Thus far, Colorado has received minimal snow in the mountains, but I’m remaining optimistic that “real” winter is still going to arrive. Regardless, my parents, Will, and I headed up to the Mesa on Saturday morning to enjoy the snow. We also brought along our massive old-school wooden sled in case we found a must-do sledding hill (Spoiler: We didn’t.)
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| Mom and Dad off in the distance….with Tally! |
 We decided to head straight to the top of the Mesa with the logic that there would be the most snow. The elevation up there is around 10,500 feet, so we were delighted to find enough snow to make our snowshoes useful! If you’ve been a reader for awhile, you may remember that Angel and Cindy bought me new snowshoes for my 30th birthday last year after my old pair freaked out on our hut trip. I haven’t been able to use my new shoes, so I was totally excited to take them for a test spin.
We arrived at one of the many trailheads on the Mesa and geared up in our snowshoes. Did I mention that I got to wear my new neon pink snowpants?! That alone made my entire weekend!
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| Tals and me. As usual, she is looking elsewhere! |
The four of us headed out, Tally breaking trail the entire way. Y’all, I cannot even begin to explain how much my little ball o’ fur loves the snow! She seriously gets this doggy grin on her face and runs herself ragged! I like to say that Tals “runs the crazy out” and that she probably gets it from her mama; we both find our peace and sanity in the mountains.
The weather was a quintessential Colorado day: bluebird sky, sun shining, and glaring white snow with almost zero people. We saw a group of four at the trailhead, but that was it for the entire three-hour snowshoe. That is exactly why I love the Grand Mesa: it was a holiday weekend and the entire national forest was still empty!
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| Love my parents 🙂 |
We spent some time tromping around, breaking trail, and watching Will take photos of Tals. Will is wonderful photographer and he captured some epic photos of Tals while she was running through the snow. Maybe once he processes them (or whatever it is that legit photographers do to photos; I wouldn’t know since I can barely manage my iPhone!) I’ll see if I can share a few. There is one that is seriously going to get framed for my wall!
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| PSA: Coloradoans MUST wear sunglasses; Will has no retinas left thanks to my photo-taking skills! |
Even better check out this sunset we caught on the way back to the city last night:
I seriously love my home!
32 Comments
That is so cool! I have snowshoes (silly in Maryland!) that I reserve for back up to running if/when we ever get really hit with snow. But I’d love to do it in Colorado!
You know what this means– a visit is in order!!
I’m sure you won’t be surprised by this, but I have never been snowshoeing. I can only imagine the how sore my legs would be after. But those views? Would totally be worth it.
You know, I never get sore per se but definitely tired. Lifting your legs through all the snow wears you out! Maybe we’ll go in SLC!
I’ve been snowshoeing once in northern New Hampshire and loved it! Hoping to do some more this winter 😉
I’d love to try snowshoeing, looks like a blast! Beautiful photos.
Glad you got to bust out the old 30th bday present!!! And it’s nice to see your real, pretty, smile in your pictures!!! 🙂
I crafted this weekend. I’m not sure if it “gets my crazy out” or makes me more crazy!! lol.
I start my training for Feb TODAY!!!
As opposed to my fake, not-so-pretty smile?! (And I say that with love AND since I know you and can!) And your crafting would get the crazy out since it is so darn impressive. I seriously need lessons!
And YAY for hut trip training! What type of stuff are you doing?
Thanks for posting a link to Wills site. Dude can take some photos!! Loving them!!! Your post is pretty nice too… gosh I cant wait to get to the mountains this winter!!!
Agreed– he does some amazing stuff. He is the photographer that captured that waterfall/Omniten photo in Havasu that is on the sidebar of the blog. I’ll agree that his photos come first to my post 🙂
PS Any chance y’all will make it out this way over the winter?
How much would it cost us to drive there and put a tent up :)Im guessing 500-600 bucks round trip… hmmm….
Just saying 🙂 We could have some epic outdoor adventures! 🙂
Right on… and those are the best adventures you can have!
I love sunny snowy days like that! My Dad just texted me this morning and said that he ordered me new snowshoes for Xmas. I am doing a backcountry race in February. I’ve never raced on them, so we will see how that goes! Glad you had fun.
Did you get racing/running snowshoes? I’ve done a few snowshoe races but I always do them in my regular snowshoes which are a bit larger so I can carry a pack. If I tried running in them, I would likely face plant into the snow, so my races have been nice and easy 🙂 Which race are you doing?
I would love to know about snowshoe races. I have never tried it but love snowshoeing. I’m anxious to hear your reply to special racing snowshoes. I didn’t know they existed.
Hi Sandy! I wrote a description on the comment a few below here. In short, running/racing snowshoes are lighter, smaller and have a more tapered tail to maintain a regular gate. This makes it easier to run in than, say, my larger snowshoes that have a bigger platform to support more weight for when I’m carrying a large pack. Hope that helps!
I love snowshoeing and I am jealous that you had the opportunity to go already this season!
i think I may have to invest in a pair here shortly…any recommendations?
I’ve owned both Tubbs and Atlas and have been happy with both companies equally. MSR makes some good shoes also; if you get snowshoes that are like mine, make sure the heel strap has the little holes (similar to a belt). My old pair only had a strap with a plastic clip that cinched down and once the teeth wore out, the shoes were shot. Some of my friends have rented from REI to try them out; I think REI then applies the cost of the rental to your purchase if you make one. Might be worth a shot!
I have Atlas and love them, but I highly suggest redfeather as a company that makes some nice gear as well!
I just went on my first snowshoeing trip of the season yesterday! I love it. We don’t have quite enough snow cover yet though, so I fell into a hole between two boulders. Oops.
I am so jealous too! first – that you have PINK snowpants!!!! and second because I love snowshoeing. …..is Will your b/f?? if not you need to work on that. He is HOT!
Looks so awesome. It reminds me that I want to upload the video of my husband and dog playing in Sun Valley in our snow shoes. Checking out the comments I just saw that there’s such things as running snow shoes?! What’s the major difference?
Running snowshoes, or “fitness” snowshoes, are typically lighter, smaller, and have a more tapered tail on the back. Sometimes, smaller women’s snowshoes can fall into this category and double up uses. For me, I typically have on a daypack or a larger, weekender pack (for our hut trips), so I don’t wear these smaller shoes– I need the larger platform to support my additional weight. REI has a great tutorial on how to choose snowshoes for your desired use: http://www.rei.com/learn/expert-advice/snowshoes.html
Looks SO beautiful, I can’t wait to get up there!
The yoga gets the “crazy” out. As does kickboxing. Very opposite ends of the spectrum – one focusing on calmness, one on punching things – but they each work!!
So so jealous!! I’m kind of itching for snow – rather itching to get out in the snow somewhere away from my home. haha. I’ve never been snowshoeing but would love to try it. Just cross-country and downhill skiing for me. Love it. Definitely gets my crazies out as does running.
now this is so so so on my bucket list.
I seriously love your home as well! I’ve never been snowshoeing. Every time we’re in the mountains with snow, we use the time to snow ski! Backpacking is definitely what gets the crazy out for me 🙂
I keep waiting for winter to arrive here in western Nebraska too. We’ve had some little snows, but then it warms right back up into the 60’s. My snowshoes have been sitting forlornly in the closet since I moved out here from New Hampshire. I may just have to spend my weekends down along the front range to find snow if this weather keeps up.
LOVE the snowpants. And love snowshoeing 🙂 Waiting for more snow out here in UT though.
I LOVE snowshoeing, but snowboarding gets the crazy out of me. 🙂