Sunday, December 21, 2008
EAST PORTAL
Leaving Boulder this morning with no real set plans on where to ski I found myself again in Nederland with the dilemma of east portal( rollins pass), or somewhere off the peak to peak highway. I decided to go to the east portal, and I figured with any luck I might run into Chris and Redcoat who also had plans to be up there.
Pulling off the highway in Rollinsville, onto the dirt road to the tunnel, it was definitely windy.....
Once above treeline though it wasn't so bad.
I eventually made it up to the Forest Lakes area and had to decide on what to ski. Which was a difficult choice considering all my options.
With so many alpine bowls calling my name I still had to be aware of avalanche dangers .
Playing it safe and staying on lower angle slopes ( slopes generally under 30 degrees)
I got in some great turns on old Frosty Mountain
which is the prominent rounded mountain in the pics.
It was definitely exciting being up that high alone and in the middle of winter. No room for mistakes or second guesses, no one else to blame if things go wrong. Its that extreme level of self reliance that made this trip to the portal so rewarding.
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