Tuesday, April 21, 2009

X-C ski: To Go Where Only the Elk Have Gone Before







This afternoon I took the time to enjoy one of the "fringe" benefits of living up high in the Colorado Rockies - being able to x-c ski right out the back door in April.

When I got to the top of the ridge, I found that I was not the first one on the trail - a couple of elk had beat me to it.

The carnage to the trees from the weight of the snow continues to impress me. Full sized trees would be snapped off half way up. I've always wondered why there are some ponderousa pine trees around here that had a curious 'Y' shape to them. Now I know why. A previous storm had snapped of the top and the two nearest top branches would form a new top.

It appears that the last time this happened, judging from the maturity of the 'Y' shapes, was probably 20 or 30 year ago.

So, given this evidence, I can safely say that this was the worst storm in decades.