Bumpers Colorado Tour 2025

[indiggio]

2/21/25
Slim, Rick, Donny and I boarded our United flight out of Philly on time, only to sit there at the gate for 1/2 hour due to snow in Denver and they were delaying out bounds to stagger arrivals, at least that was their story.  We arrived only like 15 minutes after schedule anyway.  Got a big Denali rental and headed for Costco to load up on supplies for the week and headed up into the mountains.

Home base would be the lower level of a big house in Georgetown just off 70.  Talking with a local, they said a judge built the house then got caught cheating on his wife so they had the sell it in divorce court.  It’s a really nice 2 bed, 2 bath and lots of space with a gated driveway to boot.  They say lots of people think the place is a hotel and pull in asking for rooms to rent.

Dinner was Costco chicken pot pie and Tiramisu cheesecake for dessert.

 

 

[indiggio]

2/22/25

Wow, that was one helluva night.

All the times I’ve been to Colorado the altitude hadn’t really bothered me but this time was very different and unexpected.  Tried going to bed but it felt like my heart was gonna beat outta my chest and was sucking wind just sitting doing nothing.  How the Hell was I gonna ski tomorrow?  God it sucks getting old!

Didn’t sleep a wink and managed to cobble up an egg and cheese bagel and banana, all the while sucking down water and Gatorade Zero to ultra hydrate to help with the altitude.

Went down the list of mountains to visit and having spoke with some others, the recommendation was to skip all the big resorts on a Saturday and hit Loveland because most skip it for the biggies, so that’s where we headed.  All the times I’ve been out here, I’ve never got to ski Loveland, so it’s another notch on the belt and sticker on the helmet.

Arrived in the lot about 7:30 with the sun lighting up the ridge.  Kinda chilly but not too cold.  The area got a bunch of snow last week, unfortunately none in the forecast for us this week.  Maybe some flurries at best.

The lot was filling up fast with a ton of racers.  Headed up Chet’s and down a blue to the 2 lift.  The groomed snow was superb for giant arcing turns and the edges were still soft.  Up the Ptarmigan and down into the bowl there was soft, piles of chowder everywhere.

Up the 9 and down, the snow wasn’t as good as elsewhere, so punted going back up there.  Runs off the 4 were somewhat the same.   Didn’t find much off the 8 either, so we made our way back to the other side. 

Spent the afternoon rummaging in Cat’s Nix trees.  All in all a very good first day.  Can’t believe it was such a good day after last night’s horrors.

Dinner was Costco frozen lasagna and Caesar salad, not bad.

 

 

 

[indiggio]

2/23/25

Well, going with Loveland yesterday and really avoiding the crowds, we couldn’t believe how empty it was for a Saturday morning, we decided to hit up Eldora which would be another new notch for all of us.

Unfortunately the winds have picked up and are forecasted for the next 2 days, at least.  I hate the wind!

Up and over the pass and down into the town of Black Hawk.  This place is a gambler’s dream!  There are casinos on every block!! WTF??

Arrived in the lot about 7:30 and the winds was already howling, but it was a warm wind too.  Hopefully it wouldn’t affect the snow too much.

It was another big race day here too and they had a couple of runs set up with gates already.  Chatting with a SP, he suggested staying out on the Corona lift to keep away from all the race activities.

Up the Alpenglo and down Around The Horn to get out to Corona area, the snow was perfectly groomed packed powder: fast and edgeable.

The plan today was to hit up some woods and from the Corona base the Salto glades and West Ridge looked interesting.  Unfortunately when we got to the top they were closed.

We dropped into Brian’s glades and they were so crazy tight you couldn’t get a rhythm going, punt!  Up the Corona again we chatted up a mountain guide who suggested the Gully Glades.  He said there were two entrances, both are good.  Stopped at the first entrance and it looked tight as Brian’s, so opted for the second.  Gully’s is far more fun.  The trees are just a tad more apart and you could get a nice run going.  There’s a steep section in the middle that you have to watch for, otherwise a ton of fun and we spend most of the day in there.

We went back to the base area for lunch and then went back to Corona.  Everyone must have been at lunch, as there was no line at all.  Decided to hit the Indian Peak lift just because it was running.  No line at all, but slow.  Didn’t find anything there so went back to Corona.

Up the Corona, we saw they opened up the Salto Glade area, so we headed in to check them out.  Out to the West Ridge to the boundary and the wind was howling.  The ridge is fucking steep with gigantic bumps.  Looking over the edge puckered up the sphincter a bit.  Dropped in and the snow was great and had a fun run down the bumps.  Called it a day after that workout!

Dinner was leftover chicken pot pie and lasagna.

 

[Barb]

Eldora and the whole Indian Peaks Wilderness area always gets super windy. It’s a running locals joke to not even say the word wind while you are there. Glad you got to check it out. It’s a fun little mountain that is super close to Boulder. Those casinos are nothing like AC. Tired little places, went once and never felt the need to return. 

[GrilledSteezeSandwich]

Nice report so far!!!  

[toast21602]

Did you tour the Denver Mint? 

[Johnny Law]

Sick bird !!

Loveland is the best,  just a dope fucking place to escape the madness and I love driving 70 and oh there's skiers. 

[PSUFrankenstein]

I always enjoy Loveland.  I'm guessing you didn't take advantage of the free cat skiing (if thats still a thing)...if the stuff off lift 9 wasn't great I don't think the terrain off of the cat would be good either 

[Schif]

Loveland is the best. It's 99.9% good vibes there. Best ski area breakfast ever too.