Besides China Wall...
what do you all suspect might be open? I know, I ask this every season. We have gotten some late storms and new snow, so I am asking for opinions again this year. It looks like Yankee is still more snow-covered than not. I am stuck in town this weekend, I would like to get out, but I so hate snow. Has anyone heard or seen anything that is relatively dry and open? Thank you!
Up this way, it's Left Hand or nothing. Bunce School and Ironclads might also be runnable, but I don't know how much snow's on the trail. Same with Rock Creek and Miller Rock. Everything else in the Boulder and Clear Creek districts is still closed.
Thanks Rob. I am not counting on much being open this coming weekend. Maybe I will hang out at the pool where the water will probably be a 'brisk' 65 degrees. No, nevermind, that sounds like it would drive me nuts after 30 minutes.
potentially 6" more new snow into Tuesday, at least for my area, Empire Quadrangle. Everything up here is a winch fest waiting to happen. Took me 2 hours to get up 1/2 mile of Rainbow Rd. to my sub-division via ATV, gotta love riding on snow drifts for hundreds of feet, then whoomp, down sinks the atv level to the handle bars. At any rate, we are sure ready for summer up here. I will post as soon as I can get somewhere via Yankee Hill (west side over to Central City or the octopus by Pisgah, Rainbow Rd., and the Kingston Peak route. I am lucky to live adjacent to these trails, and can scout out on my ATV first, before taking the Jeep. All can ask me for conditions, any time.
All the "Gulches" are open: Hackett, Metberry and Longwater, as well as Illinois Gulch. Slaughterhouse is open and some of the side roads this side of Kenosha may be open, too.
You would also have some luck on Balanced Rock and Ice Cave Creek Road areas off the southern part of Rampart Range Road. There are some sections that are on the north side, but most of these have good exposure and are usually clear of snow by this time of year. They make for some entertaining, but not too difficult, scenic tours and you can link a bunch of these into a full day trip. If you do these, go in from the Mt Herman Road side via Monument/I25 to get to Rampart if you haven't gone this way before. When you hit Rampart, go right and all the roads/trails will start on your right side. Also if you go this way, holler at me and I will loan you some topos of this area.
What Rob said about the northern trails: Bunce, Ironclads and Left Hand are about it for right now.
I would be that if you posted a "Gulches" run, you would have quite a few takers as these are too hard, are longish and fairly scenic. You can also do more than one in a day. Illinois Gulch and Rainbow Falls road, are, to me, pretty much a waste of gas money. The views aren't very good, the roads are mostly driving on dirt, and the "obstacle" is only 200'.
I was up at Bunce yesterday and the gate to get to camp dick and the plane crash is still closed. Some snow up that way, but completely dry on the ironclads side.
Miller rock looked dry when we drove by.
Thank you for the information, it is much appreciated!
Old Chinaman's is probably ok.
just played around Dakan and the Rampart area. It was 80 degrees so that was perfect.
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