“WHAT LIES BEHIND US AND WHAT LIES BEFORE US ARE TINY MATTERS COMPARED TO WHAT LIES WITHIN US.”
– Ralph Waldo Emerson

 

My youngest daughter has been on Spring Break this week and we have been doing a little downhill skiing. On Monday we were up at A-Basin. Beautiful spring conditions, temperatures between 30 to 40 degrees, mild wind and brilliant sunshine. The resort was a little crowded but not too bad. The lower lift line was only about a 5 to 10 minute wait at the most, the upper lift was 5 minutes or less. Really could not have asked for more – well I guess you could have asked for a powder day. But, oh well you cannot have everything. The other nice thing about this type of spring skiing is that you do not need to be up at the crack of dawn to get first chair, you can sleep in a little bit. And actually getting there early can be detrimental due to the freeze / thaw cycle that occurs. In the AM the ski slopes are usually icy and as hard as concrete. But wait a few hours and they have softened up to a hard butter like consistency. Perfect for making beautiful sweeping turns. The picture above is at the top. The elevation at this point is about 13,000 feet. On Monday when this picture was taken, there was no wind for several hours and temps in the 30s. Hard to believe. In Fort Collins this same day, the temp was close to 80.

March in Colorado can always be a little unpredictable on the Front Range. One day you can have snow and temps below 30 degrees and the next day it can be sunny and 70 out. It can make life a little interesting at times. Fortunately that has not been the case this week. The Front Range has seen mild temperatures, cold in the morning (30s) and warm in the afternoon (60 to 80 degrees). Add in a little sun, clouds and some much needed rain and you have beautiful running weather. So when we were not out skiing, it was back to training for the Quad Rock in May. It was nice to not have to use the running tights or a jacket this week. The picture above is part of a trail run right behind Fort Collins in the start of the foothills. There is an initial elevation change of about 500 feet. You run up one hog-back and down the other side to Horsetooth Reservoir and along a trail that goes down to the East side of the lake. There are multiple trails in the area and you can make this a 5 to 20 mile plus run if you want. I am looking North to Northwest in the above picture. In the one below I am in the same position but look East out over Fort Collins. These pictures were taken yesterday on Thursday – the temperature was about 60 degrees, with clouds and sun in the area. And strangely enough – no wind. Simply just beautiful. I feel very fortunate to have this resource right in my backyard.

Well that is it for me this week. HAPPY VERNAL EQUINOX!! And have a great weekend – hope to see you out there!!