Backcountry Skiing Dry Gulch

4/17/2011- Every time I drive back from Abasin, I see beautiful powder turns across I-70 and wonder "how can I get me some of those?" The area is called Dry Gulch. After hearing about the 20" of pow dropped on Loveland pass this week, I knew some of it would still be waiting there this weekend.

Seth and I parked right off the Loveland exit and took the fire road up. The first half mile was along I-70, but once the fire road veers left you quickly leave behind the noises of civilization.

As you work up into the heart of the valley, the options are endless. Serenity and awe, that pretty much sums it up. It feels like the Willy Wonka factory for powder hounds. Immediately on your right is a nice looking jib- a table top launching off a drainage tube over a little knob. 30-40 degree wide open trees stretch literally as far as the eye can see. A monster kicker beams down from from above on a north facing slope- which we later climb to and determine to be suicidal.

We started up on the right (southwest facing) slope, which was unfortunately a bit crusty. About 3/4 of the way up, we strip the skins and rip down. The crust isn't ideal, but its hard to complain, and I'm convinced there will be better turns on the other side.

We head up the left side of the valley, making our way up through several steep sections. The snow feels much better. The first run is great with some steep trees and lots of little wind lips. We also ride by the kicker- I may have to come back to that one another day, with my snowboard and some large cajones.

We decide to take one more lap on the same side, and find more of the same. After that, I couldn't wait any longer to get back for a sandwich at Two Brother's Deli in Idaho Springs. We skied down the valley the way we came, which was a mistake! If you come here, ski back down the face that overlooks Loveland pass so you don't have to go back along the highway again. On the way out, I had to take one lap down from Loveland pass just so I could put my board on for one run.

Backcountry Skiing Loveland Pass- Hippie Trees

4/9/11- Stumbled out of bed at the ripe hour of 5am to pack the car. Early-bird gets the turns. The snowpack is transitioning to spring snow, meaning by afternoon the snowpack stability deteriorates pretty quickly. Made breakfast through bleary eyes, managing to only slightly burn my bagel. I meet up with Steve and Terry at the park-and-ride, and we were off by 6.

A short 50 minute ride brings us to the A-basin parking lot 2 hours before lifts opened for what I thought would be a prime tailgating spot on the beach. I thought wrong. People far more serious than us had been waiting in line at 6:30am to grab up the prime real-estate. PA systems are already cranking tunes, canopy tents and breakfast buffets set up... I begin to wonder if these people will even ski today. For us, tailgating will have to wait until after we get our powder turns in.

The sun is starting to hit the mountaintops as we apply copious amounts of sunblock- its another gorgeous bluebird CO day. Skins on skis, beacon check, and we're off down the road to find the drainage between Hippie Trees and the Professor. Once there, we clip in and start up the hill. The climb starts right off with 15-25 degree climbing, so sweat is pouring down within minutes. After 20-30 minutes the going gets a little easier, and we settle into a nice pace cruising up the picturesque valley. We see some signs of recent slab and loose slide activity along the way on both N and S aspects, nothing too big, most likely caused by all the water moving through the snowpack in the afternoons. We finally reach the top at 9am, just as the lifts at A-basin start to shuttle people up the mountain. As we strip the skins at warm up with some hot cocoa, we notice a huge kicker built up at the top of the hill. Its about 4 ft high with a +30ft gap to the landing. We tell ourselves that if the snow wasn't still so crusty, we would totally do it.

Finally, the first turns are had as we follow the ridgeline out towards hippie trees. We observe another recent slab, ~12" crown, on a N face, which also looks a day or two old. We apply the skins for one last push to follow the ridge all the way out. This pic shows Steve and Terry scouting our line from the top of a cornice. Steve drops the first turns just as the snow is softening up to some wonderful slushy powder. We each take our turns through the amazing 35 degree powder field before entering into some narrow steep trees. Reaching over 40 degrees, these trees combined with the heavy powder make for some exciting turns and hilarious falls. After ~1000ft vert, the pitch mellows out and we eventually make our way back to the valley floor for a cruise back to the road. As we exit the slope back onto the road, I can't hide my shit-eaten-grin reflecting back on the turns. However, the grin slowly fades as our outstretched thumbs go unheeded, and we have to hike all the way back to the resort without a hitch. Needless to say, once we get there, the grill is fired up, beers cracked open, signaling the end to a good morning and the beginning of a great afternoon.

Hollywood comes to Honduras

The Kinder that is being run by Charlie and Amalia is for young children that arn't in school yet. However, for the older kids, we hold tudoring sessions and art classes. Since school is run irregularly if at all (with teachers striking among a host of other problems), these extracurricular sessions help to further stimulate the kids.

















This particular day was a blast. The kids made jewlery out of beads and string. In minutes they were transfromed into movie stars, posing for the papparazzi (me). They absolutely love having their photo taken so they can se themselves. The class ended right as the sun went down, and we caught a beautiful sunset to cap off the day.

Building a Bridge

The first step for building the bridge was to dig pits for the foundation on each side of the sludge river. Even in calling it a sludge river, I am being gracious. The assorted trash and unmentionables create a smell in the afternoon heat that could put a skunk to shame. Charlie did a bacteria test on the water and it overwhelmed the culture.

