Kelly and I were going to travel to Pueblo to explore the Teepee Buttes on Saturday. Unfortunately the trip was canceled at the last moment, so we had the day open. Instead of doing nothing, we decided to check out the snow and make this our first trip ski trip of the season.
Kelly had taken Mary (Emma?) for a bike ride in the Heil Ranch last summer, and thought it looked like it might be a good place to ski. Heil Ranch is north of Boulder, a couple miles west of Hwy. 36 in Left Hand Canyon.
We started off bushwhacking to get away from the road to the trail. Unfortunately we ended up in an area that was much too rough for our meager skills and we had to return to the road. On the plus side there was some beautiful scenery off the trail.
We reached the hiking/horse/biking trail about 1/2 mile from the parking area. It really isn't intended for skiing, but that's never stopped us before!
The day was mostly sunny, with a bit of haze and fog. Considering how close it is to home and how early in the season, the snow was not that bad. The trip up the trail was pretty easy, but returning was tricky. The snow was loose on the ground with no packed base to protect skis from submerged rocks. I took a couple of spills including a pretty exciting face plant. Kelly got a bit out of control rounding a corner and ended up laid out in the snow.
I'm looking forward to much more of this stuff. Even when the skiing isn't great, it's still fun.