If you missed them, a look a Breck's snow sculptures

The 2006 Budweiser Select International Snow Sculpture Championship which concluded this weekend in Breck brought an amazing array of competition from around the world this year. And hey... The local guys, team Breck, won. These photos are courtesy of GoBreck.com. See the whole gallery here.
-Dave

Team Breck's "Discover

Team Switzerland's "Somersault."

Team Germany's "Coming Home"

Czech Republic's "elephant place"

Team New York's "natural grace"

Hey, ditch work alert! Free skiing!

SKI FREE AT MONARCH! Monday Febuary 13th is a free ski day (lift tickets at no cost) for everyone. No strings attatched. No voucher needed. Just bring yer skis and get ready for some great snow.
-Dave

Free the Fourteener Four! Err... Five, well, maybe six.

The Gazette reported today that the Colorado House of Representatives unanimously approved a measure to limit liability of land-owners on 14,000-foot peaks. The bill will let private land-owners open their property to hikers without worrying about getting sued if someone falls and breaks his melon.

The bill now goes to the Senate, where, if the House is any indication, it will pass handily.

The legislative move is meant to patch up a scrape that happened in the summer of 2005 when mine claim owners on four fourteeners near Alma (Lincoln, Democrat, Brass, and Cameron) posted "no trespassing" signs at trailheads. The move caused a big kerfuffle in the press with people asking "how many more mountains would be closed?" and "Will people still visit Colorado if they can't climb the famous fourteeners?"
The truth on the ground was that there were no "no trespassing" signs and dozens of people a day were climbing the banned peaks. And Cameron isn't counted as a fourteener anymore that a particularly large mole is counted as a head.
Anyway, all the talk lit a fire under the legislature, which, from a hiking point of view, can only be a good thing.
One can only hope it will re-open the four fourteeners already mentioned, and also one that usually escapes mention: Wilson Peak near Telluride, which has been closed for a few years because the summit is surrounded by mining claims. Mount Sherman is also in the private land club, but so far has remained open.
-Dave

Dream of wearing the Smoky the Bear hat?

Now is your chance.*
Learn the joys and rewards of becoming a Naturalist Docent volunteer at Bear Creek and Fountain Creek Nature Centers in Colorado Springs. Volunteer positions as environmental education program leaders are available now at both nature centers. Anyone interested in the training class should contact Paula Megorden at Bear Creek Nature Center, 520-6388, by February 10, 2006

-Dave
* actually, since the parks are not part of the National Parks Service, you don't get to wear the funny hat, but you might get a neat pin.

Eldora trip report

My wife has been in Colorado for seven years now and she has skied just about every ski area in the state. She's so close, in fact, that she's trying to knock the last few off her list this winter.

Which explains what brought us to Eldora on Sunday.

We should have known what we were getting into: By the time we got to Nederland, the wind was blowing so hard that we frequently couldn't see the road because of blowing snow. It was no better at the mountain. The chairlifts were swaying in the gale and I had to cover the ear flaps on my helmet to keep my ear drums from freezing.

We would have just turned around and headed home but... the snow was actually pretty good. Especially back in the trees and glades all the way on skier's left at the edge of the ski area.

So we skied, shivered, skied, shivered and went into the Lookout restaurant to warm up. Then we took one more run and returned to the top to find the glades roped off. We headed off to find another run and found that the whole darn mountain was roped off, except for one of the double chairs up the kiddie hill. And that had a 10 minute wait to get on.

Thus, after all of two hours of skiing, we headed for home with another mountain crossed off our list, but not much else accomplished.

-- Andy Wineke

A really big fish

A morning temperature of -29 degrees didn't stop some fishing friends from heading to Eleven Mile Reservoir last week. And their disregard for the cold paid off. Noel Kessler of Colorado Springs caught this 38-inch trophy northern pike within 10 minutes of drilling a hole in the ice. His friend, Darrell Lindquist, also got lucky, catching a 27-inch pike that day. The friends, who were with Terry McKenna (who took the picture) have been fishing at Eleven Mile for years, going an average of once a week year-round. Lindquist reports this fish is going on the wall.
- Deb

My dear colleague turned guest blogger Joanna Bean hit the slopes this weekend. Here's her report:

