temp closure, Wilder Gulch (Vail Pass)

[Kevin]

http://www.vaildaily.com/article/20100107/NEWS/100109813/1078

Snow road closed near Vail Pass, There's not enough snow
Daily staff report newsroom@vaildaily.com
Vail, CO Colorado,

VAIL PASS, Colorado — The seasonal snow road in the Wilder Gulch drainage (Trail No. 6) within the Vail Pass Winter Recreation Fee Area will be temporarily closed to motorized vehicles due to lack of snow.

The road is closed to prevent damage to this area. Forest Service rangers will be monitoring conditions daily to determine when they can re-open the road.

An alternate route to access the Ptarmigan Pass and Machine Gun Ridge area is Resolution Road (Trail No. 7), which is accessible from Camp Hale.

For more information, call Graham Predeger at 970-274-9911 or Tyler Kirkpatrick at 970-376-4317.

 

[AndrettiDog]

That means no monkeys on the hill climb (Shrine Bowl). I bet the tree huggers are loving this!

 

[J-Fly]

You dont need Wilder Gulch road to get to Shrine Bowl. Shrine Road was open today. There was a huge slide on Shrine Bowl. I cant believe people are highmarking on this **** snow when the avalanche conditions are super high. Morons.

 

[mannix]

I'd have thought one could get to Ptarmigan through Shrine Bowl - is that crossover road closed?

Does not surprise me that it slid. Scary. How was the snow?


Iain

 

[J-Fly]

I'd have thought one could get to Ptarmigan through Shrine Bowl - is that crossover road closed?

Does not surprise me that it slid. Scary. How was the snow?


Iain

The crossover road has not been made yet, not enough snow i guess. Doesnt surprise me that it slid, it does a couple times every year. The snow sucked really. Its really shallow, windblown, crusty facets. Avalanche heaven. I have never seen that little amount of snow at Vail Pass the last 4 years. I just wanted to get a couple snowboard runs in, but the damn road to ptarmigan was closed, so we rode to Mangos and ate lunch and rode back. I hate trail riding.

 

[mannix]

Thanks, J-Fly, appreciate it.

Hrmph. What to do tomorrow? It'll not be crowded if we go down the back to Camp Hale, that's for sure....



Iain

 

[SKYJMPR]

Here's a couple of pics from the slide last year that i was able to out run just thought i would share

 

[Kevin]

Update: January 19

http://www.summitdaily.com/article/20100119/NEWS/100119766/1078

Thin snow causes Vail Pass trail closures
Ninety percent of trails are still open
BY Julie Sutor
summit daily news,

SUMMIT COUNTY — The U.S. Forest Service closed some seasonal snow roads at Vail Pass Recreation Area during the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday weekend due to continued lack of snow. The trails will remain closed until there is enough snow to prevent recreation activity from causing resource damage.

“We're evaluating the trails on a daily basis,” said winter backcountry ranger Graham Predeger. “Depending on what kind of snow we get in the next few days, we can hopefully open them back up for next weekend.”

The closures include trails 2, 9 and 10. The Ptarmigan Hill area is also closed. Wilder Gulch, a snow road that provides access to the Ptarmigan Pass area, is open.

Activity at the Vail Pass rec area has been down relative to last year, according to Predeger. The Forest Service has sold 300 season passes so far this winter, compared to about 350 passes this time last season.

“MLK weekend is historically pretty busy for us, but the parking lot didn't fill up this year. That's probably partly because of the snow,” Predeger said.

The Colorado Avalanche Information Center forecasts light snow over the next few days, with today's predicted accumulations totaling 0-2 inches in Summit County and about 3-6 inches in Eagle County. The southern San Juan Mountains are predicted to be Colorado's big winner in this storm cycle, with accumulations of 6-8 inches today. Temperatures in Summit County will be in the low 20s.

“We're doing the snow dance daily, praying for more snow,” Predeger said.

 

[Kevin]

Update Feb. 13

http://www.summitdaily.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2010100219919

Some trails remain closed at Vail Pass Rec Area

SUMMIT COUNTY — Vail Pass Recreation Area, a popular spot for backcountry skiers and snowmobilers, continues to have trail closures due to below-average snowpack. Snow accumulations in the central Rocky Mountains remain below normal, especially in the Vail Pass area.

As of Thursday, Feb. 11, the Shrine Pass/Wilder Gulch connector route (Trail 2 on the pocket map) remained closed to snowmobile use due to a lack of adequate snow. The peak of Ptarmigan Hill within a 50-meter radius of the Ptarmigan radio repeater is also closed, according to Graham Predeger, Backcountry Ranger for the VPWRA. Both trails have closure signage.

These temporary closures have been put into effect in order to prevent resource damage in the popular recreation area. Forest Service rangers will monitor conditions daily in order to reopen closed areas as soon as favorable snow conditions allow.

For current snow and trail conditions across Colorado, snowmobilers can visit the Colorado Snowmobile Association website at www.coloradosledcity.com.

For further information or questions, contact Graham Predeger at (970) 274-9911 or Tyler Kirkpatrick at (970) 376-4317.

 

[Doctor D]

Big o slide

Rode vail a ton of times in the last 10 yrs, thats the largest chunk Ive seen break off at one time. HOPE the snow gods dump more this spring on the pass area