Tuesday 03/16/10

We have arrived at 4PM. It was GREAT trip. Final post for Colorado Trip 2010. See ya next year

Sunday/Monday 03/14-03/15/10

The last 2 days were very dreary and rainy driving days. We have covered an additional 980 miles driving thru Kansas, Missouri, Illinois, Indiana and into Ohio. The scenery remains the same. Lots of farm land and cows. We crossed over to mighty rivers - the Missouri and the Mississippi and we drove on the outskirts of St Louis, Indianapolis and Columbus. Last night we stayed in Troy, Illinois and today in Cambridge Ohio. Looking forward to driving the last 460 miles and getting home tomorrow.

Saturday 03/13/10

We are on our way home. We left this morning at 9:15am. It is wonderful travel weather. Plenty of sunshine. The first 90 miles you travel down the mountain and pass the City of Denver. Plenty to see and enjoy. The next 340 miles the only thing you see is farm land. The tallest buildings are the grain towers. VERY VERY VERY flat. We are travelling back on route 70 instead of route 80. So after 430 miles and passing thru central time zone we have landed in Russell, Kansas and the Days Inn . This town is the birthplace of Senator Bob Dole. For dinner tonight we are going to the Sonic Restaurant.

Friday 03/12/10

What a way to end our ski season. Under a cloudless sky, bright sunshine made for a wonderful end to our vacation in Colorado. Keystone's Spring Break season began today with hundreds of college kids hitting the slopes. After skiing for about 2 hours in the morning, I took two falls. With that we decided to call it a day. I didn't want to travel home with any broken bones.

The final score for falls this season was - George 5, Glenna 3. We skied a total of 45 days, snowshoed 10 days with 4 days of total rest. We will be leaving on Saturday morning for our trip back East. Looking to arrive in-time for St Pat's day

Thursday 03/11/10

Another snowy, sunny and cold day. Skiing at Breckenridge under the same conditions as the past few days. No crowds yet. You ski down and get right on the lift. It is a up and down day. This will be our last day at Breckenridge. Getting ready to leave for NJ on Saturday or Sunday. Going to the Dam Brewery to say good-bye to all of our fellow skiers and have one last drink.

Tuesday/Wednesday 03/09-03/10/10

Each day was identical. In the morning, we had a new layer of snow - 3-4 inches which allowed for power skiing in the morning. Then around 11am, the sun came out and it was very comfortable. However, in late afternoon, the clouds came back and snow started falling again. The weather has been real crazy. Keystone on Tuesday and Breckenridge on Wednesday still didn't have the crowds that were expected because of Spring Break. On Wednesday night, we drove to Copper Mt to party at JJ's Bar and Grill.

Monday 03/08/10

Yesterday it was warm and sunny with temps in the 40's. This morning we awoke to 2 inches of new WET snow on the ground. Temps dropped into the mid 20's and it has been snowing all day. The weather forecast didn't call for this. We skied Keystone today and at the top of the mountain besides snowing, it was VERY foggy and very hard to see down the slope. The combination of wet snow and fog caused a few accidents on the slopes. Because of the conditions we called it a very early day.

03/08/10 Pictures of Leadville

Sunday 03/07/10

On Sunday we went to Leadville to enjoy their annual Winter Carnival. Leadville is a small town located high up in the Rockies - about 10,600 feet. They bring in tons of snow and create a layer of snow right down Main St. They have hockey games played with brooms instead of sticks in the middle of town. The main attraction is Ski-Joring which is horses pulling skiers down Main St and over ski jumps. It was a beautiful sunny warm day. Temps reached 46 degrees.

Friday/Satuday 03/05-03/06/10

Thursday night there was a light snowfall so we went to Breckenridge on Friday. The day was warm with temps in the low 30s. This again made for heavy snow conditions in the afternoon. The expected snow never came. With the vacationers and locals arriving for the weekend, we called it an early afternoon. Snow is NEEDED

On Saturday, we went to the Breckenridge Nordic center. Again it was a beautiful and warm day. With these temps we decided to attempt the yellow/red course which is 7 miles. It is 3 1/2 miles up and 3 1/2 miles down. There is also a sign warning you of Moose on the trail. The saving grace is that at the top there is a warming hut where you can relax and take a nap if needed. This course is one of the best snow-shoeing courses around. At the end of the day we returned and cooked our hot dogs by the fireplace.

