DV8 on upper Chutes and Ladders on SundayWhat a crazy return to winter. It all started with the big storms before the Grand Traverse at the end of March, and then late last week it snowed an additional 8" at the ranch and well over a foot up higher. So what better to do than head to the train tunnel for some pow pow with DV8? We've not skied together that much this winter so it was awesome to get to catch up and grab some knee keep powder turns together. Holy crap it was good! Two runs on the short but sweet Chutes and Ladders, then over to the run-that-has-no-name-but-needs-a-name-cause-it's-so-sweet run before heading out. It starts near the top of a very visible knob from the parking lot, and goes down alongside the triangle shaped trees, then heads right so to not chuck yourself off the rocks, then heads down to the NE where you get short sections of turns followed by as many big rocks to huck and level spots to slow you down a bit, 1000ft vertical almost exactly. It reminds me of Mario Brothers - the game as well as the run in Rocky Mountain...! So there we go, the name of the run I here proclaim is Super Mario's del Sur.
We noticed the red dust layer under the new snow - a dust storm proceeded the snow from the southwest/4-corners region. It was strangely heating up the snow on the S/SE aspects making it mashed potatoes even though it was under 30 degrees, and also made for some predictable sluffs on the other aspects. While everyone else is in full bike mode, DV8 and I are headed to the Nokhu Hut this weekend for the last hut trip of the year. I planned this trip thinking it was going to be a couloir extravaganza but now it looks like more snow is on the way so maybe it'll be a powder fest in mid-April! Go figure.
Sleeping Rhino Meadow on the commute after the storm, Monday April 6th.
A mini storm hit Sunday down below and melted instantly. Where the roads were bone dry on Saturday, there was now black ice everywhere on the pavement. Thankfully the dirt was packed snow - perfect conditions - but down the drop to canyon was somewhat insane. Around one switchback my front tire hit some ice and slid a foot then caught some traction so I didn't go down thankfully...but it was a bit close. I never used my studded tires this year, but today they would've been good to have. The Hunter is set up as the MTB tourer now as some bros are coming out to ride the Kokopelli Trail self-supported. We're going full Euro - we're all taking Amtrak and meeting in Grand Junction on May 3rd to ride from Fruita to Moab, and then back on some road and trail to the Junction, then back home on trains. I cannot wait. Nothing like a good mountain bike tour to start out the summer!
We noticed the red dust layer under the new snow - a dust storm proceeded the snow from the southwest/4-corners region. It was strangely heating up the snow on the S/SE aspects making it mashed potatoes even though it was under 30 degrees, and also made for some predictable sluffs on the other aspects. While everyone else is in full bike mode, DV8 and I are headed to the Nokhu Hut this weekend for the last hut trip of the year. I planned this trip thinking it was going to be a couloir extravaganza but now it looks like more snow is on the way so maybe it'll be a powder fest in mid-April! Go figure.
Sleeping Rhino Meadow on the commute after the storm, Monday April 6th.A mini storm hit Sunday down below and melted instantly. Where the roads were bone dry on Saturday, there was now black ice everywhere on the pavement. Thankfully the dirt was packed snow - perfect conditions - but down the drop to canyon was somewhat insane. Around one switchback my front tire hit some ice and slid a foot then caught some traction so I didn't go down thankfully...but it was a bit close. I never used my studded tires this year, but today they would've been good to have. The Hunter is set up as the MTB tourer now as some bros are coming out to ride the Kokopelli Trail self-supported. We're going full Euro - we're all taking Amtrak and meeting in Grand Junction on May 3rd to ride from Fruita to Moab, and then back on some road and trail to the Junction, then back home on trains. I cannot wait. Nothing like a good mountain bike tour to start out the summer!
1 comment:
Sooo, what time does the train leave??
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