Blue sky but the park is icey @keystonemtn

Freshies on gassy thompson @keystonemtn

What the hell is don cherry wearing?

$1 tacos are a ski bum's staple food source, second only to beer

Another blue sky day @keystonemtn

Its cold in sumco today, -35F wind chill forecast for tonight!

Blue sky day, trough ahead of the weather front, take advantage while you can

Storm is finally getting close to keystone, should be snowy

Blizzard of '10 - Dillon/Silverthorne CO

So I headed up to Keystone on Tuesday on a whim, hoping I'd be able to get my pass and figure out some details of my employee housing. I had enough foresight to grab my board and some clothes/gear, but didn't really intend on using/needing them. BOY WAS I WRONG!

After taking care of some business and renewing my pass, I decided to hit the slopes for a few laps. It was overcast and there were a few inches of new snow, but nothing major and there was little wind. I left the hill around 3pm, and by 3:15 at my car I was standing in a major whiteout. A blizzard came booming into the Dillon valley and we were bombarded with at least 6" of snow and 60+mph winds, making visibility essentially zero.

I knew the pass would be closed, so I headed towards I-70. It took me 45 mins to make it the easy 6 miles into town, and on the way I heard about the severity of the storm on the radio. Assuming I'd be stuck for a while, I decided Ruby Tuesday was the best stop to bed down, and I hit up the bar where you can still get happy hour in a storm! I was the first of MANY stranded travelers to arrive, and we all just sat and told our stories while the weather died down outside.

After a few hours, around 6pm, the weather had lifted considerably, but I-70 was closed from Vail to Idaho Springs, and getting back to Denver was out of the question. I was fortunate enough to make a friend at the bar, Steve, who was kind enough to offer me a bed and his Jeep. "$$ck it, lets go party!" I said. We bounced around a few bars in Dillon looking for a crowd, but eventually settled on heading back to Breck, closer to people and his condo. The Dillon dam road eventually opened again, and we pulled into Breck just before 10pm. We settled in at Jake's Dive Bar on the strip, and proceeded to commiserate with the locals over the course of SEVERAL drinks.

Steve's place turned out to be more than it was cracked up to be, and I was put up in first class accommodations in my own room, king size bed, full kitchen and hot tub. And the best part - IT WAS FREE!!! Steve also turned out to be a great host and he's restored my faith that you CAN trust a stranger, especially in a pinch.

Anyway, it was quite a night and it worked out extremely well given the circumstances. Kinda makes me want to get stuck more often . . .

Day 1: Keystone

First gondola ride of the season . . . and what a season it will be! Having gotten started this year a FULL MONTH later than last season, I had limited expectations. That being said, once I arrived at Keystone at around 1pm on Tuesday, I found the snow to be quite good for this early on. There were very few thin spots and there was a bit of fresh blown topcover - not quite powder but getting there. I took 3 runs after stopping at HR and the New Moon to try and patch things up with work. Great first day! The outback bowl will open up tomorrow and so does Vail, so my hope is that everyone heads west and I have Keystone to myself.

One observation - it was snowing very hard on Tuesday afternoon, and it eventually turned into a whiteout by 3pm, closing every road into and out of Silverthorne and Dillon. Despite the weather and it being a weekday, there were still DOZENS of people riding at Loveland pass. The upper and lower lots were completely full, and there seemed to be throngs of people with inappropriate gear clinging to the sides of trucks on the way up. Was I ever this sketchy doing this over the last few years? Well, one thing is for sure, that spot has blown up, and either its gonna get shut down or somebody is gonna die, or both. Too bad really, I love Loveland Pass, but perhaps its time to branch out . . .

Until next time!

I'm BAAAAACK

Well it has been a great summer but I'm ready for the snow to fly! This year will bring some great new additions to Explore13S, including detailed trip reports from the summer climbing season, where I bagged 11 CO 14ers in two months! Trip reports are currently available on 14ers.com but I'll be editing and reposting them here.

Also, I have accepted a position at the Keystone Ski School for the 2010/11 season, and I am incredibly excited to be this close to the action this year. I will be performing regular daily updates via twitter/facebook/linkedin and this blog, focusing on Summit County snow/weather conditions and local events.

100+ days or BUST!!!