We stopped at a roadside diner to pick up some food for the last 1/2 hr of our trip towards Wolf Creek. As a long time local sang and played his keyboard in the background, a women on O2, cautioned us about the pass. “Its nasty up there” she warned. In unison, the 3 of us replied, “Perfect, that is what we want”.
It was 2 pm on Saturday the 6th and my ski partner Caren and I were out for an early season skate ski when the text came in from Amy. “Wolf Creek”. We pondered the invitation and began to move in that direction. 5 pm we were on the road. A real girls road trip…on the fly. Wolf Creek Bound. Wolf Creek is located down in Southern CO near Pagosa Springs and is known to be the wettest place in dry Colorado. The report said they had received 12″ so far from this storm. We were stoked.
Each early season I have heard of skiers chasing the snow down to Southern Co. Due to work restrictions, I never made it out of Summit County to catch these copious dumps. But Saturday was my chance. Carpe Diem. And it was well worth the 3.5 hr drive.
Sunday morning we woke to parlty cloudy skies and bone chilling weather. Winter was ever-present. Dressed in layers and pockets stuffed with tons of snacks, we bought our $56 lift tickets and waited in the lodge until the lifts opened at 9 am. Because of daylight savings, we had plenty of time to spare.
With some local knowledge in our pockets, we headed out to the Alberta lift. Down through the waterfall, we were blessed with untracked blower powder. After 2 hrs of a couple hikes and a couple of laps, the mountain started to get crowed and fresh tracks were now harder to find. Dipping in and out of the trees, we beamed as we continued to find little stashes of pure bliss. The depth seemed more like 16″. Watch the video.
After 4 hours we were cooked. The first day of the season with POWDER galore. After alittle soak at Joyful Journeys Hot Springs on the way home to break up the drive, we were home by 7pm. Wow what a whirlwind.
We are spoiled to have had such an amazing first day of the season. If you can get down there, I highly recommed it.
Tid Bits
Lodging: Allington Inn and Suites- clean, hot tub, continental breakfast. $89 for 2 queen beds
Food: Boogies in Del Norte- home cooking and great pies
Coffee: Feel’n Good Coffee House and Cafe- only coffee place in town. Good for what it was.
Hot Springs: Joyful Journey Hot Springs – Great water, Right off the hwy. Located in the San Luis Valley in south central Colorado, 30 miles south of Salida on Hwy 17, 1 mile south of Hwy 285.
