Skiing Arapaho Lakes

It snowed hard in Denver Wednesday night into Thursday with more than 12 inches in my yard. Plans were hatched to ditch work on Friday and ski powder.

Today, Scott E., Scott J., and I toured from the East Portal to the Arapaho Lakes in the James Peak Wilderness. On the drive to the trailhead we all expressed hope that the terrain we were to ski picked up much needed snowfall from the recent storm, but upon arrival we realized the storm favored areas further east of the Continental Divide and dropped maybe six inches of fresh on the zone. Nevertheless, it was a bluebird day, hand-numbingly cold when we left the truck but warm once the sun climbed above the mountains.

We spent maybe two hours leisurely following the existing skin track, meandering through the trees, heading up and generally to the north and west, until we found ourselves above treeline and staring at the Continental Divide. We found a spot both in the sun and sheltered from the wind and sat down for a break. I enjoyed a Thermos of hot tea before peeling my skins, buckling my boots, and stepping back into my bindings.

The view from the turnaround (it didn't suck)

We descended a few short pitches of wind-affected snow before skiing across a frozen lake and reaching the denser trees that we had passed through earlier in the day. Here, the snow conditions improved significantly, as these trees protected the snow from two powerful change agents - wind and solar radiation. The result was fluffy, knee-deep snow all the way back to the skin track at the bottom of the valley!

To me, there's not much better than spending time in the backcountry/with friends/skiing powder/followed by drinking beers/on a "workday." I'd guess we covered six to eight miles and 2,000 feet of vert roundtrip.

That being said, we've had less than stellar snowfall totals so far this season. Last year's strong La Niña conditions (cooler than average sea surface temperatures in the Eastern Pacific) resulted in record-breaking snowfall totals across the state (Vail received 524 inches last season). It truly was an epic season. I, for one, am praying to Ullr (the Norse God of Snow) for an equally epic season for 2011/12, and I urge you to do the same!

Ullr, the Norse God of Snow