Spring Dawn Patrol in RMNP

Mark Lesh and I thought a 3:30am wake up would get us in the alpine before wet slides started rolling down, but with barely freezing temps overnight, we had to make do with a much shorter, safer route than we had hoped for in Rocky Mountain National Park. Debris piles were huge and fresh, and the famed Colorado red dust layer was visible on many aspects, undoubtedly doing nasty things to the snowpack. The surface was softening quickly on this sunny east face, but remained rock hard in the basin, so the skiing was, shall we say, "variable." But it was a beautiful sunrise in the Park, and I won't complain about getting out and enjoying the mountains while most people are headed to work!
--BCM Editor Drew Pogge.