Sunday 02-28-16

Another same type of day. After mass we just walked the pathway around the lake. You can easily see the impact of the warm temps. Many of the snow piles are melting away. Even the areas at the beginning of the lake you can see the impact. Many of the kite skiers have to go a good distance out onto the lake to find the right conditions. The only people that are enjoying the weather are the fishermen in the streams. After walking on the lake we went for beers and burgers at the Pub Down Under. Believe it or not, there has been a change in the forecast for tomorrow. It now calls for light snow and cooler temps. (MAYBE)

Saturday 02-27-16

While the spectacular morning sunrises and evening sunsets haven't been common this year, one thing has remained the same for the past 2 weeks. With the sunrise, the temps quickly warm into to the mid 20s and then rise into the mid to upper 40s by sunset. In Denver today, they had the outdoor hockey game at Coors Field and at 6:30pm, the temps were in the mid 60s. Today we went to Georgetown to watch the car racing on the lake. The tires on these cars all have large spikes for added traction. Also going on was ice fishing and a water rescue demo put on by the local fire department. After several hours of watching all of the events, we had lunch and returned home. It was a long day and we were tired. Tomorrow is more of the same type of weather .

Friday 02-26-16

It was a great beach day, I mean a great ski day. Temps went quickly from the low teens to the mid 40s by 1pm. It was a great day just to sit at a picnic table outside and have lunch. We helped one of the ski instructors by taking one of their kids up on the lift with us. We were in for an experience. The little boy was 5 years old and said he has been skiing since he was 3 years old. He prefers skiing to snowboarding and he is ready to challenge his dad in a downhill race. He has very high hopes. At lunch, two girls came by offering Serpent's Bite apple cider favored Whiskey. That shot hit the spot. Maybe this will become a daily routine. More sun and warm for the next 3 days.

Thursday 02-25-16

Another relaxing day for us. The temps were a lot warmer this morning where the temps started in the mid teens and rose to 42 by days end. After breakfast we did the laundry and then went for a walk down by the lake. The walkway also serves as a bike and jogger's path. With the warm weather and lack of snow, the path ways are clear and joggers are already using it. Hopefully tomorrow we will be back into our normal routine and go skiing. For the next 5 days only sunshine in the forecast.

Wednesday 02-24-16

Today was a non ski day. When I got up at 7am, it was -7 degrees so I went back to bed and woke up at 9:30am. We decided at that point to just rest up. We did some chores and cleaned the house. We went for a short walk by the lake and not much more. I think we need to do this ever so often. 

Tuesday 02-23-16

The "Big" snow storm brought us about 3 inches of new snow. The snow covered the ice and we were able to walk across it with ease. We went to Copper Mtn an found we had the slopes to ourselves. I would have thought the new snow would have brought more out. The only sign of skiers were skis that some people left near the lifts on the ground. By 11am, it was perfect sunshine. The forecast for the rest of the week calls for increasingly warm temps and total sunshine. What little snow that fell will not last long. After lunch I noticed a picture of a rescue dog and two ski patrol people. It is a great picture.

Monday 02-22-16

The day started with overcast conditions. Temps were in the high teens. The forecast still calls for snow beginning around lunch time. We went to Copper Mtn and the most dangerous part of the day was walking thru the parking lot. It was covered with rock hard ice. Once across the ice, we took the bus to the Union Creek area of Copper. Many of the runs were slippery at best. Any snow was skied off over the weekend. Right on schedule, it started to snow around lunch time. We skied about 10 runs and called it a day. Let it snow.

Sunday 02-21-16

Another beautiful day. After breakfast we went to mass and did a couple of chores including getting the car washed. We then got ready to go snow shoeing. The first trail we went to in Frisco was very icy and wasn't a good choice. We then went to the Lily'sPad Trailhead near the top of Buffalo Mtn. Here the conditions were MUCH better. However we did encounter several fallen trees where we had to limbo under them. We went out on the trail 45 minutes and back for a total of about 1 1/2 hours. It was very tiring. When we got back to the car, we decided we needed to go for cocktails at Copper Mtn. Tomorrow's forecast calls for snow in the afternoon and evening.

