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Tarbuster
climber
right here, right now
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Topic Author's Reply - Dec 9, 2012 - 03:26pm PT
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Yes Sempervirens, Eldora is a handy midsized area.
One of our blacks is the first or second steepest run in the state.
I have been down it twice! (Once on my skis, once on my back).
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zBrown
Ice climber
chingadero de chula vista
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Blimp
I like this thread. I missed it somehow.
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wilbeer
Mountain climber
honeoye falls,ny.greeneck alleghenys
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thanks for posting tarbuster,i lived in boulder,i rode the peak to peak,sourdough,st.vrain,and columbine trails,bitd,also did a bit of skiing at eldora,arapahoe glaciers,and some near nederland. loved that area of boulder county,great pics ,takes me right back.
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nature
climber
Boulder, CO
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Mar 22, 2013 - 01:08pm PT
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bump
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maddog69
Trad climber
CO
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Tarbuster,
I sent you an internal or private message but it looks those might not be working.
I am looking for some good advice for specific trails and adventures (and current conditions - 12/18) in your neck of the woods involving: A-T rigged alpine skis of no great specialty, half day or so schedules, fewer people (as on Sourdough/brainerd on weekends), minimal avvy risk and strictly: no major or technical descents.
Any info greatly appreciated Sir
Andy D.
Edit: I just found - not sure why my clicking skipped them- a few more of your awesome reports for exaclty these questions! I will probably start on the Niwot road since I know that lower area well. I am curious what happens if I just stay on the road all the way? Seems like mostly S facing slopes low avalanche risks above that track?
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mike m
Trad climber
black hills
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I had forgot about this thread. Going to give it a good look over now that I have been running around said peaks for the last 4 years.
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mike m
Trad climber
black hills
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Andy D I am assuming you have been to Moffit as you can ski many trails from there for up to 4 miles before it gets technical. Also good to go from allenspark and many areas in RMNP in winter. We also skied some stuff off the county road from Tolleville.
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Tarbuster
climber
right here, right now
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Topic Author's Reply - Dec 4, 2018 - 07:11pm PT
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Mad Dog:
By Niwot Road, do you mean Research Station Road, which leads up to Niwot Ridge?
This is the ridge that separates the Boulder watershed on the south from the Brainard Lake area to the north.
I don't really recommend AT skis for most of this stuff: too clunky. All of this non-avy terrain touring is pretty much shuffling along on summer hiking trails. That means three pin skinny skis. Or whatever the new Nordic stuff is called.
The two trails I can think of which might feel more secure on AT skis would be the Heart Lake trail from Moffat Tunnel/East Portal starting point, or the Guinn Mountain trail accessed behind Eldora ski area by first starting up the Yankee Doodle Lake drainage.
Just call me up on my landline (same for you MikeM), I'm a house cat now and easy to reach: 303-25Eight-345Five.
That way we can just unroll our maps, so to speak, and talk about stuff.
It's all in this thread, of course, but it's not very well indexed.
That Tolland ski to which you are referring, Mike, is Apex Road.
It actually says no parking there. I've been told it's okay.
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Tarbuster
climber
right here, right now
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Topic Author's Reply - Dec 4, 2018 - 09:18pm PT
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About 20 years ago in the spring I skied all the way out Niwot Ridge on light touring gear. The snow was sastrugi and it felt and looked like skiing over Plaster of Paris dove's swings. Eventually the skiing stops abruptly where the ridgeline attenuates.
There I took off my leather 75 mm Nordic Norm boots, fitted them into a stuff sack, and along with my skis and poles, strapped them to a marker pole where the ridgeline turns into a sharp rock spine heading toward the Continental Divide. I changed into leather mountaineering boots, and traversed the fourth class ridge for a ways. After slipping my ax from behind the shoulder strap of my rucksack, I dropped down into the watershed, plunge stepped across a snowy basin and then soloed Arikaree's North Ridge.
I had full mitts on, and wool gloves beneath, with little black dots of rubber under the fingertips. Where the rock became technical, about 5.4 on the Richter scale, I just took my hands out of the mitts, slipped my wrists through the cinch straps of the mitts, and climbed with more dexterity using the wool gloves. It was cold and it felt good to persevere.
