It looked like the fair weather was going to be sticking around, so Joe, John, Dan and I made plans to head to the Pass to get some saw work done in hopes that it would pay dividends later in the season. We met at Dan’s in the morning, loaded gear into Joe’s truck, and headed up Highway 58. A hour or so later, we arrived at the Pass, unlocked the gate, and headed in.
Joe and I waited at the base area for Dan & John, who were a few minutes behind us, and checked out some of the earthwork being done around the septic tank that will hopefully lead to significant improvements this season. Once Dan & John showed up, we headed up the hill, with Dan leading the way in his Tesla.
At the intersection of the haul road and Swoosh, Dan parked the Tesla, and we headed up in the truck from there, with the goal of doing some work on RTS and vicinity for the day. Joe drove the truck up Amber’s, and we walked up while he found our favorite place to park…
Once the truck was parked, we donned our chaps, packs and other gear, and headed out. RTS always seems a bit steeper and more difficult to climb when walking up in hiking shoes and packing a chainsaw…
We spent a few hours working over what was left on RTS, which included a thick patch of trees on skiers right that we hadn’t cut in years past. Feeling pretty satisfied with our work, we decided to cut a few small trees in White Russian to open up a few lanes that had grown up some in the recent years.
Dan and I worked our way back down to the truck, and then headed out to the RTS runout for a final hour of work. By the time we quit, all of us were pretty beat, and it sure felt good to head back to the truck and enjoy a cold beer. My beer of choice for the day was a tasty Profuse Juice hazy IPA from 10 Barrel Brewing.
Sitting around the truck, it was nice to relax with good company, and enjoy some of the season’s bounty, including a spicy onion and habanero salsa I made, as well as a tasty tomato salsa John brought. Dan supplied the grill and fuel, and Joe brought the ‘brats with all the fixings. Putting in a good day’s effort with the saws, we’d all worked up quite an appetite, and the food definitely hit the spot.
Eventually, the food was gone, and it was time to head back down. We made our way back to the base, and hit the highway for the drive home. Not knowing if the weather would allow us back for another day of cutting or not (and hoping it wouldn’t so we could ski pow), I was definitely thankful to get a good day of cutting in. Only time will tell how this season turns out, but one thing’s for sure, when the snow flies, I’ll be making my way to a few special stashes at the Pass!
