While it is not yet a great ski season in New Mexico, Wolf Creek is having a tremendous season, with ann 88-inch base and hopefully more on the way. I'd like to spend a couple days there during the week, Thursday and Friday the 27th and 28th, to enjoy some uncrowded non-weekend skiing. We would rent a place in Pagosa Springs, travelling there Wednesday afternoon, ski two days, and return on Saturday. Ski tickets on Wolf Creek are still reasonably priced, for example $51 for seniors. Please let me know if you would like to join in, and I'll organize lodging.
Join PEEC and the Los Alamos Mountaineers for an intermediate, point-to-point snowshoe or cross-country ski outing from the Las Conchas Trailhead to the East Fork Trailhead on Saturday, January 22. This trip will cover 4.5 miles and about 800 feet of elevation gain. It will be of intermediate difficulty and technicality and participants should be able to hike 5 miles in 2.5 hours comfortably and have previous experience snowshoeing or skiing. The use of snowshoes and skis will be weather-dependent.
This is a question, not a trip! Are you interested in some beginner backcountry X-C ski instruction? (you must have your own equipment) Let me know in the next couple of weeks, and we will work on setting up a date/time. There is snow now, so we shouldn't delay too long in taking advantage.
In a repeat of a classic outing, let's head north over the Martin Luther King holiday weekend downhill/ crosscountry/ snowshoe around Monarch Pass. Although this might not be the greatest snow season, Monarch should offer something, and reports 24" on the ground as of Dec. 10. We will head for Salida to establish a base in a comfortable house or cabin, and spend our days in winter sports in the Monarch Pass area. Some of the Pajarito season passes offer three free days at Monarch, and otherwise tickets are relatively inexpensive online.
Let's start the year by climbing a peak. I want to snowshoe to the top of Cerro Grande, 4 miles round trip with a 1,300 ft elevation gain. Sweeping views of the Valles Caldera from the top, at 10,200 ft.
Departure time will be 9:30 am from the trailhead parking lot, located on State Route 4.
Dress in layers and prepare for cold and possibly windy weather. Bring snowshoes, trekking poles, sunglasses, sunscreen, water, and snacks.
Join Zack on an easy out-and-back ski to Canada Bonita. We'll start at 10am on Thursday at the ski hill parking lot and go out to the caldera overlook. This is a good time to check out your gear; this is not a race and not ambitious.
Please let me know if you're coming, I'll bring snacks.
Hi, anyone want to go out tomorrow on an explore of Duchess Castle and the mesa beyond, cross-country on the detached northern segment of Bandelier National Monument? The hike is a bit north of the well-known Tsankawi Ruins loop, exploring across the flat and up onto the mesa, and is not a hike on a trail. If I get some interest by 9 AM tomorrow, we'll arrange to meet at the trailhead at 10 AM and hike until mid-afternoon. Bring lunch etc. Hopefully we will get snow after Monday, so with any luck (snow, that is), this will be the last sunny day for while.
If the weather permits, let's get out on Saturday Dec. 18 to continue the explore that we started on Nov 26 and complete a loop from Box Canyon to Chimney Rock above Ghost Ranch. We will take the trail up Box Canyon, get on the mesa, and connect to the route that we explored on the 26th. This will be an explore off the beaten path. This is a weather permitting hike, and depends on what snow we might get next week.
We have many times travelled to Bluff, Utah for a taste of the canyon country. Bluff is less than six hours from Los Alamos and, situated along the San Juan River, at a low altitude best suited for trips late or early in the season. Even at the beginning of December the average daily high is around 50 F. There are numerous places to hike and explore from Bluff, including the ruins and big views of Comb Ridge, the canyons accessible from Cedar Mesa, the canyon rim just north of Bluff itself, and farther afield to places like White Canyon.
