The Skyline Traverse above Boulder, CO is about as iconic of a trial running route as they come. The route collects the five major peaks which sit above The People’s Republic: South Boulder Peak, Bear Peak, Green Mountain, Flagstaff Mountain, and Mt. Sanitas. These five mountains cover the entire breadth of the city and the route takes an obvious and natural course to link up the full set. When you combine the city-wide presence of these 5 peaks plus the A++ trail system in the county’s open space, it is an all-too natural link up for a complete tour-de-Boulder. Read more…
The Barr Trail on Pikes Peak is one of those routes that has been on my list for years and years, but for one reason or another, I just hadn’t done it yet. But not for lack of trying. I had a few cancelled dates along the way. I even drove all the way down to Manitou Springs a few years back, only to realize I had chosen the day of the annual Pikes Peak marathon to try to do my climb. Whoops. A slog through some open space in Monument was a pretty sad consolation prize that day. Keep reading…
I convinced a couple folks to sign up for the Copper Triangle this summer. 80 miles and 6,500 feet. Seems attainable and as a loop, doesn’t involve a complicated car shuttle. One of the training rides was the ultra classic Lariat Loop, one of the 25 Scenic Byways in Colorado and the crown jewel of the Front Range as far as cycling loops are concerned. There’s more history packed in to this one than quite possibly any other Byway in the American West. You could spend an entire weekend fully immersing yourself in the sights, sounds and smells – but we were just interested in the training this go around. One thing I love about cycling is it makes what seems like otherwise mundane trips more interesting. Keep reading…
It’s been a long ski season. A decent one though all things considered, featuring a bit of a roller coaster in terms of snowpack totals and capped off by a temperamental, dusty spring. Some good days were had, but these days I seem to find myself looking forward to the green valleys, raging creeks and dry trails of summer earlier and earlier. I’ve also always been a fan of defined endings to seasons and activities, as there’s simply too much to do in the Colorado outdoors to risk getting burned out on any one thing. So with all that being said, for me at least, it felt like the right time to take the planks out for one final ski and call it a season. Keep reading…
