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Rafters use the term “bony” to describe a trickling river low enough to cause the boat to bump along the rocks below.
Until recently, it would also be a great way to describe our recreational snow levels. Before the last couple of weeks, even the state’s highest peaks, the famous 14ers, were dusted, not coated, with snow. Northern Colorado’s most reliable places, such as Cameron Pass or Rocky Mountain National Park, were down and had many bare spots on their most popular trails. The snowshoes, for the most part, stayed in the trunks even on winter hikes.
Now winter’s made a comeback of sorts. The state’s not exactly flush with snow, but with snowshoeing, all you need is a layer to cover the cake, not the dumps that the ski resorts need to keep things fresh. And the point may be moot. As of press time, another storm was expected to dump even more snow across the area. A lot of it.
“With snowshoeing, it just takes a little refresher here and there,” said Joel Gratz, the owner of OpenSnow, a website that forecasts snow levels for not only Colorado but across the country. “One layer can really help.”
Though a storm this weekend may add to the layers, even with the snow in the last two weeks, the snowpack is down. Northern Colorado is 75 percent of average, Gratz said, and others agree. Chris Tomer, meterologist for Fox 31 who specializes in mountain snowpack and an avid hiker and climber, said he would think the snow was down just from the trips he’s taken almost every week, let alone his forecasts.
“Even if we get hit with an incredibly snowy future, it’s not likely that our snowpack will hit 100 percent by May 1,” Tomer said. “It’s too hard to play catch-up this late in the game.”
But perhaps to prove the point that just a couple storms can get things right again, Rocky Mountain National Park had a “lot of happy faces” last weekend, said Sue Langdon, a ranger with the park who leads snowshoe hikes as a part of her many duties. The park isn’t 100 percent of normal, but that didn’t matter Sunday.
“I broke trail with my snowshoe walk Sunday,” she said. “It’s just one of those things.”
The snows actually came early — remember the big storm before Halloween? — but then died down for a while. That was still enough to give RMNP a nice base, so it wasn’t as bad as other areas. Bear Lake was at 96 percent even near the end of December. But the problem with many of the park’s more popular trails, or any popular trails, is they can get icy and beaten down, which can sap the fun out of snowshoeing or skiing. Those refreshers help, but part of the joy of snowshoeing is you can wander off trail. In fact, some of the winter routes aren’t the same as the summer hikes. It can be a bit disconcerting: A snowshoe to Mills Lake, for instance, does not go by Alberta Falls.
“That’s the common misconception,” Langdon said. “Sometimes going off those summer routes may be safer.”
It can, of course, also be more dangerous, which is why those who do travel deeper should have good route finding skills. The park marks trees with orange metal tabs, but those may be unreliable, especially given that the pine beetle’s wiped many of those out.
The storm, expected to hit late afternoon Thursday into today, may turn some nearby areas into snowshoe trails, including some parks in Greeley (Josephine Jones, 2631 52nd Ave. Court, comes to mind the most), the Poudre Trail and the many natural areas of Fort Collins and Larimer County.
“We have several visitors that enjoy the recreational opportunity of snowshoeing, but it has to be timed with recent snowfall,” said Travis Rollins, open space visitor services manager for Larimer County’s Natural Resources. “This winter we have not had much snowfall, and what we have had has melted soon after falling. The best snowshoeing at this elevation occurs soon after a large snowfall. Let’s cross our fingers and maybe we will get a few more large snowfalls this winter.”
The elevation of many of the places can reach 6,500 feet and include the popular Horsetooth Rock and Falls hikes.
Kristin Powell, Lead Ranger for the City of Fort Collins Natural Areas Department, suggests the Valley Loop trail in Bobcat Ridge when there’s snow (fingers may not have to be crossed for that). A trip to Mahoney Park in the Bobcat can equal more than 10 miles if you’re more ambitious.
Cameron Pass, which normally features some of the best snow within a two-hour drive from Greeley, was as low as many of the others right up until mid-January. The trails were icy and even had dry spots on popular trails such as Blue Lake, said Lucas Mouttet, patrol director with the Diamond Peaks National Ski Patrol.
“After these last storms, it’s wonderful, new, soft snow,” Mouttet said. “As long as they keep coming through, conditions should be great. But another couple weeks of no snow will turn it back to what it was.”
Regardless of whether another storm hits, there’s enough snow that it’s changed things for a while, especially in the mountains and up in the 13ers and 14ers.
“This shouldn’t be the winter where you try to climb your first peak,” said Tomer, Fox’s meterologist.
That doesn’t have to matter to have a good time, said Langdon, the national park ranger.
“Just putting on snowshoes and going for a walk around Bear Lake is a big adventure for some,” she said.
Dan England has climbed more than 150 peaks, including all of the state’s 54 14ers, and logged thousands of miles on Colorado’s great trails. He is the Adventure editor and also covers entertainment for The Tribune. He also occasionally guides hikes and snowshoes, mostly 14ers. He can be reached at dengland@greeleytribune.com or (970) 352-0211, ext. 11225, or (970) 392-4418 if you have a suggestion for a trail.
Until recently, it would also be a great way to describe our recreational snow levels. Before the last couple of weeks, even the state’s highest peaks, the famous 14ers, were dusted, not coated, with snow. Northern Colorado’s most reliable places, such as Cameron Pass or Rocky Mountain National Park, were down and had many bare spots on their most popular trails. The snowshoes, for the most part, stayed in the trunks even on winter hikes.
