Ice Ice Baby...

It was a fast and furious weekend that ended all too soon. Caleb and Kelli just departed for home and Bobbie just left for a day of work at Mountain Fever. Other than the rhythmic groan of an overpacked dishwasher, I am left alone in the post-party vacuum of a too quiet house.
 
Having only one day and two nights with loved ones, on the heels of a three-day storm more reminiscent of March than May, we thought our time together would be best spent outdoors, playing in the icy, high-altitude aftermath. 

We bundled up and piled into Petroleus Rex, put him in Four Wheel Drive, and headed up Camp Bird Road to see how far we could get.

The above photo shows the Icy Impasse. So I (carefully) backed down to a slightly wider spot in the road and parked. Guess we'd have to hike the rest of the way up to Yankee Boy Basin...that is, if we could negotiate a section of narrow, icy, over-hung road and a maze of icicles waiting to fall and send us plunging over the edge. A day without a few drops of adrenaline is a day wasted :)

 We all took turns wiping out. The surface was impossible to stand up on; lumps and bumps and slicker 'n snot. It helped to hug the wall at first, but eventually it proved to be an all-fours crawl. Every so often a huge hunk of ice would come crashing down. Yeah..."iffy."

Caleb and I made it through...leaving the gals to fend for themselves. Once through the "tunnel," everything settled down. White mountains against Colorado Blue skies, and a few puffs clouds. Beautiful beyond belief, and worth the risk. 

It's difficult to see, but the below photo of an avalanche chute shows large trees laid over and/or literally snapped off like they were toothpicks. 

We are headed around behind Stoney Mountain, shown above and below. There's a lot of gasping for air going on.

Finally, a view of 14,150 foot Mount Sneffles (above left). The County dozer had just cleared the road to Yankee Boy Basin, then the big storm hit and dumped another 3 feet.

Time to head down. A day well spent, full of memories and snapshots of good times. Now if we can only get through that icy section unscathed. This time I suggest teaming up...still, we all wiped out.