Summit County

Summit County, one of my favorite places in the world, sits high on the Colorado Plateau. Water, mountains, trees, vistas, trails give visitors a great deal to take in. In the winter, there’s world class skiing, and in the summer, there’s hiking, biking, and outdoor sports galore.

The county is bisected by I-70 leading from Denver to Grand Junction crossing several high passes including the 10,000 ft Vail Pass.

The long Eisenhower Tunnel bypasses the 12,000 ft Loveland Pass, an avoidance I happily took. While I-70 tunnels through the mountain, Loveland Pass is a twisty, turny, two-lane, roller-coaster ride up and over the mountain. From the top you can see down over two valleys with steep snow-capped peaks and green valleys. This is where Matt and I took our avalanche course, in the winter of course. We spent the day digging a snow profile, testing the slopes, using beacons, and digging out buried gear.

Another neat feature that separates this area is the pristine Lake Dillon. Denver owns the manmade lake and the surrounding land. Because this lake supplies 7% of Denver’s water, there is almost no development along the banks. They do allow a variety of boating including a rowing club with weekend clinics in the summer.

Going down past the ski areas Arapahoe Basin and Keystone I turned before entering Dillon on Swan Mountain Road which goes around the back side of the lake. Even though I was on two wheels, I wished I had my road bike for this stretch. The grade wasn’t too steep and the view of the lake was spectacular. For a place with little water or at least hard to get water, this massive lake stands in contrast to the environment. There are a number of much smaller mountain lakes, but those don’t compare to this giant.

I spent the night at my mom’s cabin which is nestled in the White River National Forest. I always enjoy going, even for a night, especially alone. I’ve had tons of great ski days, many tasty meals, and lots of restful nights in this quiet retreat where cell phones resist the urge to connect to the outside world.

Unfortunately at least half of the tall pines both along the meadow and in the forest have been infested with tiny black beetles who dig in and kill their hosts. From a distance normally evergreen swaths are filled with rust colored ghosts of former grandeur. There are a number of guesses to why this is nearing epidemic proportions like the lack of very very cold days, the mitigation of natural forest fires, or the clearcutting of 100 years ago without diversity in reforestation.