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On
Sunday, October 29, Max,
Josh, and I hitched a
ride in Elliott's
vintage Volvo back up
Castle Creek Road to do
some more skiing.
We met up with Brian and
Megan again, along with
two new friends, Mitzi
and Amy. We also
had some canine
companions, Jane and
Murray. The road
was in great condition,
smoothed out by the
snow. After
throwing on chains, we
made it in Elliott's
Volvo up to the stream
crossing and started our
skin. |
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This was
my third time up the
Castle Creek Road in as
many weeks, so taking
the left turn toward
Pearl Pass provided a
nice change of scenery.
Josh is in the
foreground with the road
up to Montezuma Basin
disappearing behind him. |
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Our goal
was to summit this small
knob in front of us by
climbing the snowfield
on the left. You
can see tracks from the
previous day's skiers to
the right. |
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The
weather was so nice and
the sky so clear that we
had to reapply sunscreen
several times, except
for Megan with her fancy
sunhat. She's also
wearing her trademark
pink Capilene. |
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The snow
was quite variable with
some windblown and
sun-crusted sections.
This made the skin up
(and the ski down) a
little tricky, but Max
had a smile on his face
anyway. |
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Elliott,
Murray, Brian, and Josh
(l to r) take in the
views and the sun at the
top of our skin.
We had 360 degree views
that took in Castle Peak
and the Castle Creek
Valley, as well as
Crested Butte. |
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Jane
strikes a pose as Josh,
Amy, and Megan tuck into
some chocolate before
starting our descent.
Views of the Roaring
Fork Valley and and
bordering peaks extend
in the background. |
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The
author poses with Castle
Peak in the background.
(Photo courtesy of Max) |
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The ski
down was difficult and
awkward at times.
There was a mix of crust
(breakable, firm, icy,
Styrofoam), wind slab
and some good soft
stuff. Despite the
variable conditions, the
turns looked pretty as
Max, Elliott, and I wait
for others to descend. |
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Luckily
the way back to the cars
was all downhill and
packed out by skis at
first, then snowmobiles,
then trucks. The
valley funneled us right
down to the stream
crossing where we basked
in the sun some more
before heading home. |
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