Front Range Living

It's been pretty quiet around Boulder the past few weeks, which has been kind of nice.  Laura and I took a month off from hosting visitors (AKA the Combs B&B has had a seasonal closure).  Fittingly for our closure, it seems to be "shoulder season" between the grand adventures of the winter and the grand adventures of summer.  There probably is some spring ski-mountaineering to be had right now, but I am too unmotivated after this past ski season.
Cragging up in the canyons has been great, and I have been spending a lot of time up in Boulder Canyon.  I'm trying to get in shape for some bigger ascents this summer.  One of the highlights was climbing in Clear Creek Canyon with Jon Cardwell (a friend of a friend).  It was inspiring to watch him try his 5.14 project, so much so that I almost flashed a 5.12, which is pretty good for me.
I've also been doing a lot of cycling lately, as I am training for the Triple By-Pass in July.  I even got out on my mountain bike!
All in all, life has been pretty good on the Front Range

RMNP CONDITIONS

The hike up to Emerald Lake was beautiful.  The ranger station was reporting 38" of snow. but the trail was well packed and skis and snowshoes would have only been cumbersome.  Trekking poles, gators and sturdy boots were nice but not necessary.  Post-holing was minimal but still a concern in some areas, especially higher up the trail.  I spoke to some skiers who said the snow was, "eehhh," as it softened up nicely but there were a lot of runnels already.  The March snow-pack looks more like it did in June last year.  Below is a picture of terrain above emerald lake.  There were some ski tracks in the couloirs and it looked like OK spring skiing.

Looks like there is some snow coming through this week:
http://forecast.weather.gov/MapClick.php?lat=40.3066290288676&lon=-105.66564559936523&site=bou&unit=0&lg=en&FcstType=text

Ski tracks and runnels above a frozen Emerald Lake

Great Weekend in Boulder

Lowering off at Nip-Tuck

The Hiking Crew

Emerald Lake

I really love living in Boulder.  This last weekend was a perfect example of why.  I had some great fiends from Chicago come visit (friends are always coming out to visit).  Thursday we went climbing up in Boulder Canyon at Nip-Tuck.  Friday we biked to Avery Brewing Co, and then went out on Pearl St.  Saturday was a Phenomenal day.  We Hiked up to Emerald Lake in RMNP, and then went climbing at Lilly Lake on the way home.  Sunday we went to church at the Well and then got mimosas at the Boulder Cafe.  In the evening we went for a bike ride, and grilled out for dinner.