CALLING ALL GEARHEADS

If you have a room in your house set aside for your outdoor gear... if you and your spouse registered at REI before your wedding....if you head downtown for dinner and drinks, but end up spending happy hour at Mountain Chalet....if you have two interchangeable outfits and one pair of loafers for work and a closetful of Polartec, Gore-Tex and Vibram for play...
You might be the Greatest Gearhead.
And if you’re the Greatest Gearhead, we want to know.
Out There is looking for the Greatest Gearhead. You can nominate yourself or a friend or family member. The winner will be featured in a story and will win prizes.
The Gazette’s Greatest Gearhead cannot be a Gazette employee or employee’s relative. To enter, send name, address and telephone numbers, along with 100 words or fewer that tell us about the Gearhead, to Greatest Gearhead, Out There / Newsroom, The Gazette. P.O. Box 1779, Colorado Springs, CO 80901
Entry deadline is Nov. 18. For more information, call 636-0264 or e-mail deb.acord@gazette.com. - Deb

The measure of a mountain

Here's a new way of thinking about our mountains - in terms of prominence, not elevation. Check out Friday's Out There cover for the newest thoughts from "prominence pioneers" on judging a peak's worthiness. (At left - West Spanish Peak gets high marks for prominence.) - Deb

By the way...

A Basin and Loveland got four inches today. Both have an 18-inch base.

A snow-free Halloween?

On the right is a current picture of Monument. This protrait of misery is relevant farther down. Keep reading.

Growing up in Colorado Springs, one always had to have a back-up cold weather Halloween costume: an Eskimo, a yeti, Sir. Edmund Hillary -- something that could survive the inevitable snow and gale force winds that seem to haunt every trick or treat night on the Front Range. After all, it's no fun to go as a pixie or a surfer and spend the night with your costume covered by a coat.
My mom tells stories about dressing my sister up when she was a tot as a bag of catfood -- just wrapping her up in a blanket and sticking her in the bag.
Those were the days when that sort of stuff was allowed.
I once went as a 10th mtn. ski trooper and actually was able to ski to a few houses.
But not today. Unless you are one of those "don't know any better" new arrivals who moved to Monument where it's always cold and either snowing or hailing, than this is shaping up to be a gorgeous, crisp, blue fall day.
-Dave

A little do-it-yourself project

I admit, I'm a sucker for outdoor-related Christmas ornaments. The little s'more guys wearing goofy ranger hats and toting fishing poles? Got 'em. The tiny smiling Santas stuffed into kayaks? Love 'em. But a replica of a rusted, bent roll of duct tape? That costs more than a roll of real duct tape? We spotted it at REI. What would the Duct Tape Guys think? (http://www.ducttapeguys.com)
- Deb

Speaking of Mary Burger

Here's a funny story about the Ring the Peak Trail she has been working for years to complete. Last year volunteers put out hundreds of plastic trail makers with the RPT insignia on them. But people kept knocking them down. So on the replacement markers, volunteers stuck little American flags, thinking the buffoons who knock over a trail marker might have a bit of a patriotic slant.
It didn't work. The markers are still disappearing, flag or no flag.
-Dave

The award goes to...

We've been lauding the efforts of Mary Burger for years and followed her (panting) on trails that weave through the forest on Pikes Peak. Now, her work is officially noted. Mary, the driving force behind Friends of the Peak, was presented with a Colorado Land Stewardship Award by Volunteers for Outdoor Colorado Thursday night in Denver. The award is given each year to a person or group "who have demonstrated continued inspirational leadership, vision, or personal engagement in the hands-on preservation and enhancement of the mountains, plains and rivers that make Colorado an unparalleled place to live and play."
Whew!
Here's all we have to say: Way to go, Mary.
- Deb

In today's Out There

We have the story of two well-heeled pro kayakers trying to heal Colorado's suburban woes. Their idea is to make mountain towns look like the towns they love again, places like Salida or downtown Aspen.
Which begs the question, what are the great Colorado Mountain towns, based only on layout and feel of the town.
I'm voting for Telluride. Lake City might be a close second.
What do you think?
- Dave

Everyone has their story about the wolf...

And almost all of them have to do with skiing through dog-choking loads of powder.
So just because I'm jonesing to ski, let me tell you mine.
The first time I went to Wolf Creek I stayed down in the San Luis Valley, hoping for fresh snow. When I woke up the next morning, there was about a pinky nail's worth of snow dust on my car and none on the road. Damn.
Well, I thought, maybe there will be an inch or two up the pass. So my wife and I jumped in the car and cruised up, and the snow kept getting deeper, and deeper, and deeper.
And whoa, at the top there were 14 inches of fresh. And it kept snowing all day long.
My wife and I hiked one of the many choice ridges above the waterfalls area. At one point, we came to an untouched bowl leading down into some trees and both hit it on our snowboards full speed.
Now, there are a lot of people who say words like "face shot" and "bottomless" when they mean knee deep. I am not one of those people. I think if I had stepped out of my bindings, I would have sunk in to my cowlick.
But I have no idea, because near the bottom, instead of going in feet first, I overloaded the front of my board and went in head first. After a few seconds of wallowing in the dark, I righted myself.
There was my lovely bride, making turns down to me.
"Man, this is deep-ass snow," she said.
"Yeah, I know" I said.
"No, I mean this snow is so deep it literally comes up to my ass!" she said.
That's a good Wolf Creek day.
- Dave

Wolf Creek wait

Hold on just a little longer. Wolf Creek has delayed its planned opening date. It was set for Nov. 4, but warm temps and sunny skies have gotten in the way.
Check on conditions and a new opening date at www.wolfcreekski.com
- Deb

Birds of paradise

Hikers who stop at Barr Camp might think they are in a Disney movie - you know, the kind where the birds and the animals gather 'round? Neal and Teresa Taylor, the new caretakers, moved in this summer, and for the first time in years, there are no dogs at the camp. Word got out quickly among the forest creatures that this was a canine-free zone. If you sit on the porch, expect to have a chickadee on your head and a chipmunk tugging at your pant leg. - Deb

Friday in Out There

Check out Friday's Gazette where we have the lowdown on one of the coolest housing developments in Colorado. I never thought "coolest" and "development" would every be in the same sentence I typed, but this isn't your typical hatchet job. A brother and sister pair of pro kayakers put together a new section of Buena Vista that looks like the old section, but better because it's built on one of the world's longest kayak parks. Traditional neighborhood. Gnarly play holes.

