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