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Snowboard Sisters

09 Saturday Apr 2016

Posted by Ed Mahoney in Ellie Rose, Snowboard

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

GLCR 686, spring break, Vail, Winter Park

whiteout

Ellie’s spring break was a big week of snowboarding.  She starts the week out in Winter Park with Chase and Wendy.  She finishes the week in Vail with her sister.  The first day is a whiteout snowfall.  Ellie said the powder was so deep, it didn’t hurt to fall.

Ellie n Chase 2

Chase skis but Ellie is able to keep up with him on her board.  Ellie took off day two to recover her legs and do some shopping.  The three of them watch movies every night and eat huge breakfasts that Wendy cooks each morning.  Ellie’s favorite is Custard French Toast with Pecan Crust.

Chase n Wendy

I wonder if Wendy cooks like this when it’s just Chase at home?  I’m considering buying a 2016-2017 season ski pass to Winter Park for Ellie, just so she can have a hot breakfast.

Ellie n Chase

Thursday is full sunshine.  I drive up to join them, my skin smothered in zinc, but get sunburned anyway.  This is my first time to snowboard in Winter Park.  Gorgeous mountain.  Maybe age has diminished my sense of balance, but the lifts at Winter Park eject me like catapults.  I fall getting off over half the time.

Ed n Wendy

I’m serious about Winter Park ski passes.  Boarding with Wendy and Chase was a blast and it’s a great mountain.  Coming back for sure.

Ed n Brit 3

Ellie and I hook up later with Karen and Brit in Vail.  Turns out, this is Brit’s first time snowboarding in four years.  She’s still faster than me.

Ed Vail

I show off my toe side here.  And I master hopping off the lifts – not pictured.

Brit Vail 1

Brittany boards with some style.  Brit got me to try snowboarding about 10 years ago.  I finally bought a $40 board off Craigslist last year to hit the slopes with Ellie.  Glad I did.

Brit Vail 3

Is Brit sticking her tongue out at me?  Millennials!  She’s riding Ellie’s board here and struggles a bit because she doesn’t like the parallel position of the bindings.  She falls getting off the lifts more than I did at Winter Park.

Brit Vail 2

The difference between boarding with Ellie and Brit is that Brit drinks beer with me in between runs. I believe we both improved our form after each can of liquid courage.

Ed n Brit

Snowboarding with Brit on Friday, after a four or five year gap, brought back great memories. So good to know we can still shred the slopes. I expect many more years of this.

condo

Brit and Ellie gear up Saturday morning to snowboard before the forecast rain begins.  Another day too warm to snow.  They get in some runs though.  Brit feels better on her own board with the bindings turned out.

slope

Hail begins to fall on the mountain shortly after noon so the girls quit early to do some shopping.  Ellie finds a new, black GLCR 686 ski jacket, an early birthday present to herself.  Brit assumes this means she inherits Ellie’s green GLCR 686 jacket.  That’s how sisters think.

Ed n Ellie WP

They catch the bus home just as it begins to rain.  Vacation is winding down as Ellie entertains us with her ukulele.  Another good spring break.

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Spring Training

02 Saturday Apr 2016

Posted by Ed Mahoney in Running

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

Bolder Boulder, LoBo Trail, Vail

standish white

I wasn’t able to run everyday this week, but it was my best running week of the year nonetheless.  I’ve had a slow start to the year, recovering from injury.  My distance returned to par a few weeks ago, and this week, my legs found their speed.  Too late now to run the Bolder Boulder in dramatic fashion, but I’m able to train again.  My initial expectations for racing this spring have been muted but I’m excited anyway.  I have the coming week off and intend to get in some quality runs.

I think it was Tuesday when I felt the speed return to my legs.  The weather lady said to expect snow but the air was too warm during my run.  I’m not sure if it actually rained, or if I was running through the rain clouds.  Colorado clouds make the trail so cozy when they drop across the landscape like reverse fog.  Somehow the reduced visibility dampens outdoor sounds.  I could hear my breathing in the silence.  It was one of those surreal moments, like running through misty Oregon in a Nike commercial where there is no finish line.  My legs fell into their old form after four miles and I maintained a fast pace for the remaining four.  I noticed immediately and held onto my pace and form like a lucid dream.

It did snow on my run Thursday.  Small, hard flakes that, combined with the wind, stung my eyes.  Still, another fast run.  I’m so excited that I can run well again that I ran 12 miles Friday after work.  Thank goodness for daylight savings time.  That’s a distance I generally only have time for on the weekends.  Not sure if I’ll focus more on distance or speed for Spring Break.  I’ll be snowboarding in Vail at the end of the week, so I have between now and Thursday to run and train hard.  I also have my taxes to complete and a living room to paint, but naturally running will be my priority.

