Boulder, Colorado
Between Christmas and New Year's, we enjoyed the sun and snow of Boulder, Colorado and two ski resorts, Winter Park and Copper Mountain. The scenery and geology around Boulder (elevation 5,430 feet) is beautiful...
Our first day we drove I-70 west and Hwy 40 north over Berthoud Pass (11,315 feet) to Winter Park. This area is in the heart of the Arapaho National Forest and lies on the spine of the enormous Gore Range of the Rocky Mountains.
Skiing Winter Park
Tired but still smilin'
Ken skiing above 12,000 feet had no affect on his sense of humor.
On the second day we took the scenic route west from Boulder out Hwy 119, the Boulder Canyon Road. We stopped near Nederland to enjoy the sun at this enormous, ice-covered reservoir behind Barker Dam.
Ken at Barker Meadow reservoir
Driving through the incredible Eisenhower Tunnel on Interstate 70... at an elevation of 11,158 feet! It is the highest vehicular tunnel in the world! Ask Ken how it feels to drive it twice in one 12-hour day at high elevation after skiing, with a snowstorm, and a traffic jam. Wow!
We stopped at Breckenridge, but it was really huge and crowded like a Disney Land of ski areas, so we kept movin' west toward Copper Mountain, a high peak that juts southward between Vail and Breckenridge.
Although it is the largest ski area around, it is known as a local's mountain rather than a popular (and populous) tourist destination. Just our style! It was quite beautiful, with some incredible expert-only bowls for Ken and some long, high, challenging green and blue terrain for me.
This was the highest elevation I have ever been skiing... more than 11,500 feet!
Driving back to Boulder in a blowing snowstorm
The next day we slept in and rested our quads and hamstrings from all the skiing, cruised around the lovely town of Boulder, and visited downtown Denver before our flight back to Seattle in the afternoon. The sky was clear and sunny as we left the mountains of Colorado behind.
Our first day we drove I-70 west and Hwy 40 north over Berthoud Pass (11,315 feet) to Winter Park. This area is in the heart of the Arapaho National Forest and lies on the spine of the enormous Gore Range of the Rocky Mountains.
Skiing Winter Park
Tired but still smilin'
Ken skiing above 12,000 feet had no affect on his sense of humor.
On the second day we took the scenic route west from Boulder out Hwy 119, the Boulder Canyon Road. We stopped near Nederland to enjoy the sun at this enormous, ice-covered reservoir behind Barker Dam.
Ken at Barker Meadow reservoir
Driving through the incredible Eisenhower Tunnel on Interstate 70... at an elevation of 11,158 feet! It is the highest vehicular tunnel in the world! Ask Ken how it feels to drive it twice in one 12-hour day at high elevation after skiing, with a snowstorm, and a traffic jam. Wow!
We stopped at Breckenridge, but it was really huge and crowded like a Disney Land of ski areas, so we kept movin' west toward Copper Mountain, a high peak that juts southward between Vail and Breckenridge.
Although it is the largest ski area around, it is known as a local's mountain rather than a popular (and populous) tourist destination. Just our style! It was quite beautiful, with some incredible expert-only bowls for Ken and some long, high, challenging green and blue terrain for me.
This was the highest elevation I have ever been skiing... more than 11,500 feet!
Driving back to Boulder in a blowing snowstorm
The next day we slept in and rested our quads and hamstrings from all the skiing, cruised around the lovely town of Boulder, and visited downtown Denver before our flight back to Seattle in the afternoon. The sky was clear and sunny as we left the mountains of Colorado behind.
posted by jade rhino at 8:45 PM
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