Monday, November 16, 2015

Cold November Ski Touring at Royal Gorge

Near Lyle's Lookout with Castle Peak in the distance. On the grassy forest roads the touring is good, with 8" of fresh light snow on a consolidated but fracturing melt-freeze base.  Off trail is super iffy, with lots of unmarked but to be expected obstacles.


Summer and fall wind storms have brought down a handful of trees across the trail. A good nudge by the groomer might be enough to clear these out of the way on Killie's Cruise above "The Guillotine" , but a chain saw would be better.


Too many grapefruit sized rocks close to the surface for safe descent on skis, not to mention the gully and dip at the bottom of the slope which could harbor dragons at speed. Diane chooses to hike down this stretch instead.


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