Our house in NH is finally sold so we are officially homeless! On our trip to NH to clean out we had a conversation about where we now call home and decided that home is where the dogs are. As long as we are all together, we are home.
Back to our trip update since Copper. We haven’t had cell service the last couple nights so this is going to be a long post. I am not going to get the pictures up until tomorrow so check back if they aren’t up.
Home was parked in Frisco, CO Saturday night. Sunday was again fairly cold and windy and we had no interest in enduring more weekend crowds at Copper. We did some shopping in Silverthorne, CO for things we discovered we needed (e.g. “lingerie” wash bags from Walmart make great mesh bags to hang various things in the closet). With no particular destination in mind we decided to go back to the Frisco parking lot.
When we got back I had to do some work on the van. As I mentioned, in the bitter cold of Vail Pass our water froze. The water line runs from the tank in the basement (what we call the area under the bed) under the toilet cabinet, and through the bottom of the galley then up to the pump. I suspected the freezing was happening under the toilet cabinet. Unfortunately, that area was completely inaccessible because we put a crosswise brace under the toilet. Fortunately, we brought a drill and a hole saw in our very limited tool kit. I took the hole saw and drilled four holes along the brace under the toilet so we could at least get some air in there.
I had planned to get a hair dryer on our shopping trip but I didn’t really want to burn battery for that if I could avoid it. Instead, I took the air tube off the heater intake and put it on the blower end. The tube was actually intended as a hot air tube so it can handle the heat. I then snaked the tube under the toilet to blow through my new holes. It only took a few minutes and the water was flowing again. Problem solved for now.
After that project we headed out for a hike. The trail next to our parking spot leads to a trail up Mt. Royal, which we figured would have a beautiful view down to Frisco and the surrounding area. We were not entirely sure Tanzi would be up for it as it was described as a very hard and steep hike (2 miles and 1400′ up), but we decided to start up and see how she did. She was amazing. No matter how tired she sometimes acts lounging around the house or van she always comes alive out in the mountains. When we hit the top ridge the wind was howling (gusts up to 40 mph) and with temps around 10 degrees I was starting to get frostbite while taking pictures. It was getting late in the afternoon but the sun still hit the ridge and we had a gorgeous view of the surrounding mountains.
We spent Sunday night again in the Frisco parking lot. I put the heater air tube under the toilet again and even though it was -2 deg. outside when I checked, the water was fine.
On Monday morning we stopped at an auto glass place because when we were driving through Glenwood Canyon a rock thrown from the upper westbound deck chipped the window. It was right up in the top corner and we did not even see it until it started cracking with the hot/cold cycles in the van. Unfortunately the guys said the crack had already grown too much to repair. The poor Hund is less than 6 months old and already needs a new windshield!
After that bit of bad news we headed over to Winter Park. As we had a late start we just spent a bunch of time lapping Parsenn Bowl. We managed to find some decent snow left over from the last storms or blown in by the winds and had a great afternoon.
On Monday night we drove up a road just out of Winter Park along Vasquez Creek. The road turns to Nat. Forest land just outside of town and they keep it plowed for a few miles. They even plow out spots along the way for parking/camping, though on a Monday night we were the only ones around. We enjoyed a nice moonlight hike with the hunds before bed. We saw a lot of moose sign, but fortunately we did not run into a moose in the dark.
The next morning Sara and Kenai went for a cross country ski on the snowmobile trail at the end of the road. Boy does that dog like to run. Sara took some video of them coming down and he stays a step ahead even as she skis down. Back at Winter Park we knew we wanted to head out to Vasquez Cirque (presumably at the top of Vasquez Creek where we camped) for at least a run. They run a cat service as a shuttle or you can walk. We walked.
The sign says it is about a mile. At 12,000′ a mile in the snow is a pretty good walk, but we managed fine. The cirque still held some great snow from the week before, and, even though the main head wall is fairly short, the walk was well worth it. I found a steep line right on the shoulder of a rock outcropping with a solid 12″ of completely untouched snow for some of my best turns of the year. Sara went further along the cirque and ended up on a line that had more traffic so the snow was nearly moguled out. The run out of the cirque is a long gully that winds though the trees. To get back to the top is another two lift rides. Our options were to just keep lapping runs on the front side or walk our asses back out to the cirque for another run. It was worth it. We went.
This time I convinced Sara to follow me and we both got to rip the steeper powder line. Despite seeing a lot of traffic heading out to the cirque no one was dropping the same line so we still had amazing snow. Yep, it was definitely worth it!
Last night, Tuesday night, we stopped in Idaho Springs at the Indian Springs Resort for a shower and hot tub. Five days for those of you scoring at home. After our soak we drove to the east portal of the Moffet Tunnel where the railroad goes under the Continental Divide. We camped in the parking lot right next to the tracks. Only two trains went by in the night and we went right back to sleep.
I’m going to add a blog post specifically about the Moffet Tunnel because we had a fun experience this morning that I want to share. Check back for that soon.
Today we rode at Eldora. They are definitely still suffering from the low snow year here and it was obvious they needed more coverage. We just cruised a bunch of groomers today and practiced riding switch.
Tonight we are camped alone in the Medicine Bow-Routt Nat. Forest at the top of Rabbit Ears Pass near Steamboat. The moon is nearly full, the air is cold, and the heater is running. #vanlife
Great commentary and pictures. You four are obviously finding great snow and places to hike/snowboard!
Great update! The pictures are awesome.