Loveland Pass Under the Full Moon

Brett and I thought we had a pretty unique idea when we thought to take a couple runs under the full moon last Friday night on Loveland pass.   We were a little worried on the drive up with the cloud cover growing rapidly as we sped through a traffic-free I-70.  Our caravan set off from Denver at 10 PM with Brett planning to continue on to Beaver Creek after a couple quick runs.  We stopped and switched our very fuel efficient vehicles (Suburban and Monster Truck) into 4-wheel drive after exiting the highway to get up the slick pass.
Any pride we had in coming up with such a great idea for a Friday night vanished when we came to the second turn on the pass where more than 20 cars were parked.  Some backcountry and alcohol enthusiasts had been raging since 6 PM.  The party came complete with full bar, tent, and disco ball. 

A few good Samaritans of the bunch provided rides up the pass in pickup beds, trunks of suburbans and someone even had a gutted party bus making laps to the top.  We hitched some rides with the rowdy crew and got in some sweet turns underneath the moonlight.  All in all, it was an awesome experience and I’d definitely consider heading back up on the next full moon.
 
That being said, riding in pickup bed with 13 other people up Loveland Pass in the dark probably isn’t the safest thing in the world.
-Tyler Grubb

Beaver Creek Deep

On the morning after my birthday with a full stomach of Mongolian BBQ from the night before, I braved an incoming storm to drive up to Beaver Creek to meet up with Mark, Bill and Kelly.  It had been snowing for the past 36 hours up there and the storm total was approaching a foot and a half to two feet.  Needless to say…I was kind of excited to get up there.
I got on the chair at around 10:30 AM and made my way across the mountain to meet up with everyone else who had stayed the night before at a place Kelly’s dad was renting.  On my second chair ride the guy across from me struck up a conversation asking where I was from.  I said I went to DU down in Denver and was just up for the day.  He then asked if knew Brett P. (who I was supposed to be meeting).  Turns out I got on the same chair as Kelly’s whole family who had literally just made me a birthday cake the night before.  Pretty random stuff…
I finally made it over to the Rosebowl Lift and met up with Bill and Mark to shred some deep stuff in the Stone Creek Chutes.
   
Bill has been ridiculously photogenic for my camera lately…

Mark didn’t mind landing in waist deep powder after busting through pillows all afternoon either.  We literally lapped the same run the entire day and had fresh tracks each time.  By the end of the day, we were convinced that no one else on the mountain knew about this entire area because all the tracks we were seeing were just ours from earlier in the day. 

It was safe to say that this was the best day on the mountain I’ve had all year, and possibly the best resort day I’ve had EVER.  The storm passed and blue skies opened up in the afternoon while we picked off line after line along this ridge.  I could do that everyday for the rest of my life and die a happy happy man.
-Tyler Grubb

RMNP Terrain Park

Bill and I headed up to Rocky Mountain National Park to the same area I had my Avy 1 Certification the other weekend.  The zone above the Bear Lake trailhead is filled with some fun aspects and sweet terrain features.  We had a pretty quick day up there and only squeezed in two runs before we had to head back to Denver. 
We took off from the car around 10:30 AM and hiked up to Tyndall Gorge (seen below). 

The first run through the Terrain Park had some fun little drop offs but was short lived before we started a second trek back up the ridge.  I snapped a couple photos on top of the ridge before we dropped into Mario Land for some late day turns.

I’ve been up to Rocky Mountain National Park a few times to enjoy some backcountry turns and every time it continues to surprise me in terms of how fun and accessible it can be.  Everyone up there is super friendly and respectful on the trails and just looking to enjoy some time outdoors.  And I never mind the fresh snow left untracked unlike the hoards of people who rip up Summit County resorts.

Bill didn’t mind the snow in Mario Land either.
-Tyler Grubb