Rafting Vail

Last Thursday after mountain biking the North Trail we went whitewater rafting on the Gore Creek in Vail. This is an easy section with only one category 3 rapid, but is really beautiful and a great way to get a different perspective of Vail. This was much different than my Clear Creek trip back in May.

Jeff shot this video on his GoPro:

Yurtstock 6

Last year's Yurtstock 5 was a highlight of the summer. This year it was another great weekend.

Best campsite award goes to the covered wagon:


Koura hanging around:

Eagle's Nest Sunset

This past Thursday, after mountain biking the Sandstone section of the North Trail, I went up the gondola with Jeff and Mel to watch the sunset.

Mel and Jeff in Vail's gondola:


Mount of the Holy Cross as seen from Eagle's Nest:


Looking west:

Sandstone section of Vail's North Trail

Vail has an extensive single track system on the north side of I-70. This is the "Sandstone" section which runs from Red Sandstone Road to Buffher Creek. This past Thursday I took the day off from work to ride this quick 5 miles has a good climb and then the downhill is a combo of fast and smooth, and then loose, rocky and technical.

Sky Chutes with Lexey

On Sunday Lexey and hit up the 10 Mile Range. We hiked the Wheeler Trail from Copper to the top of the saddle (affectionately called the Sky Chutes). We wanted to do some ridge hiking up there, but the winds were too high so we turned around.

A few more photos here.

Lexey at 12,460 feet above sea level:


Koura killed this hike with her backpack on:


Summit:

Last Saturday's ride at White Ranch

I kept hearing about the attributes of White Ranch outside of Golden, CO. I decided to head up there last Saturday and see what the singletrack had in store for me. It was much more technical than I expected with huge waterbars, plank riding, rocks, sand, etc. Overall, really fun trails. I rode Belcher Hill, Mustang, Longhorn (not the steep section though), Shorthorn, Maverick, and Sawmill. I can't wait to get out there and do some of the other ones.

Video from Belcher Hill and Mustang (full of plank riding with a small crash at the end):

Walker Ranch

Yesterday I went and rode Walker Ranch. Unfortunately, I didn't bring the GoPro with me. I didn't think this would be a good ride for it. I was wrong. This is a great picturesque ride and was more physically demanding than I thought it would be since it is only 7.6 miles. New new Kenda ExCavators did their job. Super grippy. The downhill sections of Walker Ranch are pretty much perfect singletrack. If you haven't done this one, get there now.





There is one mandatory hike-a-bike section:

Red Sandstone Road

In the early/mud season in Vail the fire roads are the place to ride mountain bikes. I was up in Vail last weekend for the Vail Mountain Teva Games so I went for a quick spin up Red Sandstone Road, my old stomping ground. I used to do this ride daily in the spring and fall when the other trails were too snowy or muddy. It was good to get back at it even if it is a short ride.

The ride back down from the Piney Road/Lost Lake split:

2010 Teva Games - Women's Freestyle Whitewater Kayaking

Emily Jackson ran away with it again this year. More photos here.

Emily:


Fast water:


Going at it hard:

2010 Teva Games - Family Mud Run

The family mud run is one of my favorite events of the Teva Mountain Games every year. More photos here.

First runner to hit the mud:


Poor girl lost her shoe in the mud. Someone found it at the end of the race:


Family mud time:

2010 Teva Games - Slopestyle Mountain Biking

The slopestyle mountain bikers were killing it with perfect views behind them of the Gore Range. More photos here.





My favorite shot of the day with the Vista Bahn chairlift in there:

2010 Teva Games - Mountain Biking

Great racing out in Vail. More photos here.



Lexey, Dan, Brienne, and Jeff watching the race:


Good skid, sorry about the mud on my lens:

2010 Teva Games - Men's Kayak Rodeo

Current music: Iron Maiden - Killers

Unfortunately, the Teva Games had to cancel all whitewater events on the Gore Creek on Sunday because the water was too high. I had never seen it like this before, but the hole was awesome.

More shots from Saturday's Men's finals are here.

Flips:


Audience:


The hole is as deep as the kayaker is tall:

2010 Teva Games - Dock Dogs

I am finally getting photos finished up from last weekend and the Vail Mountain Teva Games.

The Dock Dogs competition was entertaining as always. I think Koura and I need to join the Rocky Mountain Dock Dogs.

Bergen Peak single track

On Memorial Day, the Hulse's came down from Vail to ride some Front Range single track with Dan and I. We went up to Bergen Peak outside of Evergreen and hit it.

HD version also available over here.

This is my first exploration into BlipSnips, a Boulder company. Pretty cool and really easy to use. Why can't I embed HD videos though?

GoPro HD Whitewater Rafting

Whitewater Rafting on Clear Creek

Sunday was some serious fun day. Lexey, Alayne, and I went to Idaho Springs to go rafting with Clear Creek Rafting Company. Here are a few photos they took of us in the raft. Video from my GoPro HD is coming.

More photos here.

Hiking in Georgetown

Alayne came into town on Friday night. I don't think I have seen her in about 7-8 years! On Saturday morning we went on a hiking adventure. We never did find the trailhead we were looking for, but it was ok. We found some old mines and some great views.

More photos here.

Alayne and Lexey:


Alayne, Lenny, and Koura:


Koura playing in the snow:

Superior Morgul Street Sprints

On Friday I went over to Superior to take some photos of the Street Sprints. This was my first race as the official Team Echelon photographer. I got some good shots of them along with many others. I had no idea there was going to be a BMX stunt team there too. That was cool to see.

More photos here.