That's all you are going to get from me today, because I am off to the far weird reaches of north western Colorado on a story tracing the success of the Black Footed Ferret. It went from seven remaining breeding ferrets in 1987 to something close to 1,000 today. Wow.

I'll try to post about seeing the little fur slinkies in action Thursday night. - Dave

Wild life in the city

We aren't afraid to mix our nightlife and our wildlife in Colorado Springs. First it was a coyote, slinking along Cascade Avenue just as the musical "Chicago" let out last month at the Pikes Peak Center. Then, last week, just as people emerged from the B.B. King concert in the same location, a red fox sauntered along the dark street behind the hall. We can't wait to see who shows up for the Pink Floyd tribute show. - Deb

Will this help me look stupid on the slopes too?

The Denver Post did their annual "get fit for ski season" story. No big surprise. They do them. We do them. Everybody does them, but I have to say, the only conditioning I do before the ski season is usually on my hair, and I've never noticed I wasn't ready.
Thank god, because if I had to get cozy with a big blue ball and a sweaty mat in order to hit the slopes, I think I would take up ice fishing.
OK, If you're a schlumpy couch surfer, you might want to hit the ball, but anyone who is relatively active, I say, just keep doing what you are doing.
This weekend I hit the mtn. bike Saturday and went for a long, disastrous hike Sunday.
Good for the legs and the abs, good for the spirit, and I didn't even have to get a gym membership. - Dave

The pitter patter of little leaves

A-Basin had a surprise opening Sunday after deciding they didn't have the snow to open Friday.
It may feel like winter up there, but it's the peak of fall here.
Walking into the new sroom this morning on a perfect, clear, still day, I hear the regular rustle of leaves tapping the pavement. I don't know if it is the cold air after yesterday's clouds, but these guys were falling so fast it sounded like rain. At this rate, they'll all be gone by noon.

Instead of skiing, I tried to get in one last epic "no snow" hike Sunday. On the way up to the Victor area, I stopped at the Donut Mill. It was full of people in ski pants heading up to the Basin.

As for my hike: no good. I wanted to do a 13-mile trail-less bushwack that basically goes from Victor to Penrose. But yesterday, the mountains were so socked in that I couldn't see more than 50 yards. After four miles, I realized (or actually, my wife realized) if we kept going we would finish well after dark. We turned back, vowing to return in June or July. - Dave

What the?

The Colorado Ski Hall of Fame this year inducts five people.
All five are men.
Only two of them are in it for skiing. That's Lou Dawson and Ed Lucks.
The other guys are being recognized for "the business side of snow sports."
Like building lodges.
Couldn't we have a Colorado Ski Industry Hall of Fame so these guys can have an awards dinner without diluting the meaning of the award?
And couldn't we get some girls involved here. I could nominate at least a dozen who can ski my ass off the mountain. - Dave

A Gem of a solution

Twin Owls Trailhead allows access to some of the more picturesque routes in Rocky Mountain National Park, including Gem Lake (at left). But it was a bear getting to the trailhead and actually finding a parking place. That will soon change - the U.S. House of Representatives has passed legislation to adjust the park boundaries to create a better access road and parking area, while still protecting adjacent private property. The act was passed by the Senate in July and will go to President Bush for his signature. For more information, go to www.nps.gov/romo/ - Deb

Plan B for A-Basin

If you were planning on skipping work Friday because you were skiing, I mean sick, it's time to come up with an alternative plan. A-Basin was supposed to open then, but warm temps in the last week caused management to change plans. The area will announce a new opening date when the conditions are right - maybe even this weekend. For up to date information on the opening date, call A-Basin’s snow phone at 1-888-ARAPAHOE (272-7246) or check the ski area’s home page at http://www.arapahoebasin.com/.

The 411 for ditching work to ski Friday

With all this bad weather yesterday, Loveland got 2 new inches of snow, on top of what the guns have been shooting. So skiing could possibly be not all that bad. How's that for a clear, confident statement?
The smart money for Friday is on A-Basin. They probably got the same two inches, it's hard to say since they haven't updated their snow report since May 30, but no one has skied the basin this year. Tomorrow is opening day. So it is untouched. All those snow scrapers known, in the parlance of our time, as gapers haven't shaved the man-made base down to its rocky nubs.
For more info on A-Basin call 1-970-468-0718

what does it take?

O.K. Still wondering if you can jump off the top of Gateway Rock and open your 'chute before the final SPLAT?
According to Wikipedia's page "One way to make a parachute open very quickly is to use a static line or direct bag. These devices form an attachment between the parachute and the jump platform, which stretches out the parachute and suspension lines as the jumper falls, before separating and allowing the parachute to inflate. This method enables the very lowest jumps (below 200ft) to be made, although most BASE jumpers are more motivated to make higher jumps involving free fall."
Since the Gazette reported the height the unfortunate BASE jumper was planning to plummet was 280 feet, he must know what he's doing.
Well, maybe that's going a bit too far.