Hidden Valley

Happy New Year! We ended 2010 by going on a backcountry adventure in Rocky Mountain National Park. Our friends Shane and Christine took us to do a little backcountry riding at this area called Hidden Valley. According to Shane, back in the day it was all the rage for National Parks to have ski resorts. Hidden Valley opened in RMNP in 1955. Then, years later, ski resorts in the National Parks fell out of favor and Hidden Valley closed in 1991. Now the area is used for backcountry skiing. The road that takes you to the top of the runs is closed in the winter because of all the snow. Christine drove us up as far as the road was open and dropped us off where it closed. When we got out of the car it was -1 degrees outside with a windchill down to -20. This was the first time I've ever been in negative degrees. We had to hike about a mile and a half to get to the area where you can drop in. It was a pretty flat hike, but still very tiring due to the elevation (10,000-11,000 ft), the cold, the wind, the knee deep snow (in some places), and the snowboard I was carrying. Even though it was tiring I was glad to be hiking because it kept us warm. At one point, Drew turned around and looked at me and said "your snot is frozen to your face." All I could picture is that scene in Dumb and Dumber when they're on that little motorcycle trying to make it to Aspen. After what seemed like forever, we finally got to an area where we could drop in and ride. The trees were pretty tight, but there was more powder than I could've dreamed of. Almost too much powder. The problem with riding powder is that you have to go fast to be able to make your turns. This is tough to do in the midst of trees. I spent a lot of time on my butt buried in snow, but it was well worth the adventure. It seemed like the ride down was harder than the hike up. We finally made it back to the car safe and sound. Our hair was frozen and our faces were red, but we felt great. My numb toes proceeded to regain feeling, which was the most painful part of the whole day. Now, hours later, they still ache. I'm sure this excursion sounds like no fun to most people, but the work and discomfort were well worth being present in the beauty of winter in the mountains. Cheesy, but true, and a great way to end the year.

This is the only picture we took today. It was taken with my cell phone where we were dropped off at the road closure. We didn't have our camera with us because the battery was dead, but even if we did we wouldn't have been able to take any pictures because it was too cold to take our mittens off. Also to report, we got about 6 inches of snow in Longmont over the past 2 days. I drove in the snow for the first time and got to shovel snow for the first time. I was so excited I shoveled our sidewalk, kept going and shoveled our neighbors sidewalk, and ended up shoveling the rest of the block. This morning, someone in the neighborhood with a big snow blowing machine came and did the whole street. I guess random acts of kindness really do get payed forward.

Drew's fun fact: The largest snowflake recorded was fifteen inches in diameter.