Saturday 02-20-16

Sunshine and warm temps greeted us in the morning. After breakfast, we decided to go to the town of Leadville, about 35 miles from Dillon. The road to Leadville takes you pass the parking lots of Copper Mtn. The Far East parking lot was totally filled by 11am. This lot is only used when all of the rest are filled. Not sure where they would park any more cars. Glad we weren't skiing today. About halfway there, the roadway passes over Fremont Pass which is 11,318 feet above sea level. There was a lot of blowing snow across the roadway. As you come into town, you see the National Mining Museum. WE were going to visit it but it was closed today. Since it was close to lunch time, we went to High Mountain Pies for pizza. After lunch we went to a new brew house, the Periodic Brewery. We then continued to the Silver Dollar Saloon and checked out their plans for St Patrick's Day. They have a parade that ends at the door of the saloon. I think we will attend that parade. It was a very interesting day in Leadville.

Friday 02-19-16

Overnight a fast moving cold front came thru and lowered temps into the low 20s and brought gusty wins and about 3 inches of new snow. Benny enjoyed the new snow and rolling his ball thru it. By the 9am, temps were again back into the high 20s and low 30s. We went to Copper Mtn to enjoy the fresh powder. Along the way, we saw several spin outs on the highway due to the icy road conditions. At Copper, the weekend crowds had already arrived. I guess, people don't work on Fridays and kids don't go to school. It was a very windy day on the slopes and with the LONG lift lines, we called it a day . Tomorrow, the temps are suppose to be back in the 40s with total sunshine.

Thursday 02-18-16

This morning was the warmest so far of the season. I don't think the temp dropped below freezing last night and at 6:30am, it was 37 degrees. I will be near a record high of 73 in Denver and again in the high 40s for the mountains. The down side to these warm temps is the forecast for steady winds in the 40 MPH category with gusts to 75. In the foothills and mountains, gusts could approach 100 MPH. And with this forecast, the slopes at Copper Mtn were bare of people. The lifts ran VERY slowly, even to the point of stopping all together for several minutes at a time because of the gusts. By 1pm, the snow became very soft and we finished for the day. In the parking lots, rivers of water from the melting snow was everywhere. If this freezes tonight, it will be tough walking tomorrow. The forecast for tonight calls for much lower temps an snow showers. Who knows what we will awaken to in the morning.

Wednesday 02-17-16

The weather forecasters were right. The day started out in total sunshine with temps by 10am in the high 30's. We went to Keystone and skied North Peak. Many of the runs are facing the sun and by noon time, the snow was getting very soft. We had lunch at the Outpost which is a high end restaurant. By the time we finished skiing, temps were in the high 40s and low 50s. It was one of the warmest days so far. Hopefully tomorrow will be a little cooler. The local newspaper this morning shows a trailer caught in the rock slide. No new status on when the opening of rt70 will happen.

Tuesday 02-16-16

As the sun tried to peck out between the clouds this morning, temps were already in the high 20s. We received about 1 inch of new snow overnight. The morning headline was that Route 70, the main east-west highway, was closed by Glenwood Springs due to a massive rock slide. This was the second rock slide in 2 days. On a smaller scale, the roadway be take to Copper Mtn, the Dillon Dam Road, has had its share of small rockslides. With the weather and new snow, we again went to Copper to ski. Everything was great. We were able to ski power and corduroy on the same trail. But, as you go higher up, you can see bare spots due to the wind and warm weather. When we returned home, we heard an update on he I70 rockslide. It will take another 4 days before they can open a single lane and up to 1 month before the roadway is completely opened.

The afternoon temp reached 42 degrees and tomorrow is suppose to be warmer.