Clark Peak Yurt

We just got back from a weekend trip to the Clark Peark Yurt in the Colorado State Forest State Park. Unfortunately, this post is light on pictures because I dropped my camera Saturday night. It still works for the most part, but I didn't feel like fussing with it.

The weather was awesome. Saturday night we got a little bit of snow, and Sunday was full of calm blue skies. An absolutely beautiful day to be out in the snow. Owen, Erin, and I went up to Ruby Jewel lake where we enjoyed an amazing view of the mountains. Owen is a walking map, and it's always great to have him point out and name all the mountains we can see. From our vantage point at Ruby Jewel, we could see all the way to the Flat Tops.

The evenings were full of drinking, card games, and laughing. I don't think I won a game of Uno all weekend, but Owen and I did manage to beat Christine and Erin at euchre (after the slaughtered us the previous game).

Good times. Now it's time to rest for the evening and the bid farewell to my London bound wife. Bachelor life for me again. :(

A self portrait at the yurt:



*Edit*
Owen posted some of his pictures from the trip. He brought his Canon Rebel XT with a wide angle lens
http://www.flickr.com/photos/orichard2001/sets/72157613921728383/

Here are a few favorites
I can't believe how blue the sky is:

Kuzca and her Kong

Not only is it a good treat distribution device, it doubles as a pillow:


"Oh how I wish someone would fill this thing up" she dreams.

Ski day for the reconstructed

Christine and I packed up the party mobile this morning and took to the slopes of Loveland. I, with my modified eyes and clavicle, her with her modified hip. The traffic was surprisingly light this morning. I'm not sure if it was because of the lack of snow, or the proximity to a holiday weekend, or whatever. It was pretty nice though. Crowds on the slope were nil.

We thought it best not to push Christine's new hip too much and we threw in the towel after a half day. Then we drove to the top of Loveland Pass and ran around with Kuzca (and some wicked wind).

(Note for anyone local going to Loveland: There's a Loveland coupon in the E-book: 2 adult tickets for $70. I think E-books are still available at King Soopers for $10.)

Skiing. Finally

I finally got out for my first ski day of the season last Saturday. Jeff Kehoe and I went up to Hotdog Bowl and enjoyed a day without sharing the trail with anyone else. It was pretty awesome. Neither of us know the trail, so we sort of made it up as we went along until we got to the bowl.

Avalanche danger was a little sketchy so we were careful to avoid high angle slopes and picked our routes carefully. We ended up climbing to the top of a ridge and enjoyed an amazing view on a clear day before skiing back to the car. It was more of a touring day than a ski day, and it was quite fun.

Nokhu Craigs:


Untracked Snow:


Evidence of recent avalanche activity:


Self portrait