Springtime In The Rockies Too 04Apr16

So while it continues to snow and my new skis are being prepped I headed down to the Pueblo Tailwater of the Arkansas. The BWOs (they are big) and little grey midges were popping and I had a great spring day, especially 10-2, despite the 500cfs and fluctuating flows. The RS2, FoD and Reimagined Black Ice did the heavy lifting and Awesome Midge and green vinyl KF Flasher got their share as midges. The BWO hatch was thin (70+° and sunny) but evident. I caught two fish over 20" and both were very strong kype-jawed and a smidge embattled from the spawn - all the females I caught were <20" but strong too. Only gorgeous rainbows this day, but I also lost 50% of the fish hooked! Dunno if that's early season, unpracticed technique, strong "smart" fish headed for the logs and rocks or what but it happened last year too in April I recall. Fish had not moved out to the mid-stream triangles and best catches were feeding mid-column behind the weirs. I lost a lot of bugs too... back to the tying bench - at least they are bigger and easier to tie. Awesome.

Captain Fun & Clear Creek Browns 02Apr16

Captain Fun (me) took advantage of the end of ski season and snagged some cool new tools for on piste or in backcountry. Since my tele turns are no longer practiced and therefore sketchy, I longed for some heel down stuff so I could be cool like Daryle & Greg. I found a guy selling a size 30 (perfect) pair of Scarpa Freedoms and bought them - they fit great, are basically new and are tighter, stiffer and lighter than my current boots. Plus, these can be fitted with AT-compatible soles or DIN soles! I also scored some sweet 2014 SkiLogik Bomb Squads in 188 (148-122-143) with Dynafit TLT bindings. With everything used I am only out ~$550 (but I still need skins - couldn't find any used stuff that was wide enough). I am having the skis remounted to my boots right now. I still need to get some skins for these fatties and expect I'll choose BD GlideLite Mix STS skins. Of course I did a comprehensive analysis (spreadsheet) of alternative weights, features and costs comparing about 6 alternatives. This setup will be ~20# but I don't need to pay the ~$1,200 to get 18# and I don't need to endure the 24# leveraging boots on frame bindings. Seems like the right trade-offs. Oh yeah, I met Fritz Sperry (http://makingturns.com/), the author and artist, from whom I bought the skis; his house was a treasure trove of gear and artifacts in Edgewater. He switched sponsors to rmu skis and was getting rid of multiple SkiLogik sticks. We need to check out his guidebooks.

I was also able to stop and fish Clear Ck on the way back from Silverthorne. I looked up where public access was decent and fished two spots... near the zipline company and right near CO6 + I70. Both spots were still very cold with snow and ice on banks and little bug activity. Nonetheless I caught a couple of ~9" browns on the Cheeseman Emerger and ate green chili and drank a brew at the Tributary right near the intersection at the bottom of Floyd Hill. Decent day.

Springtime In The Rockies 31Mar16

As you perhaps saw on FB, Wilks and I scored some in-bounds and some backcountry during the recent storm. We skied Beaver Ck as it had good snowfall. But on the way to the slopes, descending Vail Pass into Eagle Co, I got a flat when I picked up a chain link I think. It was snowing and icy and changing the flat was sketchy without more shoulder - I could feel the trucks right off my shoes... sheesh. Undeterred we hit the slopes by ~9:15am and got Wilk's his buddy pass for $99. This was Tom's first ski outing since he broke his foot and had surgery - he did great and we skied all over BC - Grouse Mtn, Larkspur Bowl, Rose Bowl and Birds of Prey. Good day netted like 23K vert.

For day 2 of the storm I contacted DD who pointed us toward Rock Ck. Here we parked at the bottom of the hill and skinned up past the gate to the TH via the Rock Ck road... pretty easy and well used. We took the trail system to Boulder Lk (ok - part way) by using the Rock Ck trail and the Gore Trail through the Eagles Nest Wilderness... this was less used, more snowy and more undulating terrain (a number of herringbones or side-steps for me but TW went straight up). Tom had never telemarked before but was game to use my stuff and I used my new XCD gear. This was a great test for me and while Tom's full skin traction had him beat me on some ups, my glide was awesome on the reaches. NP, made it using the kicker skins. From the high point I was able to ski the trees and catch a number of new lines... woohoo.

And So It Begins In Earnest 28Mar16

It was a gorgeous day on the Arkansas River at the Pueblo Rez effluent. Flows were down a smidge from my last visit and the 350cfs was perfect for right now. The day would reach 70° and while I could've used more cloud cover for bug hatching, it helped me feel spring has truly arrived. I started at the Nature Center and was blank for the first hour but caught a passel of fish on the day after the water warmed a bit. Most fish were on midges but a couple took the RS2 - after seeing my first spring mayflies coming off spottily, I tied on my venerable BWO emerger and it didn't disappoint. I caught big fish and smaller ones but I did score a nice 21"er along with a others 17"-19". It wasn't too crowded but there were folks fishing at both NC and Valco areas. I saw fish on the redds in both spots. It felt great to catch some really nice fish again. The spawn is on, the BWOs (#18) are hatching, and the fish are hungry... Colorado is so cool.

Fishing Between The Storms 21Mar16

I caught some and I lost some on the PT including this 19"er - all rainbows. It was a nice 60+° day and I started at Nature Center then moved to Valco for lunch and the PM. Caught and lost bigger fish at Nature Center - not too crowded as the flows are fluctuating and fishing is tough - it was about ~500cfs and rising when I was there. It's still mainly midges and the red and KF style flies were the producers for me. I saw plenty of redds but no action on them - weird. Water was still pretty cold actually. This fishery is about to pop huge though I sense; when water warms a bit (Pueblo Rez if full to the brim now) and the spring BWOs start hatching in ~10 days fishing will be very good. I came back early to do a ride in COS on the SuperBike (and do errands like get the new bike built) before I head back to Summit to catch the next dump.

Ides of March 15Mar16

Missed you all, but 2 feet of new snow had me playing in Summit. Day 1 was shared with a few on Keystone's terrain and on top of 14" of new. Outback and the trees were spectacular on the pontoons. I exhausted myself on the day and could do little other than grab some TV after returning home (watched a season of Flaked by Will Arnett, last 3 episodes are worth the first 3). Though I did prepare another Thai-inspired halibut with baby bok choy seared with hot sesame oil and garlic. Day 2 with 9" reported at Breck were shred there but the snow was heavier than the first day and the wind was howling - especially at the top. Undeterred I skied TBar but ultimate found more shelter off 6, E and halfway load on the SuperConnect. Steep and deep and I should've brought the guns again but skied my "narrow" 105 Helixes this day. I did lose my skis several times in the white outs when moving so deep that skis did not float. Stopped at Broken Compass for a new Grapefruit IPA. Yeah - that second day shoveling is just the second foot since Mon night... Had to dig the spa out to repair the aching bod'.

Calm Before The Storm 12Mar16

Arrived in Summit after traffic-free, sun-filled and weatherless quick drive. Enjoyed a new Ninkasi Velocihopter on the deck while reading of DU's 1st NCAA skiing championship and just before a great early season lax game pitting DU (#2) against Notre Dame (#1). Sweet. Awaiting this week's 2 feet of snow!

DU wins but let ND come back from 7-2 in the 4th to tie 8-8 at end regulation. DU won faceoff and set a play in OT to win - guess who's #1 now and still undefeated? Tried a new Boulder brewery's (Vindication) Momentum IPA; decent.