It's an elegant climb: a narrow spine of stone shaped like the catenary curve of an old school mountain tent leads straight from the basin to the summit in an uninterrupted skyward arc, and presents no particular problems. The summit is tiny, and you stand atop a perfect pyramid, with four ridge lines fanning downward in all directions below. Quite a nice little mini adventure, if illegal. I've had lots of good solo days in those mountains. The Indian Peaks are my backyard!
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mike m
Trad climber
black hills
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I think I did Nieot from the left hand drainage at Brainard. It was a beautiful ribbon of snow that dropped all the way to the lake on my birthday. Very cool up there. Roy I would love to look at some maps some day. Got out to caribou with John Madsen a couple of weeks ago. Want to do old Baley from there.
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Tarbuster
climber
right here, right now
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Topic Author's Reply - Dec 5, 2018 - 09:03am PT
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Mike: my Gmail account is rcmcclenahan.
I've never gotten up onto Niwot from Left Hand.
I know there is a trail that connects, but it seems it might be rare that it is tracked in the winter?
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mike m
Trad climber
black hills
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I think this is from long lake then up the ridge on long run and then across the ridge to the top of Niwot Ridge My line follows those white line on the google earth screen shot. It made for a really nice long moderate run down. Not as extreme as doing Toll or Piutte.
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mike m
Trad climber
black hills
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A couple more from skiing Berthoud and Piutte.
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Tarbuster
climber
right here, right now
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Topic Author's Reply - Dec 5, 2018 - 04:36pm PT
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Jeepers, Mike: you studly stud!
Pulling actual turns. I can't match that sh#t.
Nice shot of your tracks coming off of Niwot.
I walked that line in summer, coming down from a cirque tour, starting at Little Pawnee to Pawnee, then Shoshone, across the Chessmen, over Apache, Navajo, and down Niwot Ridge.
See that ridge ramble here:
http://www.supertopo.com/climbers-forum/481291/Blown-Out-Climber-Series-Ramblin-the-Rubblicious-Rockies
.....................................
You'll probably be game for skiing Skywalker on South Arapaho at some point?
Accomazzo is probably the guy you should be hooking up with ...
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mike m
Trad climber
black hills
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I tried to ski skywalker last year by biking in early before the road was passable but last year there was not good coverage and I got tired of putting on and taking off my skis. Let alone unloading the bike trailer twice thinking I had gotten to continuous snow only to come around the corner on the forth of July road to see dry road all the way as far as I could see. Got to the trailhead eventually but a mile or so later I was sinking in to the snow up to my waist with skis on due to unconsolidated snow and warm temps I have done quite a bit of skiing but not continued to the top on many as I looks like you did Roy. Have summited Toll, Piaute, St Vrain, Parnassus via the Drainpipe, and Machebeuf with the skis though. Jack and I also came close to getting up Torrey's via the big couloir you see from I70. Got to the top of the snow but the 1/2 mile of rock hopping in ski boots was not going to happen.
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mike m
Trad climber
black hills
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That trip looks cool Roy. Did you just wear approach shoes? No rope needed?
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Tarbuster
climber
right here, right now
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Topic Author's Reply - Dec 6, 2018 - 09:49am PT
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Which trip, Mike? The Arikaree solo I wrote about just a few posts up? Leather mountain boots made by Mollitor.
For the linked thread, chronicling the traverse of the cirque that contains Long and Isabelle Lakes, a light weight scrambling/mountain boot, by Garmont.
Beginning in 1997, I did a whole bunch of those summer Indian Peaks scrambles & High Sierra scrambles in blue Robbins boots!
Most all of my solo trips except for one (in the Gore Range), no rope in the pack. No GPS, no cell phone (except for a big day on Apache Glacier), no SPOT device.
Just the carpenter's creed: measure twice, cut once. No mistakes. Rock & roll, baby!
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mike m
Trad climber
black hills
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Skiing by Brainard. Last one is of James.
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mike m
Trad climber
black hills
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Dumping on BerthoudSummit of Saint VrainShoulder of Mines on a powder day
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