Powder Ghost Towns. Peter Bronski
Lake Trail Cutoff, head south for a quarter mile to the junction with the Barber Lake Trail (marked with blue diamonds). Turn left (east) and continue for another quarter mile until the trail merges with Barber Lake Road at the base of the last switchback. For the next quarter mile, the road and trail routes are the same.
Then it’s time for the second decision: remain on the Barber Lake Road again, or take the Barber Lake Trail. If you’ve never been to Libby Creek before, staying on the road can be useful for navigation, and identifying exactly when you should cross Libby Creek and head southwest to the base of the old ski area. If you’ve been to Libby Creek before, are confident in your navigation, or enjoy the quiet and protection of the trees, take the trail. If you choose to stay on the road, after a quarter mile you will reach the junction with Forest Road 351-g. Continue as for Approaches 1 and 2. If you choose to take the trail, follow blue diamonds mounted on trees on the valley floor along the north side of Libby Creek for roughly 1 mile. Shortly before you reach the creek crossing, a yellow metal sign on a tree reads: ROCKS ON TRAIL, CAUTION, 100 FEET AHEAD. Shortly past that sign, the Barber Lake Trail enters a small clearing where the trail meets up with the creek. Cross here and continue as for Approach 1.
Approach 4
Downhill on the way in, uphill on the way out
From the Green Rock Trailhead, start out going southwest on the combined Barber Lake/Libby Creek trail (marked with blue diamonds). The route swings through the east edge of a large, open meadow (often brutally cold and windswept) before turning to the east-southeast. After a half mile, the Libby Creek Trail turns sharply right (south). Do not take this trail. It will add significantly to your mileage! Continue straight on the Barber Lake Trail. This junction is well-marked. After another half mile, the Barber Lake Trail Cutoff comes in from the left. Continue as for Approach 3 on the Barber Lake Trail.
THE DESCENTS
There are five primary descents at Libby Creek. Looking up at the ski area from the base, and describing them from right to left, they are: Lift Line, Main Run, Glade, Pitch, and Gully. For Lift Line and Main Run, you can either skin directly up your intended run, or, to preserve the powder, skin up in the trees to climber’s right of the ski runs. The second option is also a more mellow angle, which is nicer for the skinning, though it does add distance. For the remaining three runs—Glade, Pitch, and Gully—from the meadow at the base, skin directly up to your intended descent route.
Lift Line: From the top of the lift line, ski straight down. End in the meadow. 30 degrees.
Main Run: From the top of the lift line, make a descending traverse to skier’s right for 50–75 yards before beginning your descent. You’ll soon intersect the open run. As each stretch of open run closes out in the trees, stair-step to skier’s left to link up with more open runs. Eventually, this will funnel you into the largest ski run, which overlaps at the bottom with the lift line. End in the meadow. 25–30 degrees.
Glade: The Main Run and the Pitch are separated from one another by a stand of trees open enough to enjoyably link turns. 25-30 degrees.
Pitch: From the meadow, trend to climber’s left until you intersect a narrow open slot that leads up through the trees. Follow this slot up—it gets steep for skinning. When it seems to peter out, continue up and right, emerging into a much more open area. Follow the run up to its topmost point. 35 degrees.
Gully: From the top of the Pitch, continue up to climber’s left, intersecting an open, treeless gully. 40 degrees.
Looking down the lift line at Libby Creek
EXTRA CREDIT
Ski one of the other lost Snowy Range ski areas, which you pass on your way to Libby Creek if using approaches 2, 3, or 4. Refer to the topo map for their specific locations.
THE APRÈS SKI
The après ski scene isn’t exactly thriving in Centennial (population: 100), but the town has an authentic Wild West feel and you can find a beer and steak when you need ’em. Try the Old Corral Steakhouse (2750 Highway 130, 307-745-5918, www.oldcorral.com).
Trip 3
SEVEN UTES MOUNTAIN
THE ESSENTIALS
Nearest Town Gould
Distance 2.6 miles
Vertical 2000’
Season December to April
Elevation Range 9418’ to 11,453’
Difficulty Rating Moderate
Skiing Rating
SNOTEL Station Joe Wright (551)
Forest Zone Colorado State Forest
CAIC Zone Front Range Mountains
USGS Quad Mount Richthofen
Weather COZ033
THE HISTORY
Over the years, the Cameron Pass area has hosted a number of relatively small ski areas—rope tows and the like. The earliest documented lift-served skiing in the vicinity of Seven Utes dates to 1946, when the North Park Ski Hill operated on the north side of Highway 14 directly across from the old M-M Cabins and the trailhead for Seven Utes Mountain. A 1947 issue of the Jackson County Star reported that on March 21, 1946, 75 skiers showed up for a Sunday of skiing. The rope tow, which was operated by the North Park Ski Club, was 1100 feet long and gained about 600 feet of vertical. A warming hut was in the making. For members of the club, a season pass cost $5 for children, $10 for adults, or $15 for a family pass. Nonmembers could pay $1 per day for a lift ticket.
The North Park Ski Hill wasn’t the only or earliest lift-served skiing in the area, however. On the east side of Cameron Pass, 5 miles below the pass and 2 miles above Chambers Lake, another ski area got its start in the winter of 1938/1939. It is generally known as the Chambers Lake ski area. In that first season, skiers and members of the Colorado Mountain Club cut test runs, checked snow depths, and obtained funding for a new ski area. The county agreed to keep the road open in winter. The U.S. Forest Service and Civilian Conservation Corps took over cutting more ski trails. Meanwhile, the Cameron Pass Ski Club converted an old cabin at the base of the area into a shelter house for skiers and ski patrol members. Hot lunches were served on weekends. The area had two primary runs, each with 300 feet of vertical drop: one a quarter mile long, the other three-eighths of a mile long. Some 125 people eventually joined the ski club, and the area probably remained open until 1951. At one point over those years it extended one of its lifts onto an adjacent ridge to access more terrain.
But the North Park Ski Hill, Chambers Lake ski area, and others like it, were nothing compared to what would have been built on Seven Utes Mountain. Rumors of a large, potential ski area on Seven Utes first publicly surfaced in 1968. Denver was anticipating making a bid to host the 1976 winter Olympics. It needed sites for the downhill and slalom ski races, and the state set its sights on a number of potential areas. Seven Utes was one of them.
A January 1969 report stressed the “recreational and scenic importance” of the Seven Utes-Cameron Pass area. Meanwhile, potential investors in the would-be Seven Utes ski area came to the table claiming $25 million in available funds to start the project. Updated reports estimated that only $3 million was needed to actually start work on the new ski area. But throughout the 1970s and 1980s, a series of additional studies—environmental, skier, wetlands impacts, socioeconomic—held up the process. Over that time, the earlier investors lost interest and walked away.
Even so, the state considered Seven Utes a great site. It had a north-facing aspect, good snow, favorable terrain, and more than 2000 feet of vertical. On the spectrum of potential locations for new