A Walk in the Snow

For this weekend, traditionally marking the beginning of summer, I got it in my head to see the last bit of snow up the mountains. It's been lingering up there, and after the cold and rain a couple days ago, we could swear there was a bit more.

Figured I might drive up to the ski basin, see the snow, and then go to Aspen Vista for a hike. But once I got up there, noticed people out hiking, including a couple with snowboards. So got my gear, my poles, and headed out with an eye to making it to the summit.



Started out the trail I saw the snowboarders head up; runs under one of the chair lifts, but it quickly got rocky and impassible. Ducked over to follow another lift, but soon I couldn't follow that either. So just worked my way over to the main run and followed that.

Mud and runoff lower, but at a certain point there was still a few inches of snow. Closer to the top, that's all there was to walk on. Granular and slippery, it got exponentially slower going, with the increase in grade and my fatigue. But made it to the top — 12,075 feet (not sure where I started) in about 45 minutes.



Breezy up there, but with an extra layer, nice enough to sit and have a snack. And I had the peak to myself, until a saw a figure walking down from the path up to the cell phone towers (even higher). He arrived at the ski lift, dropped his pack, and went to the edge to make a call.



Back down, about 30 minutes. That first part was pretty slippery, with plenty of sliding down the snow.



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We spent the afternoon out hiking in Los Alamos yesterday; will post about that later. Off to Stacy and Jim's for a barbecue shortly.