Colorado / !2-14-09

Just throwing a few things on for now will update tonight, going up to Buffalo Pass to check out the conditions today, hopefully get on the snowboards. Avy is considerable.
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Ice Storm, 400 miles, snow storm, 350 miles. 1100 total miles to Steamboat, CO.

Leaving the mountains of Wyoming, entering the mountains of Colorado.

Trailhead Colorado.

Came down in the dark.

Colorado Tonight / All Night 1000 Mile Drive / Storming

Weez and I are leaving this afternoon for Colorado. Taking the sleds and snowboards to ride up Buffalo Pass and check it out. Then we will meet a couple friends on Wednesday evening to do some backcountry hiking and boarding near Copper Mountain area. It looks like it is a pretty good storm system has moved into the northern Colorado area ( check out the link to "National Weather Map" ). We are driving 1000 miles tonight so I slept in till 1:00 PM today. We will be driving into the storm so if we have to stop and sleep in the truck we will. We'll have the sleeping bags up front with us.

Larry and I slept in the truck the first morning last week because we arrived in Centennial, Wyoming at 3:00AM, on these trips you just do what you have to do. No reservations, get a place wherever we end up. Depends on the weather, we want snow, so just lock the truck into 4-wheel drive and keep moving. The great thing about the trailer, "Floe 14 ft. Double Axle Enclosed Trailer" is that the sleds and our gear is protected from the elements and the trailer tracks very good on snowy roads and when we arrive I can get dressed in it, yeah.

Have a good week, let it snow, GOOD TIMES!!

Hyalite Avalanche Fatality-10 December 2009

Wyoming 12-09 / Pictures

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Wyoming / Wed. / 12-9-10

1 Word > BLIZZARD

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In the trees, that's where we headed today. We woke up to -12 degrees and 60 mph winds. This kind of weather thins the herd, there was only 2 other trucks on the mountain today. One was the Yamaha factory truck, they were just hanging in their trailer out of the wind. We unloaded and headed straight north from the trailhead. It is an area the locals call no-mans land. You make your own trails up there, no groomed trails, but you can stay in the trees and poke out off and on. The snow was really variable with big drifts of powder and underneath would be a crust and underneath the crust would be sugar snow. This was a day of many stuck and tricky situations. GOOD TIMES!! It is like snowboarding in the trees with a 500 pound, 147 horsepower critter, you pick your line through the trees and float or power through untouched powder anywhere from 1 foot deep to 7 feet deep.

One of my stuck times. I rode up a little rise in the woods and ended up above a creek. It was about a 10 foot drop into the creek, so not a good option, so option 2 was to power through 3 big drifts and not roll into the creek. Oh, and not plow into the trees on the other side. Well I made it through 2 1/2 drifts and then buried it. But stayed out of the creek. In the meantime Larry was stuck in another part of the creek. so you pull out your shovel and dig the sled out.

In the woods out of the wind, we were out in some exposed areas in the midday and later in the day we climbed a mountain where it was all wind blown. Rocks and logs exposed. Working our way back late in the day we tryed to work our way back south to the trailhead. We made a long winding climb up through rocks and small scrub pines, got on top and the wind was blowing hard and the snow was drifted and full of rocks. no way to cross over. We had to drag the sleds around and descend back down the climb. we then worked our way back through the creek in the woods and headed back towards the truck.

When we got out of the woods and a few miles to ride, we pulled off and took a short break. One last energy drink to hydrate, We had been at 10 - 11,200 feet all day. It was great to be on our way back to the truck after all day in the mountains. With no trail to follow and as it gets later in the day you have to make sure that there are not mistakes made or incidents. With the temperture at -3 and the winds howling it wouldn't be a great night to camp out.

Packed up and ready to head home.

Wyoming / Tuesday 12-8-09

Wyoming / Tuesday 12-8-09

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We have found plenty of powder in the trees and we have only seen 4 other riders in 2 days out here. The temps have been cold, at 1:30 this afternoon it was -6 degrees and -10 at 4:30 when we got back to the truck. The winds were kicking up to about 50 mph blowing the new snow around. The last 2 days we have seen snow 6" deep and snow 5 - 6 feet deep on the ground. Like snowboarding, you have to know where to look for the best powder snow. At this time the open meadows are potential trouble because of rock and boulders just below the surface, hidden by this cold powder snow. Any areas that are exposed to the infamous Wyoming winds have exposed rocks and there are creeks all over that one must be aware of. So that leaves the trees and that is the places we hunt out. On this trip Larry and I ride the trees, that is where the 5-6 feet of powder is right now. Weaving through the trees up,down and across the mountains making our own trails.

Followed this creek down through the trees and then a long climb out. No tracks down here, but ours.

Making our own trails. Larry on his 800 Ski Doo Summit 162".

GOOD TIMES!!

Wyoming / Monday

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Today, Monday.
Howdy, it's snowing out here.

The best powder snow is in the trees.

The Arctic Cat M8 is a great boonedocking sled, the 162" track is a powder eater.

Good day in the mountains going back up again tomorrow. It's supposed to snow all night, be nice to pick up another foot or more. Take care.