February Ski Ramblings
I've been fighting the flu now for about a month. Just when I think I've kicked it, a coughing fit takes place, I reacquaint myself with the joys of Dayquil, and my weekly exercise continues takes a nose dive.
But, I still try to get out on weekends. Gotta have priorities. Flu season be damned! :)
On the weekend of Feb 9th Theresa and I skied the length of the St. Vrain Trail and back. This about 12 mile route was not so well marked in the lower part. Once Brainard was approached, the markings (and snow) improved. The ski back was fun. We also bumped into Markus who joined us for the second half. I am glad I did this trail as it was exploratory, but can't see myself doing the lower half of the trail again.
The weekend of Feb 16th Andy Claus (a fellow thru-hiker) and I did 18 miles on the Sourdough Trail. It was supposed to be a yo-yo, but the snow conditions on the south facing slopes towards Rainbow Lakes TH did not look too inviting. That, and some minor boot problems for me, decided to make us turn around. A wonderful jaunt. However, towards the end of the day I started sneezing, coughing and aching. The start of my flu (which, thankfully, I think if finally on its way out) happened that day. Hmm..maybe skiing 18 miles with almost 3000' elev gain on less than 4 hrs sleep had something to do with it? ;)
The following weekend (Feb 23rd) was perhaps just a bit above my skiing skills. Crusty snow, steep descents and tree skiing. I am pretty good now at nordic skiing as it emphasizes endurance and strength over technical skills. Correspondingly, my technical ski skills are mediocre!
No matter; the Ptarmigan Trail (on the Jim Wolf route of the CDT) was quite nice. Not the best skiing, but it did have good views and, like anything that proves challenging, made me a little bit better in my skill set. Wish I had my regular tele skis rather than my touring skis, though. ;)
Afterwards, we stopped for some Mexican food and had some well deserved burritos.
On Feb 24th, traded my skis for snowshoes (gasp!). As before, I made an exception and put on snowshoes to hang with the Zapins. They were doing another test run with Avery. Avery did not like the way-cool sled and would rather be in the pack or walking now. It was a nice day (if snowshoes not really needed because the trail was so packed down).
I am woefully behind on photos, but hope to have some posted soon.
But, I still try to get out on weekends. Gotta have priorities. Flu season be damned! :)
On the weekend of Feb 9th Theresa and I skied the length of the St. Vrain Trail and back. This about 12 mile route was not so well marked in the lower part. Once Brainard was approached, the markings (and snow) improved. The ski back was fun. We also bumped into Markus who joined us for the second half. I am glad I did this trail as it was exploratory, but can't see myself doing the lower half of the trail again.
The weekend of Feb 16th Andy Claus (a fellow thru-hiker) and I did 18 miles on the Sourdough Trail. It was supposed to be a yo-yo, but the snow conditions on the south facing slopes towards Rainbow Lakes TH did not look too inviting. That, and some minor boot problems for me, decided to make us turn around. A wonderful jaunt. However, towards the end of the day I started sneezing, coughing and aching. The start of my flu (which, thankfully, I think if finally on its way out) happened that day. Hmm..maybe skiing 18 miles with almost 3000' elev gain on less than 4 hrs sleep had something to do with it? ;)
The following weekend (Feb 23rd) was perhaps just a bit above my skiing skills. Crusty snow, steep descents and tree skiing. I am pretty good now at nordic skiing as it emphasizes endurance and strength over technical skills. Correspondingly, my technical ski skills are mediocre!
No matter; the Ptarmigan Trail (on the Jim Wolf route of the CDT) was quite nice. Not the best skiing, but it did have good views and, like anything that proves challenging, made me a little bit better in my skill set. Wish I had my regular tele skis rather than my touring skis, though. ;)
Afterwards, we stopped for some Mexican food and had some well deserved burritos.
On Feb 24th, traded my skis for snowshoes (gasp!). As before, I made an exception and put on snowshoes to hang with the Zapins. They were doing another test run with Avery. Avery did not like the way-cool sled and would rather be in the pack or walking now. It was a nice day (if snowshoes not really needed because the trail was so packed down).
I am woefully behind on photos, but hope to have some posted soon.
posted by Paul Mags at 11:02 AM
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