Wednesday/Thursday 03/03-03/04/10

Two days of total sun and warm temps. We went to Breckenridge both days and conditions were great until 1pm. In the afternoon, with the sun so strong and warm winds, the conditions quickly turned to SPRING conditions. The snow became very soft and hard to ski thru. The weather is suppose to change over the weekend. The area NEEDS snow.

Pictures of A-Basin 03/02/10

News Article - Sunday 02/28/10

On my blog for Sunday, I indicated that Glenna and I went snowshoeing at the Breckenridge Nordic center and at about mid-day the weather changed very quickly and we were in white-out conditions. We quickly turned around after Glenna heard thunder and we returned safely. Below is an account of two other snowshoers that day. It could have been us.



SUMMIT COUNTY — Two snowshoers veered off course while attempting to summit Baldy Mountain Sunday afternoon, requiring local volunteers to rescue them.Summit County Rescue Group spokeswoman Anna DeBattiste said the two hikers — a man and a woman — became disoriented in “white-out” conditions and called 911 around 4 p.m.

A rescue coordinator spoke to them directly by cell phone, and 23 volunteers commenced searching for the couple from both the Baldy and Boreas Pass trailheads.“Some teams (were) on snowmobiles and others (were) on snowshoes or skis,” DeBattiste said.

After almost four hours, the hikers — whose identities have not been released — were found approximately three-fourths of a mile north of Baker's Tank. They were uninjured, and the mission wrapped around 9 p.m. “Their intended route was to go from the Baldy trailhead up to the Iowa Mills mine site and then to the summit of Baldy Mountain. But when they saw lightning, they left their route for safety reasons,” DeBattiste said. DeBattiste also said the hikers didn't follow their footprints back to their start because there were two complicating factors — they didn't want to go back up on the ridge because of the weather, and the wind and snow may have already covered their tracks

Tuesday 03/02/10

This morning was a clear sunny day. And when local forecasts called for temps in the 40's in the mountains we decided to go to A-Basin. Arapahoe Basin is the locals favorite ski area because it is located on the Continental Divide at about 13,000 feet. The number of snow boarders out number the skiers 2 to 1 but it doesn't cause many problems. The snow boarders stay on double black diamonds. Glenna and I skied the back bowls of A-Basin. We were glad that we went to A-Basin because the afternoon temps went into the high 30's. We found out that at lower levels the temps were in the high 40's. This certainly is not good news for skiers. Temps for tomorrow will also be in the 30's and 40's.

Monday 03/01/10

After several inches of snow Sunday night, the conditions at Breckenridge were good. It was another power day. After some early morning clouds, the day ended with warm temps and clear skies. Weather forecasts for the next few days calls for temps to remain during the day in the high 30's. This will cause alot of the recent snows to melt away very quickly.

Saturday/Sunday 02/27-02/28/10

Saturday and Sunday was a contrast of 2 days. On Saturday, we snow-shooed under warm sunshine and a cloudless sky. The Keystone Nordic trail was crowded with cross-country skiers but few snow-shoers. We had the trails to ourselves. The best part of the Keystone Nordic trail is that it is FREE for anyone who has a season ski pass at Keystone. It was a home run for us. With the money we saved, we enjoyed lunch at the clubhouse.

On Sunday we went to the Breckenridge Nordic trail. This trail costed us a total of $24. The weather was cloudy and about mid-day a snow storm moved in and snow continued all day. It was cold and the trails weren't marked very well. Not sure whether we will go back to this trail. However, we enjoyed the hike. We made it all the way to an abandon gold mine called Jesse's Mill. This was the halfway point. When we returned home, we went to the Dam Brewery and watched the end of the hockey game. It was another GREAT weekend.

Video of surprise snowstorm

Friday 02/26/10

Friday was a GRADE 10 day. Total sunshine with power snow conditions at Breckenridge. These
conditions brought out all of the locals. Parking lots were filled by 10am. We were able to find areas on the mountain that we had to ourselves.

Wed/Thurs 02/24-02/25/10

Wednesday was a day of rest. The only activity was a long walk with Benny along the snow=shoe trail. The day was sunny and cold. Thursday's weather was totally different. It began to snow in the morning and didn't stop til late afternoon. The snow put a nice layer on the slopes at Keystone. Keystone was also holding the World Cup championships in Telemark skiing. It was exciting watching all of the downhill skiers.