Peter Schrammel - Mountains

16. 2. 2012

Peter Schrammel, (Bertrand Jeannet)

Weather

cloudless

Interest

****: Boulderites' playground during weekends

Route

Boulder, 1655m - Chautauqua Park, 1785m - Green Mountain, 2482m - Chautauqua Park - Boulder

Elevation gain

867m (bicycle: 140, hiking: 727)

Distance

13km (bicycle: 5, hiking: 8)

Timing

3 1/2h (1/4 + 2 + 1 + 1/4)

Stamina

Difficulty

0: quite slippery in snowy conditions

Danger

2: Gregory canyon, summit, steep forests

Visitor frequency

Report

During my research visit to Boulder, Bertrand and I rented bicycles at the hotel one beautiful day and cycled up Baseline Road to Chautauqua Park. We chained the bicycles to the information panel at the parking and walked up the Gregory Canyon trail. There were lots of beauty spots and Bertrand was taking pictures with his medium format camera. The path was very slippery due to the compacted snow and at some point, Bertrand preferred to return. I continued further and took the Ranger trail and through more or less dense forests up to the top of Green Mountain. The snow was quite deep, but easier to walk. From the top I had an excellent view to the higher Rocky Mountain peaks. While I rested, a couple of other hikers arrived. I continued towards Saddle Rock. I tried to reach one of the rocky mushrooms to peek down to the flat irons. I caught a glimpse of these impressive rock formations, but completely wetted my shoes and trousers in the hip deep snow. Further down the Saddle Rock trail has some steep sections in the woody canyons. Several people who have fought their way up asked me about the remaining way to the top. Chains would have been very useful for walking more securely. Once I slipped and sledded a meter on my bottom. Fortunately, there were no rocks in the way that I could hit. Finally, I arrived at the parking. My bicycle was still there with the lock hanging loosely around it. I had given the key to Bertrand so that he wouldn't have to wait in the cold. The bicycle was a terrible cruise bike, quite dangerous on the way down given the steepness of the road and the icy patches that I had to circumnavigate. After these adventures the steak tasted even better in the evening.