My kids, ages 6 and 10, have been raised on Colorado packed powder. For them, a powder day has been a rare thing, usually just a dusting of snow that's gone by 10 a.m. Until this year. There was a foot (!) of fresh snow to greet us at Monarch on Sunday morning, and it snowed all day. My kids were utterly delighted - and a little perplexed.
Here are a few things they learned:
1. Zip all zippers, fasten all Velcro, snap all snaps before heading up the lift. Snow this deep - with more falling all day - ends up everywhere. My 10-year-old daughter learned the value (during our lunchbreak) of tucking some of her layers into her pants before heading back out.
2. Carry tissues or a hanky. Epic snow means epic wipeouts.
3. Keep track of your skis when they're on your feet. If you step out of a binding or fall, don't move too far away. It can be tricky trying to find a wayward ski under a foot of powder.
4. It takes a lot of work to make turns and pole your way through the flats when there's this much snow. Frequent rests and breaks are a good thing.
5. Hot cocoa tastes especially good when you come into the lodge looking like a snowman.

-Joanna

Winter drama

Why I like Rocky Mountain Park best in the winter: The elk outnumber the humans. I took these pictures Saturday afternoon. Hundreds of elk grazed in Moraine Park. The wind blew in 50-m.p.h gusts at Bear Lake and swirled dramatically around Hallett's and Longs Peak.
- Deb

Jesus saves! Well, good luck with that.

This little tidbit from Lou Dawson's blog, WildSnow.com
"When they had the parking and crowd problems up at Loveland Pass a few weeks ago, a USFS ranger confronted one of the ravers with questions about carrying an avalanche beacon. Their reply: “Jesus is my beacon.” As a Christian, I’d like to share with that guy that he needs to study his theology. While similarities exist, there is a big difference between Jesus and an avalanche beacon. That kind of statement reminds me of when I meet people skiing solo with dogs in the backcountry, and they claim fido will dig them out if they get buried. While I’m somewhat of a mystic and believe that spiritual forces operate in the natural realm, I’d say carry the beacon — and pray. As for dogs digging you out alive if you’re truly buried. Delusional at best. "

Echo ain't helpin' the slacker snowboarder image

Echo Mountain Park, the "all terrain park, all the time" resort near Evergreen that was supposed to open in December, then January, is still not open.
Dude, what a buzz kill.
The weekly progress update on the Web Site is not particularly encouraging:

"Needed elements are slowly falling together.…No opening date set yet, but we’re inching closer… "

This is exactly the type of knuckle-dragging slacker attitude that gave rise to all those 1990s snowboarding jokes, such as:

Three snowboarders are in a car, who's driving? The cops.

How many snow board instructors does it take to change a lightbulb?
Three - one to hold it, one to video tape it and the other to say "AWESOME DUDE!"
What do you call a snowboarder with no girlfriend/boyfriend?
Homeless

Etc. Etc. Etc.

-Dave

Something that didn't get into out Out There Calendar: Pikes Peak White Water Club will be hosting a "Introduction to Kayaking" Slide Presentation at Christy Sports (1808 N Academy, 597-5222) on Monday, January 30th at 7 p.m.
All are welcome at the hour-long slide show about whitewater kayaking in Colorado accompanied by a talk about how to get started in the sport. Club members will cover the basics on what type of rivers are available on the front range, kayaking equipment, classes available to learn, and safety.Christy Sport will have kayaking equipment available on site for all to see.

-Dave

Hooray for Wolf Creek

Wolf Creek has been univited to much of this season's big fat snow party. Now, the area is finally getting some of the white stuff. It snowed a foot there today. Check it out on one of the coolest Web cams around - it's streaming video that shows the lifts moving, skiers skiing and flags waving. You could even see it snowing today. - Deb

X rated

Winter X Games 10 start Saturday at Buttermilk at Aspen/Snowmass. In case you don't know where that is, the EXPN network offers this explanation on their Web site:
"All competitions are going down at Buttermilk Mountain at Aspen/Snowmass (39.19N/106.83W), in the fine state of Colorado, in the Western United States, on the Continent of North America, in the Northern Hemisphere of the planet Earth, in the Milky Way galaxy, amidst globular star clusters, black holes, and nebulas formed from the gases of exploded stars."
The games feature more than 230 athletes competing in Moto X, skiing, snowboarding and SnoCross events. Among those to watch: Blair Morgan, (pictured) who is the "old man" of SnoCross at age 30. - Deb

