If you’re lucky enough to be in the mountains, you’re lucky enough!

Sunday, December 26, 2010

White Christmas!

Well, in Colorado Springs - Not so much!  Dry as a bone, with forecast for 50 and sun on Christmas.  We have had highs between 15 degrees and 60 degrees and everywhere in between!  But we had other plans.  We were headed for the mountains to get in another cross country ski session.  The shores of Lake Dillon would be our destination - the Frisco Nordic Center is one of our all-time favorites.  With 45k of groomed trails, mostly intermediate, it gives us a lot of room to roam!
On the road - Wilkerson Pass looking over South Park to the Sawatch Range
 Blue River - bottom of Hoosier Pass

We had brilliant blue skies the whole day - hardly a cloud touched the sky, even in the mountains - BONUS.  Driving along Blue River after coming off Hoosier Pass brought back memories of Christmas Vacation - the classic scene with the rednecks playing bumper tag with the Griswolds was shot along this highway.  Actually, most of the outdoor parts of that movie were filmed in and around Breckenridge, CO, which we drove through to get to Frisco!
Cheesy pic of the Nordic center sign stolen borrowed from the net
 Frisco Nordic Center - wish they had a nicer backdrop, eh?

We arrived at Frisco and found the conditions to be exactly what we hoped for - lots of good snow and mid-20's temperatures.  Combine that with bright, sunny skies and it is a great mix for an outstanding XC Ski day!  Our mountains have been getting great snow, it simply has not made it down to the Front Range where we live - so we'll go to the snow to play and come home to dry trails ;-)  Plus, we are getting in some altitude training.  This would be our sixth training day above 8500' in the past month - and it does help.  Frisco Nordic sits at 9100 feet, which helps with the snow conditions.  The Nordic center had previously been densely forested so we weren't sure what to expect as the Mountain Pine Beetle kill has stripped most of the lodgepoles from the ski area since we were last there.  Turns out it was still a beautiful setting, despite the deforestation, as there were grand views that we've not had before.
 Getting started on the Freeway near the lodge

When we went skiing a few weeks back, we had a bit of a glitch with our gear and just decided to rent equipment at Snow Mountain Ranch.  This time, we brought our own equipment and felt much better on the snow - always good to have familiar kit when you hit the track!  We took a few minutes to ski a starter loop near the lodge to gauge the conditions, get a feel for the skis and then headed out onto the trail system.  Simply put, the snow is stellar right now - prime conditions all day and, with the temps never getting above 30, the sun never had a chance to degrade the surface.  Yet the sun is so strong up high, we quickly warmed and headed to the truck for a lighter outer layer before getting too far out.
 Great views on Crown Point
 Heading out M'Rezy with breathtaking views
 Crown Point - stopped for a breather!
 Looking out over Frisco, Colorado
Heading in after an awesome day

We had a splendid day out on the snow - what a great way to spend Christmas!  We ran out of leg and upper body endurance before we ran out of sunshine, unfortunately!  We were able to get in about 20 km before we pooped out and it was quite a great workout.  Since my folks' flight was one of over 500 cancelled out of Atlanta due to a whopping 1.5" of snow (WHAT???), we had a wide open schedule.  Consequently, we decided to head into Breckenridge for dinner at Mi Casa, one of our favorite Mexican restaurants.  It is amazing what an appetite skiing builds - we were ravenous!  We had an amazing day and are glad we were able to capitalize on the great conditions for a wonderful ski/play day on Christmas!  We are looking forward to a few more ski days this season!

Happy Trails to everyone this week!




"Shoes" - K Fischer Revolution Skate
S Rossignol Venture AR

16 comments:

ajh said...

Beautiful pics! Good luck on the technique, Kathleen! Out here everyone around us is getting massive amounts of snow and we are getting a dusting. I like the massive amounts myself and that is what happened last year. Emily had tons of storms in DC and we got piddling amounts. I hope things change soon!

Jill said...

Wow, beautiful day in the high country! I was up there on the 23rd in almost the exact area (snowshoeing in Frisco) but we had a bit of overcast and even flurries at the end. Which was ok, since it's a rarity here in Denver and C.S. (but ugh, heard it is suppose to get super cold and snowy this weekend! I guess it's our time now).

I haven't been to the Nordic center in probably 5 years, but I love it there, too! Such a pretty area.

I am headed back to the Incline with the track team again tomorrow - which I fully don't understand why I would since the day after I did it last week, my hip flexors wouldn't move. Ah...but it will make me stronger, huh? If you guys are off work and around and want to join in, give me a shout. We'll be there about 9:30 I would suspect.

Have a great week!

Generation X (Slomohusky) said...

funny! i always thought illinois seemed a tad rocky mt high for the griswolds to find a christmas tree just outside of chicago?!

been through frisco a few times, but that was either the summer or fall. never seen it with snow! beautiful white christmas.

Alyssa said...

Those views couldn't be any more perfect! What a gorgeous holidays you two are having. I've always admired the grace skate skiers have, too... I know I'm not coordinated enough to try the sport without attaining some sort of serious injury, but good on you for learning!

xoxo,
A

Happy Feet 26.2 said...

Totally jealous of that workout. I think we stayed in Frisco when we went to Breckenridge to ski several years ago. (we needed cheaper rates) We loved it there.

Local Mind Media said...

Looks like a great little Christmas. Would've loved to have joined you but needed a good run that day. Forecast looks like you'll have plenty of chance to get out in the snow again soon...
tl

Unknown said...

It looks like you had so much fun! More snow?? Just in time for the New Year! Love the blue skies ...

Tina @GottaRunNow said...

Beautiful snow! We were in Breckenridge to ski a couple of years ago. The bunny hill was my friend - my first time to ski!

GZ said...

Nice. I am calling a tie between you and mtnrunner2 for the best blog pix in Colorado for 2011. Were you using a pan lens for those first shots?

HappyTrails said...

GZ-

I was using Wide angle (16:9 format) on my little Canon. It has a nice wide field of view - I like it!

Teamarcia said...

So gorgeous and so refreshing to look at for this flatlander. Happy New Year!

Leslie said...

O.K - how come it appears there is nobody at all of your Nordic Centres? What's up with that?

HappyTrails said...

Hey Leslie -

We like it that way, so we did not want to ask... :-) Guess our folks are not diehards like you Canadians are!!!

Julie said...

I am so glad that you had a white Christmas! The ski trip looks wonderful...Kathleen, you look so darn skinny:) I wish that my butt looked as good as yours:)

I hope that you had a wonderful Christmas and Happy New Year to you!!

Amanda@runninghood said...

Breathtaking! This makes me want to GET OUT of the BURBS!!! Gorgeous. Happy New Year! I spent the first 8 years of my life on Ptarmagin (sp?) Mt. in Dillon, Colorado. Spent lots of time in Frisco too. My mom lived in Georgetown for many years when I was in college...I misssssss it so much!

Kate Geisen said...

Gorgeous pictures! Looks like you guys had a perfect day to be outside.

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