Now winter’s made a comeback of sorts. The state’s not exactly flush with snow, but with snowshoeing, all you need is a layer to cover the cake, not the dumps that the ski resorts need to keep things fresh. And the point may be moot. As of press time, another storm was expected to dump even more snow across the area. A lot of it.
“With snowshoeing, it just takes a little refresher here and there,” said Joel Gratz, the owner of OpenSnow, a website that forecasts snow levels for not only Colorado but across the country. “One layer can really help.”
Though a storm this weekend may add to the layers, even with the snow in the last two weeks, the snowpack is down. Northern Colorado is 75 percent of average, Gratz said, and others agree. Chris Tomer, meterologist for Fox 31 who specializes in mountain snowpack and an avid hiker and climber, said he would think the snow was down just from the trips he’s taken almost every week, let alone his forecasts.
“Even if we get hit with an incredibly snowy future, it’s not likely that our snowpack will hit 100 percent by May 1,” Tomer said. “It’s too hard to play catch-up this late in the game.”
But perhaps to prove the point that just a couple storms can get things right again, Rocky Mountain National Park had a “lot of happy faces” last weekend, said Sue Langdon, a ranger with the park who leads snowshoe hikes as a part of her many duties. The park isn’t 100 percent of normal, but that didn’t matter Sunday.
“I broke trail with my snowshoe walk Sunday,” she said. “It’s just one of those things.”
The snows actually came early — remember the big storm before Halloween? — but then died down for a while. That was still enough to give RMNP a nice base, so it wasn’t as bad as other areas. Bear Lake was at 96 percent even near the end of December. But the problem with many of the park’s more popular trails, or any popular trails, is they can get icy and beaten down, which can sap the fun out of snowshoeing or skiing. Those refreshers help, but part of the joy of snowshoeing is you can wander off trail. In fact, some of the winter routes aren’t the same as the summer hikes. It can be a bit disconcerting: A snowshoe to Mills Lake, for instance, does not go by Alberta Falls.
“That’s the common misconception,” Langdon said. “Sometimes going off those summer routes may be safer.”
It can, of course, also be more dangerous, which is why those who do travel deeper should have good route finding skills. The park marks trees with orange metal tabs, but those may be unreliable, especially given that the pine beetle’s wiped many of those out.
The storm, expected to hit late afternoon Thursday into today, may turn some nearby areas into snowshoe trails, including some parks in Greeley (Josephine Jones, 2631 52nd Ave. Court, comes to mind the most), the Poudre Trail and the many natural areas of Fort Collins and Larimer County.
“We have several visitors that enjoy the recreational opportunity of snowshoeing, but it has to be timed with recent snowfall,” said Travis Rollins, open space visitor services manager for Larimer County’s Natural Resources. “This winter we have not had much snowfall, and what we have had has melted soon after falling. The best snowshoeing at this elevation occurs soon after a large snowfall. Let’s cross our fingers and maybe we will get a few more large snowfalls this winter.”
The elevation of many of the places can reach 6,500 feet and include the popular Horsetooth Rock and Falls hikes.
Kristin Powell, Lead Ranger for the City of Fort Collins Natural Areas Department, suggests the Valley Loop trail in Bobcat Ridge when there’s snow (fingers may not have to be crossed for that). A trip to Mahoney Park in the Bobcat can equal more than 10 miles if you’re more ambitious.
Cameron Pass, which normally features some of the best snow within a two-hour drive from Greeley, was as low as many of the others right up until mid-January. The trails were icy and even had dry spots on popular trails such as Blue Lake, said Lucas Mouttet, patrol director with the Diamond Peaks National Ski Patrol.
“After these last storms, it’s wonderful, new, soft snow,” Mouttet said. “As long as they keep coming through, conditions should be great. But another couple weeks of no snow will turn it back to what it was.”
Regardless of whether another storm hits, there’s enough snow that it’s changed things for a while, especially in the mountains and up in the 13ers and 14ers.
“This shouldn’t be the winter where you try to climb your first peak,” said Tomer, Fox’s meterologist.
That doesn’t have to matter to have a good time, said Langdon, the national park ranger.
“Just putting on snowshoes and going for a walk around Bear Lake is a big adventure for some,” she said.
Dan England has climbed more than 150 peaks, including all of the state’s 54 14ers, and logged thousands of miles on Colorado’s great trails. He is the Adventure editor and also covers entertainment for The Tribune. He also occasionally guides hikes and snowshoes, mostly 14ers. He can be reached at dengland@greeleytribune.com or (970) 352-0211, ext. 11225, or (970) 392-4418 if you have a suggestion for a trail.
Tips
» Bring high-calorie foods, such as candy bars or energy foods, because you’ll burn a lot of calories. You tend to work harder in snow and your body burns more calories when it’s cold.
»Learn how to use the snow for shelter. Snow caves are a great resource if you ever get stranded. »Check the latest avalanche conditions at http://avalanche.state.co.us, especially if you’re headed out to the backcountry. »Dress in layers. You want to start your hike a little chilly. You’ll warm up fast. Bring more clothes than you’ll think you need in case you get hurt and have to sit for several hours. »Poles are a must. »You can rent snowshoes at several outdoors stores before you buy them. |
