TBT TR: Skiing Bear Lake Terrain Park (29 April 2016)
(Last Updated On: January 5, 2017)
This post is part of a Throwback Thursday series featuring trip reports that we haven’t had a chance to write about until now! Look for them at least every other Thursday!
Rocky Mountain National Park harbors some fantastic backcountry skiing. Unfortunately, with the seasonal closure of Trail Ridge Road until around Memorial Day, much of the skiing is difficult to access. However, the Bear Lake zone is accessible all winter long and holds some of the best backcountry skiing in the Front Range that is not on the I-70 corridor with plenty of route options for both winter and spring.
Although I had skied a few times in this area when I resided on the Front Range 10 years ago, I had long forgotten the specific lines in the Bear Lake “Terrain Park”. So, after a good sized spring storm late last April, I revisited the area with my friends Zach and Scott.
The views upvalley from Dream Lake are hard to top – with Hallet Peak on the left and Flattop Mountain on the right (Dragon’s Tail and Dragon’s Tooth couloirs in view).
The foliage is quite unique in Rocky Mountain National Park.
Scott talking options on top of the Dream Shots.
Zach soaking up the view under stormy skies.
Hmmmm….. looking tasty and untouched!
Scott making some powdery turns on the Dream Shots.
Zach catches some air.
For lap 2, we headed over to the East Alleys above Lake Haiyaha.
We then continued down Marios – named after the popular video game because there’s all kinds of features to “bounce” off of, like Scott’s doing here.
We then headed back up for one more run in the Glacier Knobs/Olympic Games area. Zach.
Scott.
After all this recent snow, I’d say that the Bear Lake Terrain Park ought to be shaping up pretty well for the season. You just might wanna give it a try sometime soon!
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