The Great Colorado Hut Tour

Our decision was firm that we would move back to Hood River.  We had a month and half left on our lease so the plan was to make the best of our remaining time in Colorado.  We'd visit with the friends that remained, make a few more along the way, explore this part of the state and perhaps beyond.

I hadn't been off snow for more than a day all season.  I'd logged well over 100 days and expected a few more but it was time to break out of the cycle for a bit.  For the first time all season we suited up with bike gear instead of skis and headed to the desert near Grand Junction.  The area known as Fruita is well known among locals for good biking and in a few short hours we went from skiing rugged alpine peaks to flowing over slick rock spines.  The contrast was a little surreal but lounging in the warm dry desert was a welcome change.

Fruita trails under storm clouds

After our mini-vacation in the desert it was time to ski one last time.  And by "one last time" I mean 2 more weeks.  My good friend, the same friend who sold us on CB, had arranged two hut trips in Colorado.  Between these trips we'd take advantage of our location and hit up a few of the resorts along the way.

The first hut is called Opus.  It's east of the town of Ophir but we accessed it from Colorado's Million Dollar Highway.  It's position near treeline makes it a little hard to get to (3 miles & ~ 2,000 feet) but the access to terrain is spectacular.  Finding great lines was just a matter of walking out the front door.  With warming conditions we stayed on north facing terrain for three days and found mostly great snow amidst a stunning backdrop.

The hut itself was also very impressive.  Built from the timbers of an old Wisconsin barn it had a very rustic feel to it, like a European hut.  All systems were entirely off the grid but we had ample electricity from solar, hot water and baseboard heating from a custom wood stove that was also used for cooking, composting toilets that had absolutely no smell and a wood fired sauna to help relax muscles after a full day.  Full compliments to hut owner Bob for job well done.

 

The common room of a hut makes for a great social atmosphere.  Along with old friends from CB we were fortunate enough to meet several more good people on these trips.   Dave's friends from Germany, Gabor & Maria, made great ski partners.  Mark from CB charges hard on tele and in the backcountry.  I wish I'd met him earlier as another touring partner.  Chris & Mari from Vail who let us crash at their house and several others made for fun times on and off the snow.

Between huts we opted not to follow Dave on his whirlwind tour of Colorado.  (He had to show the German his whole state.)  Instead we took the directish route with a short stop in Telluride for a burger and place to sleep then to Carbondale to visit Charlie & Elizabeth.  We arrived along with a spring storms which are common in April.  The storms brought some new snow to Aspen so we skied warm pow at the legendary resort with Charlie.

One of Aspens older chairs

Hut number 2, the Eiseman, is located directly north of Vail.  The distance into the hut was a little intimidating (7 miles & 3,000 feet) but once again the hut's position put us in the heart of perfect touring terrain.  The storm that hit Aspen also brought snow to the Vail area.  We were happy to have a fresh coat of snow and very fortunate that a layer of clouds protected this new snow for several days.  We skied great pow for three more days and finished the final morning under full sun on a high route that accessed a beautiful couloir.  Perfect snow in an aesthetic line made for a happy ending on this trip.

We were joined on the Eiseman hut by the one and only Dr. Friese.  He shuttled from Denver to meet us and we would drop him back in Denver after a few more resort days along the way.  A-basin was a likely spot so we made a few more turns, probably our last for the season, skiing spring bumps and a few of A-basins steeper lines.

Bootpack to "Booger Ramp"

 The great tour wrapped up with a stop in Denver to visit Zweibel, and airport drop for the doctor, a visit to Wellington & Ft. Collins, where we stayed with Gavin & Sheila, that included a brewery tour of New Belgium and finally one more stay in Carbondale to return equipment before heading back to this wonderful little valley.

New Belgium Bike

Closing Time

You'll often hear reference to the ancient spring celebrations of the pagans.  As the snow melted and things began to grow it was a time to celebrate because the harshness of winter was over.  I'm not sure that the motivations are exactly the same but in the ski towns of Colorado spring celebrations are alive and well.  Costumes and drinking seem to be the primary mechanisms of celebratory expression.  Of course there are many sanctioned events that help promote silliness and consumption.

Closing weekend ski attire

In CB things seem to kick off with the AJ or the Al Johnson.  In honor of Al, who used to carry the mail from CB to Aspen via the mountain passes, this race is now a reason to put on costumes, get drunk and telemark down one of the steeper runs at the resort.  Gaper day (April Fools Day) is when the locals come out dressed like their favorite tourist.  The locals do such a good job it can be hard to tell them apart sometimes.  Several colleges visit for closing weekend and are fully clad in costume and given their 11 am (or later) arrival at the lifts they are no doubt hung over or on their way to being drunk again.  Flauschink, the celebration to flush out winter, crowns a king and queen who are regularly seen in town or on the mountain in their robes.  There is a pond skim and park competition, yes costumes are encouraged.  A keg party on the peak.  And even though one of the more famous celebrations, naked ski day, is officially banned there were several groups on closing day attempting to burn places which rarely if ever see the sun.

Gaper or Local?

Kegs on the Peak

For us the celebrations were more background noise.  Do get me wrong, we did participate, but we were finishing up work and trying to get in the last morsels of skiing before the lifts were closed for the season.

A week before the season ended we skipped out of town and headed down to Taos.  It's one of the resorts I've wanted to ski for a very long time.  It happened that Jenn & Alex could meet us there with the kids and we'd have our own spring break with family.  Our timing with the weather didn't quite line up with our ski expectations.  The resort had seen too much sun and too little snow in many weeks and the night before our arrival everything got very cold.  Instead of soft spring bumps we had refrozen conditions to contend with.  It was so bad the ski patrol didn't open any of the steep terrain for fear that people would slide to the bottom if they fell.  But that's how it goes.  We went down to see family and had a great time with all of them.  It was also a time for laying groundwork for the next chapter.

Looking for soft snow

We had a decision to make.  Stay in CB or move to Hood River.  HR was the original plan but CB is an amazing place and locals all say it only gets better in the summer.  We are building a network of friends here and leaving just as we are getting settled seemed a bit premature.  The other side of the coin is that Hood River is also an amazing place in the summer and we already have good friends and family there.  After spending time with Jenn & Alex we made the call to stick with our original plan and head for Oregon.

When we returned to CB for the closing week I was a little surprised by the level of emotion.  Every day someone would disappear.  Everyone has their next gig lined up and most were not staying in the valley.  We'd spent all winter making good friends and now we were losing them left and right.  It was a transition I didn't expect to happen so quickly and wasn't fully prepared for.  It's the nature of a seasonal workforce and soon we would be gone too.  We said our farewells as best we could over a beer or dinner or sometimes just in the locker room.  As the Germans say, not good-bye but auf wiedersehen (until we see you again)!

We finished the season at CB with style.  The last day was sunny and a small storm had refreshed the hill.  The skiing was as good as it had been all season.  I skied in the morning with some friends then met up with Laurel.  She hadn't skied the peak yet so with perfect snow we hiked the peak on the last day of the season.  The rest of the day was spent going back to favorite runs and exploring still undiscovered spots.  Ironically I was booked in a private lesson all day but they never showed up so I not only had an amazing day skiing with my wife, I got paid for it!

All smiles after bagging the Peak

Last Chair