I have a 10K scheduled for May 1st.  It will be my first race in five months.  I don’t know my pace any more so I won’t make projections.  I do hope to be able to run the 7 minute per mile pace I generally average for a 10K.  I shouldn’t be too far over.  The Bolder Boulder will be four weeks later so it will be good prep.  But this week comes first.  I won’t be pressured by my full agenda.  The runs will be serendipitous with no clock scheduling my returns.  Spring showers or blizzards won’t keep me off the trail.  Chinook winds might, those are different.  But I expect to be out there logging some miles.  Hope to see you on El LoBo.

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Booth Lake

04 Monday Aug 2014

Posted by Ed Mahoney in Colorado Trail

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

hiking, mountain wildflowers, Vail, Vail Cascade

trailheadBrit joined us up in Vail last night.  That means a new hiking partner.  And Brit’s not afraid to take on the big ones.  We launch from the trailhead to Booth Lake by 8am.  This trail is easily the most recommended by the Concierge based on the conversations I overhear as I walk by.  And the trail guide suggests it’s a favorite of tourists.  Fit tourists anyway.  This puppy rises 3000 feet in four miles.

aspen and rockThe trail begins its steady 4.5 mile rise through old growth Aspen.  There is one other lone hiker who parks alongside us at the trailhead.  He starts out about five minutes ahead of us.  Brit quickly finds a rock.  We both agree it has a certain “Pride Rock” quality.  We encounter a trio of hikers descending.  They ask us if we are headed to the lake or just the falls – which are only about two miles up.  We respond with the lake and they say it’s well worth it.  Brittany leads most of the hike and holds a 29 minute pace the first mile.  The girl is in shape.  My legs have yet to recover from yesterday and I find myself struggling to keep pace.

treeThe Aspen yield to thick Spruce after an hour of hiking.  Brit finds this uprooted tree pretty cool.  Not sure if the picture captures it (you might need to click to enlarge it) but these split roots look awesome on the trail.  The trail is mostly dry but the steepness make it challenging anyway.  There is a bit of mud and several fun creek crossings.  Brit is happy she borrowed Ellie’s waterproof boots.

Booth FallsWe arrive at the falls after about two miles, or an hour, of hiking.  We suspect most hikers only make it this far.  The grade is challenging.  This photo captures one of the first set of falls.  A later set is much more dramatic but also more difficult to photograph with a live person in the picture.  The trail increases its slope after these falls and nice views open up behind us of the Holy Cross Wilderness Area above Vail Mountain.  After three miles, we begin to see the moraine in the Gore Range where this trail will ultimately lead us.  The slopes still hold snow.

meadowThe vegetation along the trail is lush.  We see many of the same flowers we saw along the Lost Lake Trail, but a million times more thick.  The trail alternates between forest trees and meadows.  We see a deer bound through one meadow so fast we’re not certain what it is at first.  Brit suggested that maybe it was being chased by a mountain lion.  We then both agree that we think mountain lions are nocturnal.  This is what one usually says to avoid thinking about the potential danger.  The most amazing of all the wildflowers we see is this Colorado Columbine.  Imagine fields of them.

Colorado ColumbineThis is a great hike for sightseeing.  We see a beaver super up close.  He has bark all over his lips.  We see a couple of weasels.  A second deer near the lake.  And then for the first time ever on a hike, we see a mountain goat.  So cool.  We expect the lake to only be a 4.1 mile hike and become a bit discouraged as we near the moraine and never see it.  We keep thinking it will be over the next rise.  After 4.5 miles, we see it and are amazed.

booth lakeAlpine lakes have a way of taking your breath away.  Not just from hiking up to 11,500 feet.  This one is so pristine and serene.  There is still snow hanging over the shores.  And the water is crystal clear.  There is no one else up here.  We take a good 15 minutes to enjoy it.  We leave sooner than we care to because rain clouds are forming.

We hike pass tons of others on their way up, mostly below the falls.  Some are headed to the lake and we encourage them.  We understand why most don’t make it past the falls.  That’s a great hike too, for sure.  Reaching the lake is likely too much for the average tourist.  We both feel special for being able to see it today.

