CO Skiing or offroading in the next month?

[shawner2713]

So I'm going to be out around Denver at my sisters for a 3-5 day weekend sometime in the next month. I'm trying to decide if it's worth the 800 miles of driving from Missouri in order to spend a day doing a trail or two, or maybe some mountain biking if it's nice and dry enough. But I also want to get at least 3 days of skiing in. Will there be any good trails at this time or will they be snow covered or sloppy wet from defrost? (not totally against snow,but i don't wanna slide into a tree trying to get over a rock...) Should I just wait until my next trip in May for the off-roading/biking and fly out this time?

As far as trail options, I'm unfamiliar....I'm stock plus A/T tires. I did sevenmile rim in Moab (with some bypasses) and loved it- although i was scared the whole time of body damage or almost freakin tip over! After all, it's my daily driver that I want to keep as nice as possible for as long as possible, but still use it's capabilities.

Also, if i did drive, how many people would we be able to round up for a weekday trail ride vs weekend so that my sister doesn't have to take off work to ski.

(On a side note- anyone in CO, AZ or UT know of any job opps for an engineer a year out of college? Currently in HVAC but they're not giving me much experience....and mountains are better than hills)

 

[A10MileHusker]

By the sound of it, I'm in for a trail run. I run the trails and I'm completely stock. You can see our last trips in the Gallery Section.
We run a trail every weekend so I'm sure we'll have a few others that are in as well.

Let me know your plans.

Doug

 

[ric]

So I'm going to be out around Denver at my sisters for a 3-5 day weekend sometime in the next month. I'm trying to decide if it's worth the 800 miles of driving from Missouri in order to spend a day doing a trail or two, or maybe some mountain biking if it's nice and dry enough. But I also want to get at least 3 days of skiing in. Will there be any good trails at this time or will they be snow covered or sloppy wet from defrost? (not totally against snow,but i don't wanna slide into a tree trying to get over a rock...) Should I just wait until my next trip in May for the off-roading/biking and fly out this time?

As far as trail options, I'm unfamiliar....I'm stock plus A/T tires. I did sevenmile rim in Moab (with some bypasses) and loved it- although i was scared the whole time of body damage or almost freakin tip over! After all, it's my daily driver that I want to keep as nice as possible for as long as possible, but still use it's capabilities.

Also, if i did drive, how many people would we be able to round up for a weekday trail ride vs weekend so that my sister doesn't have to take off work to ski.

(On a side note- anyone in CO, AZ or UT know of any job opps for an engineer a year out of college? Currently in HVAC but they're not giving me much experience....and mountains are better than hills)

not sure what the chances are of getting a run on a weekday, maybe with enough notice..
once you wheel out here, you will be moving, lol
Thats exactly what happened to me, came out here on a vacation/wheeling trip, from KC, 2 years later, im here, been wheeling just about every weekend since and LOVE it, I dont ski or board, YET, theres soooo many trails, within an hour or two of Denver.
about hte only places to wheel (leagally) in the KC area are Tuttle Creek and Kansas Rocks Park (fee) both are about 2.5 hours of KC, and limited trails.
You will love it if your into wheeling and skiing.
Just let us know the dates, we will get something together :bigok:

 

[A10MileHusker]

Ya I don't leave for work until the end of may so I'm free every day until then. Give us/me some notice on the exact dates and I'm sure I'll be available for a trail run.

 

[CSL]

Also, if i did drive, how many people would we be able to round up for a weekday trail ride vs weekend so that my sister doesn't have to take off work to ski.

Something to consider: Skiing on the weekends is HORRIBLY crowded and traffic on I70 (the only real route to most resorts) is HORRIBLE! Skiing on the weekday will be FAR, FAR, FAR more enjoyable, and well worth your sister taking time off of work. (JMO)

On the other hand, wheeling is good anytime. There will still be more people on the weekend on the trails, but nothing that will make a significant difference in your enjoyment...can't say the same for skiing. If you do go skiing on the weekends, I suggest Loveland. Not a resort, no hotels, mainly locals, less crowded.

Ski in the week + forest service roads on the weekend = maximum enjoyment + minimal frustration.

 

[ric]

Ski in the week + forest service roads on the weekend = maximum enjoyment + minimal frustration.

very well said :bigok:

 

[nated05]

I just got back from a 4 night 3 day ski trip. We flew from STL to Denver and rented a car. Skied at Copper Mtn, Steamboat, and Winter Park. We skied at copper on a friday and the lines werent bad at all, WP and especially Steamboat are a bit farther from i-70 so not as bad on the weekends.
We rented a little POS Kia and fortunatly (for driving,not skiing) had good weather/roads for the weekend. Im sure if it was snowing the entire time I would have been missing my 4r even more than I already was.
As far as offroading I would think the roads in the lower elevations would be doable. I have offroaded in CO, but only during the summer.
Have fun!!