Fashion forward

So I was reading about the fashion show at the SnowSports Industries America trade show taking place this week in Las Vegas (yes, there was a fashion show), and I started feeling kind of guilty. Just last week, a friend and I were making not-so-nice comments about a woman wearing a psychedelic '80s-era Pucci-esque ski jacket at Copper Mountain. Now I find out that Pucci is back. In fact, the designer has teamed with Rossignol (check out this season's Pucci-designed Rossi skis here) and next season will introduce, you guessed it, a Pucci-printed suit. That's right, one-piece suits are also coming back, but they aren't the ones you've seen in the lift lines this year - all shiny and usually too tight, cinched in at the waist and puffy in the shoulders. Along with Rossignol, Roxy and Burton are in on the one-piece act, but you can bet their versions won't invoke memories of the disco floor. - Deb

Maybe not that part of Switzerland

President Theodore Roosevelt once said, "Passing through your wonderful mountains and canyons I realize that this state is going to be more and more the playground for the whole republic... You will see this the real Switzerland of America." We don't like to brag, but Switzerland has 10 peaks "close to or higher than 13,000 feet" while Colorado has nearly 600 that are 13,000 feet or higher. Still, the Matterhorn (pictured here) is hard to beat.
- Deb

Let's get this straight

Earlier today, we talked about Colorado's fourteeners on which trails cross private property or mining claims. We got the story right about legislation that could once again give hikers access, but we didn't list the right peaks. The information, supplied by the Associated Press, lists Mount Cameron, which isn't a recognized fourteener on the official list of 54, and missed Mount Sherman, 14,036 feet. And seasoned climbers know it's Mount Wilson, at 12,246 feet, not Wilson Peak.
And another thing: Let's start using the new elevations for the peaks, as determined by the National Geodetic Survey: Lincoln has grown to 14,293 feet. Can you handle that? I'm actually having a hard time readjusting to Pikes Peak's new, loftier elevation.

- Deb

About boundaries

You're skiing, say, Keystone. The trails are crowded, or you're looking for a new thrill, or you consider yourself a rebel. So you jump the rope and you're outside the ski area, on national forest land. Is that your right?
The U.S. Forest Service doesn't go that far, but spokesman Matt Mathes did tell the Associated Press Monday, "We do not consider it a crime to leave the permit area. It goes against our grain to close the national forests."
But last month, the Summit County sheriff issued citations for violations to the state's Ski Safety Act, with $300 fines to two snowboarders who were lost outside Keystone's boundaries. The sheriff, John Minor, doesn't just believe people should be punished for jumping ropes. He wants that fine to be raised to $500. What do you think - do you side with the sheriff, who says he's trying to prevent costly and often life-threatening rescues? Or do you think he's gone too far?
- Deb

Open again?

Recently, the "L" word threatened the hopes and dreams of peak-baggers. Access to Mount Lincoln (above), 14,286 feet , and five other fourteeners covered partly by private land or mining permits had been closed to hikers because owners had become worried about liability. But the future for those who hadn't crossed those peaks off their list is suddenly brighter. On Monday, Colorado lawmakers gave preliminary approval to a bill that would ease those worries and open the path to hikers again. The bill would relieve landowners of liability as long as there is a marked trail around abandoned mines and warning signs. It's not a sure thing, however. The law would allow but not require landowners to grant access without fear of being sued. For the complete AP story, check out www.gazette.com
Can you name the other fourteeners where access is limited by private property?
Mount Lincoln, 14,286 feet
Mount Cameron, 14,238 feet
Mount Bross, 14,172 feet
Mount Democrat, 14,148 feet
Culebra Peak, 14,047 feet
Wilson Peak, 14,017 feet
- Deb

It's the team

Here they are - members of the 2006 U.S. Snowboard Olympic Team. And here is the team's official hat, modeled by member Seth Wescott. The team features two Coloradans, Jason Smith of Basalt and Gretchen Bleiler of Aspen-Snowmass, along with halfpipe superstar Shaun White and snowboardcross world champions Wescott and Lindsey Jacobellis. The team was announced Sunday at the end of the final qualifying event, the Chevrolet U.S. Snowboard Grand Prix. See more at www.ussnowboarding.com

Take a Hike

I needed to get out Sunday, but I wanted to watch the Broncos game, so headed for Waldo Canyon. It's a decent pressed-for-time outing with beautiful views.

The parking lot was about half full when I got there about 9 and the same when I left at noon. Perfect! I passed a couple dozen people coming and going - some running, one biking, a few strolling - and a half-dozen dogs having a GREAT day in the snow.

If you go, watch for ice on the east faces where snow has melted and then frozen overnight. There's still plenty of fluff about a half-mile in, so if you're hiking with a friend, get ready for flying snowballs.

If you were out on local trails over the weekend or are lucky enough to get out today, send in trail conditions. - Dena (Deb's and Dave's editor)