20120207Tuesday Feb 7 Ski from Tennessee Pass to Vance Cabin

20120207Tuesday Feb 7 Ski from  Tennessee Pass to Vance Cabin
Tom arrived at about 10:30am in his big Ford F750 diesel van. It was decked out for going into the back country with a wooden sleeping platform in the back under which we stored all the skis.  Tom's 2 dogs were left at his home as was Julz's big Husky dog Blizzard. Blizzard the only dog I have every had any time for as he has a very warm personality and forlorn eyes, which he uses to advantage.

We were on the roads at 11am and heading east on the I70. At Minturn we turned south passing the start of our previous back country ski a few day before. The distance was about 50kms to the Ski cooper ski area at Tennessee Pass. We had passes through the town of Minturn 4 years ago on our way to Jackal Hut when it had been completely buries in snow. Now the snow was below normal falls and we could see the town as a classical American village. Tom was able to tell us that the folk who live in Minturn were very different to the folk who lived at Vail (say) and recounted a number of stories about Minturn and Leadville. I had been attracted by Leadville's cheap backpacker accommodation and I have now revised any plans to stay there. Julz told a story about a friend of hers who saw a man shoot a women near Camp Hale, the friend reported it to the Leadville police and they were not interested in investigating the murder. A hit-man will charge only $30 to remove a person for you.

We arrived at the Cooper Ski are a little after noon just as the previous Vance Cabin group arrived at their vehicles. We exchanged information about the trail in.  The cooper Ski area is when the original 10th mountain Division Soldiers trained and it was unlike the ski villages on the I70. It was very much a family business and had only a small number of lifts and only a small area to ski. The tickets were much cheaper than Vail prices.

We got our gear on our backs and turn on the avalanche beacon and headed to the trail head. There was a large sign indicating the Vance cabin Trail head and the blue trail markers of the 10th Mountain Division began.  It was about 4kms to Vance Cabin.

We skied down trail through an aspen forest and followed the trail up piney gulch (creek) to a small dam. Here we crossed the creek and followed ski tracks up a clear slope. The slope was reasonably steep and we felt our heavy packs weighing on our should. Soon we entered aspen forests again. The trail wound upward to the top of a spur off Taylors Peak and we turn NE and followed the spur upwards. The trail was not so steep at this point and it slowly turned northwards. The views were restricted by the dense trees and we only got occasional glimpses of distant peaks and snowfields. The trail level and we knew that we were not far from the Cabin.

Quiet suddenly we came out onto a clear area and we were all brought to a stop at the magnificence of the view of high mountain peaks. We were immediately confronted by the 14003-foot Mount of the Holy Cross in the west.  We could see the small Homestake Peak we climbed (to the lower reaches not the top) above the 10th Mountain Hut in 2005. To the north was the Gore range and to the south was the Mt Massive Wilderness with Mount Elbert, the highest peak in the Rocky Mountains of North America, at 14440 feet (4401 m), glimmering above the sheen of Turquoise Lake. After many photograph we skied down a few 100 metres to the hut.

We arrived at the Cabin at about 3pm to find it full of people enjoying the little sun there was on the south verandah of the cabin. They turned out to be a pleasant (although sometimes a little noisy) group. They were all from the restaurant industry and we got on well. We were also to meet 2 other folk, both Denis's, who we were to spend long conversations and also a long card game, over the next 2 days. I have Denis Berry's email address as he is very interested in the ABC podcasts and I want hear his feedback.

Vance Cabin is not quiet the same standard as some of the other 10th Mountain Division hut we have been to (Harry gates, Jackal, 10th Mountain etc) but it did have more character. The roof was a single pitch and covered 3 levels. The  lower bunk room, the mid kitchen lounge area and the upper smaller bunk room. A single slow combustion stove in the lower bunk room provide satisfactory heating. Some negatives were: the upper bunk room was too hot and the lower bunk room lacked ventilation. The kitchen was well stocked and the outside 'restroom' was the usual 10th Mountain Div high standard.

Julz and Tom prepared the main meal of a very tasty open tortilla with a dessert of Tequila jello (Whoe - that was good).

Names of others in the Cabin:
Alex, John, Janet, Caitlin, Jared, --- Denis (Berry) retire IT manager - Boulder Uni, Denis ?, ++