By Steph
Typically when we close down for the spring break at Vista Verde, it’s because all that amazing snow that Colorado is known for needs to melt away, which leads to a lot of mud. This year, the memo seems to have missed the mountains, as we’ve been getting more days of snow than sun in April. We could have stayed open another month, and still be hosting families coming for spring break vacations! But, hindsight is 20-20, of course. So, we’re making the best of it and trying to enjoy these fun spring conditions while the ranch is closed down.
There are several special times that happen throughout the spring in the mountains of Colorado. One of them is a small window of time when fly fishing the rivers is prime. It comes right in between the end of winter and spring. Brandon will be writing about that in an upcoming installment of The Fly. The other is crust skiing season. This “season” can come and go throughout the spring, depending on the conditions. We had those perfect conditions for our spring break week earlier in March. And, after weeks of fresh snow, we just hit those conditions again today.
Perfect spring crust skiing conditions arrive when the snow base is still deep but the spring sun has been beating on the top layer of snow for a day or two. Then, if you get a hard freeze overnight, the snow forms a perfect firm crust that you can walk on, bike on or ski on. No grooming equipment needed to pack down the snow, you just go wherever you want.
This morning I anticipated those conditions and grabbed my skis as I headed out the door to the Lodge. After getting a few things done in the office, waiting for the sun to peek over the Continental Divide, I put on my boots, hopped over the fence (it’s easy as it’s only peeking out about 4 inches above the snow) and hit the meadows.
Skating around the ranch property on the crust allows for you to go almost anywhere. I was in the meadows, playing slalom with the aspens, and dodging willows. Then I crossed a snow bridge over the creek, hopped a few more fences and ended up enjoying the sun breaking over the mountain as I headed toward Indian Hill. You can ski fast and far without much effort on the crust.
I didn’t see much wildlife, but there were a lot of tracks, and I was being watched at one point by a large winged friend (couldn’t tell what kind of hawk it was). Otherwise, it was perfectly silent and I glided across the snow.
Although we’re all dreaming of summer days right now, we would be foolish to not seize the moment to enjoy these experiences during our spring break! You never know what and when the right conditions will apply, but if you want to explore the idea of having a spring break vacation while we’re open in March next year, maybe we’ll get you out crust skiing!