 

[shawner2713]

Thanks for the input...sorry you didn't get any fresh powder, but then you might not have even made it to the slopes in your kia.

I am really torn between flying and driving myself, I've put so many miles on the runner in this first year i've had it- already been out there 3 times with it in the last 9 months...Hopefully when i lock in the weekend I can see how many other guys might be available for a run and where they think we should go- those two answers would help me decide on transportation.

I've never been to steamboat. I loved winter park when we went a couple christmases ago. But I broke down and just bought a pass to the vail resorts this year so those are off the radar.

 

[shawner2713]

OK, so i flew out that time but I'm planning to be out there for a 4 day weekend over memorial day. Any group rides going on? I'd like to do something on friday and then something another day of the holiday weekend. I'm basically a noob, i did a mediocre trail in moab.

Anyhow, i've got the basic yellow tow strap you get at an autoparts store with the sewn in hooks- do i need to order an ARB snatch strap and d-rings for mediocre wheeling 8-10 times a year? If i do, are there places in denver that sell them priced competitively with trdparts4u? Eventually i hope to be living out there instead of MO, but for now i don't want to spend a fortune on upgrades that won't get used much for a year or 8.

obviously being from MO, i want to offroad at the higher elevations for the scenery too. Looked up maybe bill moore lake, red elephant, and mill creek? Looking for recommendations and/or guides.

Thanks!

 

[ric]

OK, so i flew out that time but I'm planning to be out there for a 4 day weekend over memorial day. Any group rides going on? I'd like to do something on friday and then something another day of the holiday weekend. I'm basically a noob, i did a mediocre trail in moab.

Anyhow, i've got the basic yellow tow strap you get at an autoparts store with the sewn in hooks- do i need to order an ARB snatch strap and d-rings for mediocre wheeling 8-10 times a year? If i do, are there places in denver that sell them priced competitively with trdparts4u? Eventually i hope to be living out there instead of MO, but for now i don't want to spend a fortune on upgrades that won't get used much for a year or 8.

obviously being from MO, i want to offroad at the higher elevations for the scenery too. Looked up maybe bill moore lake, red elephant, and mill creek? Looking for recommendations and/or guides.

Thanks!

Im sure there will be lots of runs that weekend, but Id HIGHLY suggest throwing that strap with the metal hooks away.
If that hook were to break under pressure, it could really hurt someone.
Let us know what part of Denver your going to be staying in, and we can plan a run or two :bigok:

 

[leftyguns21]

there is only 3 resorts open right now a-basin, loveland and i believe echo is still open [but its a mostly man made single life terrain park resort] so for some riding you wont have many options. the lines are not bad at all up there and traffic has died down because of the limited resorts open. i was up the other week and the snow and coverage was good for this time of the year

if you can take the time...id drive it. i always prefer driving over flying if i have the time. you get to see more of the country packing is a lot easier. sometimes its even cheaper. 800 miles is a cake walk drive you can do that in a day. if not split it up to two days and camp out somewhere

 

[shawner2713]

Yea, it's not an awful drive in a day....living in CO would be better though.

Sorry, I continued a post from a couple months ago...I'm not looking to go skiing this time out, just off roading, mountain biking (sad the resorts won't be open for that...), and hiking.

 

[leftyguns21]

and hiking.

i was doing a 14er last summer and we came across a guy from AZ who had just moved to colo the week before. he was up there in jean shorts one bottle of water and thats it....please be smarter than him and dont go nuts on the hiking. dress accordingly and drink a ton of water and have fun

 

[ric]

heres just a thought, start a new thread, with the dates and area your going to be in, this thread is getting hard to follow for us old folks (ME, lol)
FYI, wheeling is my crack, and Im addicted, so Im sure if there is any way possible, Im there :bigok:

 

[CSL]

Sorry, I continued a post from a couple months ago...I'm not looking to go skiing this time out, just off roading, mountain biking (sad the resorts won't be open for that...), and hiking.

There are a few resorts that open their lifts and the dry ski runs to mountain bikers. You can hook your bike on the lift, take the easy way up, and then bomb down the mountain on single track trails!

I have never done this myself, but you should look into it.

heres just a thought, start a new thread, with the dates and area your going to be in, this thread is getting hard to follow for us old folks (ME, lol)

Good idea. Chances are if anyone from this forum takes a trip to the Denver area this summer, they will have folks to go with on the mountain trails. Just let us know.

 

[shawner2713]

There are a few resorts that open their lifts and the dry ski runs to mountain bikers. You can hook your bike on the lift, take the easy way up, and then bomb down the mountain on single track trails!

Yeah, but they don't open until mid June usually. I did keystone a year or two ago- i hate pedaling uphill- it was a ton of fun.

I'll start a new thread, i just feel like i'm clogging the forum up...



...And those 14ers are a killer for a midwester- i've done 3 in the last couple years and oxygen is always on my mind more than water, but i do wear a camelbak.