I get my paws on Marc_C's pics later tonight I'll add some action shots, so stay tuned.
And if I had a buck for every idiot who asked, "Are you going skiing?" I'd be a millionaire.
"No, I just like hiking with all of this crap on my back."
I pulled up to the checkpoint at the base of the Albion road where you enter conservation land. "So, where are you going?" the Marshall's Office employee asked.
"Gunsight."
"Oh, have fun," she replied, "but be careful of the moose. One chased my friend off Gunsight two days ago."
Moose? What other hazards would we have to contend with?
Marc_C, Dale & Pat arrived around 10:30, but parking was scarce thanks to the hordes of wildflower peepers that reminded me of leaf peepers in Vermont in late September. We found a parking spot up on Vail Ridge and headed down to Alf's, under Sugarloaf for 100 yards or so, then up the East Greeley work road for a few switchbacks. We then struck up a foot path through Susie's Trees right to the bottom of the snow on Gunsight.
We were looking at a narrow chute of about 500 vertical feet, reaching nearly to the Greeley ridgeline. A couple who were just finishing a run warned us of boulders ("one the size of about 4 bowling balls") tumbling off the cliffs above and running the whole length of the snow. We switched into ski boots and started up, creating a boot ladder as we went.
The snow was surprisingly firm, and I wasn't able to easily kick steps of more than an inch or two deep. About 20 minutes later, we were clicking into our skis at the top of Gunsight. It was right there that my camera battery died.
The sun cups too were much firmer than expected, and really didn't give a heckuva lot. However, it was August 6, and we were skiing. And the run was over way, way too soon.
We had other places to be, though, and one run it was. Now it'll be an even bigger challenge to find some snow in September.
Below is the first set of pics. Once I get my paws on Marc_C's pics later tonight I'll add some action shots, so stay tuned.
