Red Mountain Pass

Last week we spent long weekend at a cabin on Red Mountain Pass. We went with my parents, our good friends Lee and Karen as well as Karen's parents. It works out great since since John and Lee are friends from college, Karen and I grew up together and our parents are great friends. We are so thankful for generous parents that treat us to such wonderful vacations! Caleb (Lee and Karen's three month old son) and Aaron did great with the altitude. The cabin was at 10,400 feet so there was some concern about how the babies would do. Aaron seemed to have a little trouble sleeping. Although, he also has his first tooth coming in so that may have had something to do with it as well.

We spent our days enjoying some amazing backcountry skiing! We had a perfect ski hill just across the street from the cabin. This made it easy to trade off watching the babies. The weather was beautiful the the entire time. There was some concern about the weather and avalanche danger before we arrived. The avalanche danger had been extreme the week before our trip. With the exception of one minor scare, the snow was just fine! Of course we all skiing with probes, shovels and avalanche beacons.

Since my Birthday was a few days after our trip, we celebrated at the cabin. This was a complete surprise to me. Everyone sang to me and my Mama made me a very delicious carrot cake! I loved being able to celebrate with family and friends in such a gorgeous location. Another highlight was enjoying an evening at the Ouray hot springs with Lee and Karen. The hot springs are beautiful! We are so blessed to have enjoyed such a fun and safe trip.

Section House

Just before Christmas, John and I went on a hut trip to the Section House. The cabin is located at the top of Boreas Pass about ten miles east of Breckenridge. The Section House was built in 1882 for the men and families that took care of the the section of railroad on Boreas Pass. By the 1930's the railroad was no longer in use, so the cabin has since been rebuilt. In order to get to the Section House, we skied to it from Como, Colorado. It was about a five mile trip ending at the top of Boreas Pass 11,481.

The cabin is quite large and is equipped with two wood burning stoves. We needed to melt snow for water. The bathroom is an outdoor vault toilet with a beautiful view! Thanks to a couple of the guys who were willing to pull sleds, we ate very well. This is most of the group enjoying some homemade pizza.

This is a shot of Boreas Mountain. The cabin sit above treeline, so it was very cold at the Section House. The ski in was a little challenging because it was almost entirely uphill. We also had a bit of a late start, so we didn't get to the cabin until after dark. By the time it was dark out, we were above treeline and the wind had picked up. Coming around the last bend and seeing the cabin was a great feeling.

Mt. Silver Heels

This one is looking towards Como, Colorado

Getting ready to ski out. We had plenty of downhill on the way back.

John and I next to the old rail bed with Silver Heels in the background. I felt pretty good about having made it to the Section House that weekend. At the time, I was seven weeks pregnant and dealing with morning sickness. It was a wonderful hut trip and we could not have asked for a better better group of friends to spend the weekend with.

Skiing 2008

Here are some fun pictures from our last few ski trips. The pictures were taken at Steamboat and Winter Park.



Tom and I on the lift. Skiing is a great way to celebrate turning 26!



More from Winter Park. Katie trying Telemark for the first time. She did great for her first day out. Chris and Jeff taking a break.




John stuck in a tree well. This is why we stay together when we ski the trees...



Getting ready to ski Parson's Bowl. It was a very chilly day at Winter Park.


Some fun pictures from our weekend at Steamboat. We had a wonderful time skiing with my parents and brother.

Fun in the Park

Last Saturday, most of Team Junk Show got together for a fun day of biking and skiing in Rocky Mountain National Park. Part of Trailridge road is still closed, so we brought bikes and trailers. We managed to haul ourselves, our gear, BBQ and beer to Upper Hidden Valley. Some of our genius friends even rigged up a trailer with ski racks! After our short ride, we skinned up to the ridge of Upper Hidden Valley and had a nice slushy run back down to the road. Such a great day for some spring skiing. The rest of the day was spent eating hamburgers and brats, basking in the sun and taking turns attempting to kill ourselves on a jump we found. It was a beautiful day in the Park with wonderful friends. (Go to the photo album to see more pictures)

Do we have enough gear?

The jump



A beautiful day and a beautiful view.

Red Mountain Pass

John and I began the new year with six wonderful days of skiing. Five of the six days were in the back country. The best part was beginning the year with a ski trip to Red Mountain Pass and skiing the beautiful San Juan mountains. On January third, we skied US Basin. The trail reaches an elevation of over 10,000 feet and requires climbing skins and avalanche gear. Skiing through the trees and first tracks are well worth the climbing. We had a great group of people on this trip. There were thirteen for most of the trip and one of the nights we had fifteen people! I can't imagine a better group of friends and family. The skiing was amazing!

A little blurry, but I think thats most of us.

Getting ready to go...

Earing our turns...

An absolutely beautiful day of skiing.