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Eagle’s Nest

03 Sunday Aug 2014

Posted by Ed Mahoney in Colorado Trail

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

fireweed, hiking, Vail, Vail Cascade

eagles nestI wore out my family yesterday.  The consensus for today’s hike is a ride up to Eagle’s Nest on the Eagle Bahn Gondola to hike the Fireweed Trail.  Sounds like a going-out-of-business sale at a dispensary.  I count a win for getting them out of their 500 count thread sheets and over-stuffed pillows before noon.  Perfect weather on top of Vail Mountain.  Full sun with a cool breeze.  Only a two mile loop, the Fireweed Trail might not be long enough to enjoy such a perfect day.

rope courseFireweed Trail is actually quite nice.  The sort of soft dirt and pine needles I love to run on.  We see several deer up close too.  We are all pleased with the hike but it is indeed too short.  We decide to stay in the area for some of the activities.  Ellie surprises me by going on the rope course.  I thought she would be too afraid.  She does well but it is extremely athletic and strenuous.  She has just enough strength afterward for a zip line.

zip lineI zip with Ellie – my first ever.  The guides are all supportive of me taking pictures, but also seem quite confident that I’ll drop my phone.  I don’t.  We finish the morning with lunch at the Bistro at Eagle Nest and return on the Gondola to Lions Head.  I decide on the drop down the mountain that I will return later to run back up.  The trails are chock full of mountain bikers.  They’ll have to yield for me.
Karen and I lift some weights back at the hotel.  Then I return to Lions Head to run up the mountain.  Following the ski trail maps is like trying to use a phone book map for city streets.  Quite a bit of detail is missing and the drawings are only rough approximations.  The trail signage is possibly worse.  My uphill pace is slow enough that I actually can read a map.  This doesn’t help me much though given the poor quality of the maps and signage.  Still, I manage to nearly reach the top of the gondola run before I have to turn around from fatigue.  I take some of the steeper biker trails on my descent.

In spite of the short hike to start the day, I’m totally spent now.  I learn that Brit has arrived once I return to the hotel.  She plans to do a massive hike with me tomorrow.  We finish tonight with pizza at the Blue Moose.  Spent and stuffed.

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Lost Lake

02 Saturday Aug 2014

Posted by Ed Mahoney in Colorado Trail

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

hiking, Vail, Vail Cascade, wildflowers

lost lakeVail is one of my favorite Colorado mountain towns.  Although it’s been a few years, we come here often.  Usually for spring break.  The last time we visited on our wedding anniversary (August 1st) was in 2007 for our twentieth.  We typically stay here at the Vail Cascade in West Vail.  Summer traffic was heavy and the drive up took nearly twice as long as normal.  Since we arrived late, we dined in the hotel restaurant – Atwater.  Super nice eatery though.  I had one of the best steak dinners ever for a restaurant.  I’m fairly critical on sirloin because usually I cook a better steak at home.  Not this time.  We sleep with the balcony door open to hear the rushing creek.

viewWe start Saturday morning off with an aggressive 6.6 mile hike to Lost Lake.  I know about this trail from the Concierge who not only has trail maps, she has hiked the trails.  We access the trailhead off the North Frontage Road at Red Sandstone Road #700.  This road begins paved through a neighborhood of switchbacks for 1.7 miles.  It then turns to dirt but is easy to navigate with a low-profile, two-wheel drive car.  We follow the dirt road for 2.7 miles to a Y intersection and steer left, following the #700 sign.  The trailhead is another 3.9 miles up this road.  Very well marked and easy to find.

flowersThe mountain meadow flowers are in full bloom.  We see Mountain Harebell, Aspen Daisy, and a yellow flower that I’m uncertain about.  I think it’s Lambs Tongue Groundsel.  This trail is rated one of the easiest to navigate as the elevation gain is minimal – just a little over 900 feet.  I expect to see more hikers but we don’t encounter any until we reach the lake.  There was only one other car at the trailhead so this makes sense.  There is a second trailhead though a half mile beyond the lake.  It requires 4WD, plus it would make for too short of a hike.  At least for us.

Lost LakeThe lake is stunning.  Perfectly blue.  Ellie fearlessly bushwhacks around the shore to take pictures of some Lilly Pads.  We rest a bit finding this spot so serene.  A fisherman casts his fly and tells us this lake normally has some good cutthroat trout.  They aren’t biting today though, he says because the dragonflies are hatching.

Our return to the trailhead runs us into scores of late day hikers.  Families headed out after lunch.  There are now nine cars parked at the trailhead.  Many more pass us as we head back down to Vail.  Gorgeous first day hike.  Looking forward to Sunday.

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