In case I may not have mentioned him yet, Charlie is the representative from Helping Honduras Kids in El Porvenir. He and his wife, Amalia, moved to El Porvenir to help those in need here. They are a great people, and a true blessing to this town. Charlie is a classic Texan, with his southern accent and hospitality. Amalia is Hondurian in heratige, but from the US. She is a fantastic cook and may convince me to stay permanently if she invites me to any more dinners.

As for the bridge, cement was chosen as the building material upon a recomondation from Charlie. Although wood would be much easier, apparently it is a hot comodity and has a tendancy to grow legs and wander off, no matter how many screws and nails you put in it. Whereas, a two ton cement bridge would make for a very impressive heist.














After the pits were dug, we built the form for the cement foundations and went to work a-mixin'. During the last project I worked on in Belize, we were fortunate enough to procure a cement mixer. I don't thing they've even heard of one of those here. Instead, all the cement was mixed on the ground in some of the most back breaking work I've ever done. I had about 4 of the local guys helping, and we were able to knock out the two foundations fairly quickly. After a long, sweaty day, I took a refreshing swim in the ocean just out my front door.

Day trip to Pico Bonito

The mountains in the background of my pictures from town are part of a huge reserve called Pico Bonito. Amalia once again spoiled us by setting up a trip to the mountains. One of the local guys from El Porvenir, Oscar, was our guide (in the yellow shirt below). We drove through Dole´s pinapple fields to get there. The fields butt up to the mountains and make use of all the water running down.




























Once we entered the park, the jungle closed in around us closing out most of the light. The first warning we got was to stay on the path because of poinsonous snakes and spiders... don´t have to tell me twice. Sure enough, I saw my share of spiders, and we happened across a snake on the path. Sloane, one of the Aussies, almost stepped on us. Oscar told us it was poinsonous, but didn´t tell us till 5 minutes later that if bit by that snake, we would have to make it to a hospital within 10 minutes... or else.
















































The hike we did was to a waterfall, and it only took us about 45 minutes. The water was a clear as can be, and alls I wanted to do was have a swim, but the locals use the water for drinking so swiming was prohibited here. Once we got back down to the base, however, there were a couple of nice swimmin holes. One had a big waterfall that the locals were telling us to jump off of. When they wouldn´t do it themselves, we thought better of it. There was another spot further down the river where you could jump off a high rocky bank. You can see in this picture I am working on my Pterradactyl imitation.



































There was also a natural waterslide built into the river. It reminded me of a place called 7 falls in Santa Barbra, Ca. We spent a couple hours escaping from the heat in the water before we finally got too shriveled up and had to head back to El Porvenir.

Day trip to the Wildlife Refuge

Amalia, who works with Helping Honduras Kids, has been like a grandma to me here. Making us meals and looking in on us, it wouldn´t be the same without her. To add to her kindness, she set up a trip to the Cuero Y Salado Wildlife Refuge. To get there, we had to take a little train that was built from the chassis of a little truck. The railroad ties looked like they were put together with a soldering iron, but we never got out of first gear so any kind of crash would have been a slow-motion comedy at best.




























The refuge borders the beach and is filled with mangrove trees. The way to see it is by boat. We had a tour guide take us through the waters pointing out the various animals. Home to a variety of animals, the trees teem with life, emitting constant noises of bird calls, bellowing frogs, and the infamous howling monkeys.














The Howler Monkeys create a bone chilling sound that makes you feel like you are in a prehistoric land and humans are no longer at the top of the food chain. Pirates used to use the waters in the refuge as a hide away. When they first arrived, they were afraid to go ashore because they didn´t know what made the thunderous howling noises. Once you see the monkeys though, you are amazed that such a small thing can belt out that noise.














They also have crocodiles in the swamp, one of which we got up close and personal with. The guide was able to spot his two beady eyes from 50 feet away. When we got up close, the two little beady eyes were only the tip of the iceberg. What had appeared as a little croc turned out to be a 7-8 foot ´beaut´! When he finally got sick of us, he splashed down in the water sending the 3 women in the boat into a fit, ¨Vamanos, Vamanos!¨

Honduras Part 2

August 30

The second week here has been even hotter than the first. Sweating has become a full time job, starting at 8 sharp and continuing until after the sun goes down. Those of you who know me well, know I am more at home in the snow than on a beach, so needless to say its not my ideal climate.




























Regardless, things have been picking up with work. I am still doing some teaching with the kids in the kinder. I´m glad for the opportunity to work closely with them, but it is tiring work. I don´t think I could ever teach kids as a full time job.














More and more I´ve been working on a couple construction projects. One is the new Kinder being put up for the kids, so they don´t have to meet in the first floor of our house. The shell of the building has been completed, and we are working on some finishing touches, i.e. installing ceiling tiles, ceramic floor tiles, plumbing, electric wires, and windows. We also make use of the local labor to put money into the economy, not to mention the daily wage around here is like 7 bucks, so its well worth the extra pair of hands.















The other project I am working on is a bridge for one of the houses Helping Honduras Kids works with. It is essentially a grandma who runs 5 or so families of children who are orphaned or only have one parent who has to work all day. The current bridge they have is pretty bad, with kids sometimes tripping and falling into the disgusting sludge below. The new bridge will be made of concrete with hand rails and all. Additionally, it should still be functional during the flood periods when the water can rise 7 to 8 feet overnight. Below the kids are checking out our progress- a big hole in the ground.