Prom Dress Couloir (Peak 1)

Access: Mt. Royal TH or the bike path in Frisco
Start: 0900, 5/2/2014
Total Distance ~6 mi R/T
Duration: 4 to 5 hours
Vertical: ~2000'
Aspect: NE
Weather: 30F-45F/clear, 10-20 mph winds above TL
Conditions: Wind compacted powder, corn

Peak 1 is the northernmost peak in the Tenmile Range rising prominently to the south of I-70 with Frisco in its shadow - especially in the winter when the sun sets at 1 PM over the western edge of town. The snowy summit stares at me every morning from my front porch so I've been itching to drop the Prom Dress for awhile. Save it for stable conditions with ~45° slopes crossing over cliffs and funneling into a 35° bowl.

The Approach:
There are really two choices. There's the obvious route from the Mt Royal TH that climbs past J-chute over Mt. Victoria with class 3 scrambling on the NE ridge to the summit. The summit often has a cornice that must be navigated to reach the east ridge and the entrance to Prom Dress. The traverse from the summit to the east ridge lies above 200' cliffs.

The other option is to skin from the bike path directly to the east ridge. The bike path option requires careful route finding as the summit is obscured by thick trees most of the way and there are several sub-ridges that can leave you removed from your destination.

Once you reach TL, gain the east ridge and proceed to the entrance on the looker's right of the ridge.

Tenmile Peak to the left

There are several line options along the ridge. Prom Dress is the upper most, roughly 3/4 of the way to the summit.

The Line:
Prom Dress Couloir has a 20' wide entrance. There is a vertical cliff band in front of a cornice of variable size with the entry of the line descending between the cornice and the cliff band.

Skier's right of the cornice is a second cliff band. The couloir extends for a couple hundred yards between the two cliff bands.

Dillon Lake in the distance 

The entrance to the couloir is around 40° and tops out around 45° in the middle. The bottom funnels into the 35° NE bowl of Peak 1.

From the middle of the NE bowl looking up on Prom Dress

The exit is through the trees at the base of the bowl back to Frisco. Route finding is key.

Below TL looking back on Peak 1

Gold Hill Loop

Access: Gold Hill TH on the west side of HW 9 between Frisco and Breckenridge

Start: 1230, 8/24/2013

Total Distance: 9.58 mi

Duration: 1:23:30

Avg. Pace: 8:43

Lowest/Highest Elevation: 9,047'/10,331'

Weather: 65F/Partly Cloudy

The Route:

I run this from Farmers Korner, but ideally you would park at the Gold Hill Trailhead on the west side of HW 9.

From the parking lot, the route gradually climbs along a beetle kill deforested plateau, winding to a flat, still forested trail junction at a mile from the TH. Take a left to stay on the GHT, and start climbing again along single track.

Stay left

The top of the hill is reached after another mile.  Descend along single track, past a trail crossing. 

Continue straight

The GHT terminates at the Peaks Trail.

Turn right

Make a right onto the Peaks Trail and continue on a fast downhill for around 2 mi. 

Emerging from the Peaks Trailhead, make a right onto the dirt road. 

Turn right

Before the dirt road turns left, make a right onto a single track that parallels the paved rec path. If you cross the rec path, you've gone too far on the dirt road.

Turn right, staying left at the immediate fork

Follow the single track for about a mile, past the hospital. 

 At the split near the rec path, turn right to remain on the single track. 

Continue right

There is a short, steep climb that levels out and leads past wetlands on the right. Beyond the wetlands, there is another split*. Stay left proceeding down a short hill to the rec path. 

Continue left

Turn right on the rec path to return to the Gold Hill Trailhead in 2 mi.  

*Alternatively, you could make the right onto the logging road to stay on dirt trails leading back to the Gold Hill Trailhead as discussed in my previous post about Ophir Mtn.

Overall Impression:

Standard to Summit County, once beyond the deforested beetle kill, this becomes a shady tree run with intermittent views of the Tenmile Range. The climb is strenuous but not demoralizing. The long downhill from the top of Gold Hill to the end of the Peaks Trail is fast and technical. But try to keep your eyes up. I've run into moose right in the middle of the trail on two separate occasions. 

In autumn, the aspens along Peaks Trail reveal themselves.

It would be nice if there was no paved section at the end, though it's flat and manageable for a cool down.

The Run:

http://runkeeper.com/user/bwayne/activity/230742086

Ophir Mountain via Farmers Korner Bike Path

Access: Summit County High School
Start: 15:58, 8/20/2013

Total Distance: 4.11 mi

Duration:  0:36:11

Avg. Pace: 8:49

Lowest/Highest Elevation:  9064'/9977'

Weather: 65F, overcast

The Route:
There is an entire network of single track, dirt roads, and game trails in the hills behind Summit High extending north to south between Iron Springs and the Colorado Trail at Gold Hill and bordered to the west by the Peaks Trail. This particular route starts on the rec bike path adjacent the high school. On the northwest side of the school, a narrow single track splits off left from the bike path in a spot where the bike path intersects with a perpendicular bike path leading to HW 9.

The trail climbs 300' in under a quarter of a mile to an old dirt logging road. Take a left on the logging road and continue climbing for about 150 yds. Near the top of the logging road, there is a steep trail that splits off to the right. If you start running downhill on the log road, you've gone too far. The steep narrow trail ascends 600' south through thick trees paralleling the rec path below. In a few clearings, there is a good view of Summit High and Farmers Korner below. The trail levels out at around 10,000' near Ophir Mountain's peak. Continue on to the T in the trail. Taking a left, the trail quickly wraps around to another split. Staying left, the single track descends about a mile where it turns into a double track.

Follow the double track until the double track makes a hard right. There you can hop off the double track and continue straight on a single track that leads to the Farmers Korner houses on the hill. The single track cuts left behind the hill houses and you can turn off right anywhere along the single track to hop on the paved road below that leads back to the paved rec path. Alternatively, you can remain on the double track. This leads you further south to a system of roads and trails in the Gold Hill area near the Colorado Trail.

Overall Impression:
The trails around Ophir Mountain do not see much traffic. They're a viable alternative to the overcrowded Peaks Trail on the opposite side of Ophir. In a county that has a lot of disappearing forests, the trails around Ophir are still thickly wooded. It is easy to get lost if you are unfamiliar with the trails, but if you have a grasp of the area - there are more variations than the Oregon Ducks football team's uniforms.

The Run:
http://runkeeper.com/user/bwayne/activity/229783654