Kelly and I were going to travel to
Pueblo to explore the Teepee Buttes on Saturday. Unfortunately the
trip was canceled at the last moment, so we had the day open.
Instead of doing nothing, we decided to check out the snow and make this our first trip ski trip of the season.
Kelly had taken Mary (Emma?) for a
bike ride in the Heil Ranch last summer, and thought it looked like
it might be a good place to ski. Heil Ranch is north of
Boulder, a couple miles west of Hwy. 36 in Left Hand Canyon.
We started off bushwhacking to get
away from the road to the trail. Unfortunately we ended up in an
area that was much too rough for our meager skills and we had to return
to the road. On the plus side there was some beautiful scenery off
the trail.
We reached the hiking/horse/biking
trail about 1/2 mile from the parking area. It really isn't
intended for skiing, but that's never stopped us before!
The day was mostly sunny, with a bit
of haze and fog. Considering how close it is to home and how early
in the season, the snow was not that bad. The trip up the trail
was pretty easy, but returning was tricky. The snow was loose on
the ground with no packed base to protect skis from submerged
rocks. I took a couple of spills including a pretty exciting face
plant. Kelly got a bit out of control rounding a corner and ended
up laid out in the snow.
I'm looking forward to much more of
this stuff. Even when the skiing isn't great, it's still fun.
