The trailhead's near Leadville. We were plannin' it to be pretty darn chilly up there ('Weather is expected to be bitterly cold all weekend, with 45-50 mph winds...'), but it was a whole lot warmer there than in Evergreen. We cut off a mile or two by skiin' straight across the lake, rather than competing with snow-machines for the trail. There were a few ice scares (soggy ice and some cracks), but we managed to make it across.
We spent two nights at the hut, playing around for the day in the middle. We headed in the general direction of Hagerman Pass (~2 miles) on the layover, but got distracted by the steep, deep powder en route. A couple more inches dumped on us overnight. Taking that as an invitation, we dropped through the trees straight down to the lake on the return, rather than taking the slightly more lesiurely trail.
Amy's got some
sweet photos on her website, too.
| Aaron slews skiis across the Turquoise Lake trailhead. |
| Marci shows off that road-skiin' action. |
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| General approach is to ski across the lake. Hut is theoretically visible the whole time, although we didn't see it until we were at the front door. |
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| Marci... |
| I'm not sure what happened here. But they're all ahead of me, and I'm on my knees on the ice. |
| Aaron does something dramatic. |
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| Amy admires the meteorology. |
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| Amy asks a very good question. |
| Marci crunches. |
| Whoa! Wild ice lump! These were all over the place, apparently boulders which then dislodged the ice above them as the lake's water level dropped. |
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| Exposed ice, from a large crack on the lake... |
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| Check out those G3 Siren Telebabes! |
| Amy goes hardcore for the upcoming ascent. |
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| There is excellent ice climbing from the bridge decking. |
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| Final slog up to the hut. The last 200' are extraordinarily steep. I counted about 900 half skinsteps from the base of the steep portion, to the hut. |
| Aaron gets some kitchen action going at that hut. |
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| Dryin' skins... |
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| Marci start going on the Euclid proofs! |
| Time warp: Next morning. Marci handles the breakfast burritos... |
| Jerry is a HS guidance counselor. |
| He shows off fancy card tricks. Check out all those jokers! |
| Snow is scooped... |
| The hut is pretty well buried... |
| Aaron is not holding back on his burrito. |
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| Check out that fine-quality powder! |
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| Mie scattering! Amy and my thesis advisor would be so thrilled... |
| Marci skins up for another run. |
| Aaron is primed for some 10th Mountain action. |
| Marci prepares to drop. |
| Rippin'. |
| Good technique is always the key to safety in the outdoors. |
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| We spend most of the day doing laps up & down the sweet hill... |
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| Back at the hut, the Scrabble comes out. |
| Kitchen personnel stay a safe distance back. |
| Amy's photos are illuminating. |
| Steve lives in Denver and is a champion Scrabbler, with a high score close to the 600 range. (He scored 80 points on his first play in this game.) The tealights brighten up the room, but not the board below them. |
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| Amy explains that it is not necessary that she have more shots from the Platypus. |
| How sweet..... |
| Ick! |
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| The hut at night (back door). |
| The sky at night. Points for finding Mars! |
| Check out the storm between here and the outhouse. |
| The spiked Birks work great for the late-night outhouse runs. |
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| Snow engulfs the hut. |
| Taking off in the AM... |
| We follow a road for a few hundred yards before cruising straight down the ridge. (No photos on the drop, since I planned on taking a healthy number of face plants.) |
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| Aaron heads to the dock, no matter what. |
| Descent route. |
| Sandbars, well below lake level? |
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| Nearing the lake edge. That's a bit of asparagus + red-peppercorn risotto on the camera lens. |
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| Crossing back to the trailhead lot... |
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| Holy moly -- white, organic Cheetohs? (Not from Whole Foods either -- the real, Frito-Lay brand product!) |
| On the drive back, I stop at the Mother Cabrini Shrine, after having passed it hundreds of times and never stopping. |
| Alas, it closes at 5 during the winter. But the good Mother is still visible from below... |
Last modified Tue Feb 28 0:32:27 2006