[d-rock]

The revival of "Shit to Ski Off I-70"

Ian and myself set off into Herman Gulch around 8:30am for a St. Patty's Day adventure. We started off hiking the firm and frozen trail for a quarter to half mile. There are a couple of spots that are completely melted out. If this hot weather continues, there will be more bare spots. Once we started skinning, especially through the trees, it became obvious the freeze was not a hard enough freeze. We found pockets of isothermal snowpack. Boot penetration was to the ground, as Ian found out. After a lil booting and a lil more skinning we topped out on the southwest ridge of Woods Mountain. We celebrated with some Jameson and enjoyed the beautiful views. We skied a southerly gulley/chute off the ridge. Great smooth corn that got softer the further down. We dropped in at 11:15am. On the way out we ran into a 78 year old snowshoer. He was pretty much a badass! So much of a badass we shared our Jameson with him back at the trailhead!

The drive in the morning was very cool. The weak cold front that pushed in from the northeast caused the fog to creep over Berthoud Pass. The south side of the pass was very soupy!



Early in the hike, the fog in the background burned off pretty quick.


The last part of the climb....to boot or not to boot, that is the question...Torreys Peak and the Tuning Fork in the far background.


Ian dropping in


Ian getting REAL tiny


The final stretch


The ski out was fairly easy. You definitely wanted to stay on the trail. Had to ollie the smaller bare patches. Cheers!!

[telejet9]

Nice job guys! Tis the season to tick off the spring check list, but it does look a bit thinner this year at this time than previous years.

[ianeloski]

Not much to add other than some pictures and gratitude for the day. Kind of a weird year, I have only been out 3 times this year... This was a motivating one.Oh and we met a nice friend Gordon on the trail who helped us celebrate our Irish heritage.

[d-rock]

Yeah Gordon!!!!! I forgot you got a picture of him. 78 years old and still charging hard!

[skwormin]

I want to do this shit. Looks so damn fun.

I'm a complete noob here and don't really know anyone who can teach me. I'll just enjoy the photos for now

[mel]

My little contribution:

Hagar


Citadel

[d-rock]

A little contribution, goes a long way!! Great pics!

[telejet9]

Nice pics guys! Still lots of lines to be tagged this season.

[d-rock]

More shit......

Yesterday, 4/7/15, was another springtime adventure. We headed up Herman's once again to hit a line we saw on our last outing. It was awesome! Not much more to say.

The wind was relentless. Sustained 20mph, gusting higher. At the top of the line was peaceful. Ian taking a break...


Looking towards Loveland Pass


Ian, about 4 turns into the couloir


Eyeing up the choke


Very cool rock formations


About halfway down


Getting out onto the apron, plenty of more turns


A look back at the couloir, heart was pumping at 110%!

[telejet9]

Good to see you guys bagged that one! I'm jealous.

[Jimmyjam]

Looking good, I wish I wasn't a "Weekend Warriors". More skiing less working!

[ianeloski]

Great Stoke Mel, looks like you guys hit it just right...

I have had an odd year this year as far as getting out.... Foot problems and being sick have really limited my days without a radio. I was kind of bummed at first for not going for something that I have looked at for years (Grizzly Couloir). But just as glad to get out with a good friend and go poke around Herman Gulch. In the back of my mind there was a line that we saw from a valley which we both were interested in (we saw it on Paddy's day).
We set out at the crack of 8 with a good freeze and a long walk ahead/ Getting to the ridge felt pretty easy, then the we became exposed to the wind which was relentless. I then began to think about all the variables that were in play on the snow surface, solar radiation, wind, temperature, lack of wind due to protection of the rocks, the hard surface that we were skinning on, on and on..... We pocked around the ridge a couple of times and found our target. upon inspection there was one choke that looked a bit spicy, like medium hot. I could tell that my partner was a bit puckered but, I did not let on that I was. I thought to myself you can do this, it's just one turn (I bought a new pair of skis and this was their maiden voyage) I elected to go first and saw an out through the choke which Drock sliced through.... We leapfrogged with cold snow then corn due to all those variables, and made our way out, happy, satisfied and safe.
Drock Through the Choke..

Focus

Turning the Corner

Having Fun

On the way out with Woods and Parnassus in the background

[d-rock]

^^^Thanks for the sweet pics, Ian.

Yesterday, we did a lil something near Pettingell Peak. 7.7 miles RT, 2,500vert. A simple up and down. Ran out of time to get to our original objective. Got very warm. Citadel was quite busy with two parties, totaling 8 people skiing the northeast bowl. It was great entertainment while we were hiking.

Partner having some foot issues....good spot to take in the views.


On the up


b/w


Topped out and getting a snack


Upper section


Lower section


me


Ahh, the final stretch.....

[d-rock]

Ian and I checked another peak off the list! Peak 1 in the Ten Mile Range.

Peak 1 (12933ft) far lookers right, pic taken from I-70.


Typical spring time trail hiking.


Gaining the ridge was the easy part!


Hiking along the ridge there was a couple of false summits.


The higher we went, the tougher it got.


The last push was fun! We ditched the poles and did some basic scrambling. It was a little sporty in spots.


The views were amazing. Looking back at the ridge and the scramble section. I-70 way down there!


Ten Mile Peak, Breckinridge resort, and the rest of the Ten Mile Range.


Skiing the ridge down to our nice, north facing chute.


Surprisingly soft and unconsolidated!


Soft turns the whole way down.



Looking good!


The ski out through the drainage was interesting, to say the least! Super slushy snow, tight trees, willow wacking, creeks and taking skis on and off.


"On the Boardwalk" totally stoked on what we just accomplished in 5 hours!


Just under 4 hours on the ascent and just over 1 hour on the descent. The vert was around 3,700ft. Not sure on the mileage. Ian can give a guess on that. Such a fun peak. Just another adventure!

[telejet9]

Hell yeah! Way to get after it. And to still be skiing soft snow!