The Journey of 7 bridges... Hiking Hanging Lake in the Winter

This is where my wife and I were married and we revisit it every year. I've done two other posts on this exact hike so if there is something here missing you might find it in this post or perhaps this one. It's a moderate to difficult hike in the winter time but it's definitely worth it. You'll definitely need some yak tracks and hiking poles but the poles are optional. We saw some wearing snow shoes but it didn't look necessary and appeared to be way too much work. Of course bring a drink and a snack for when you get to the top. There are seven bridges that you must cross before you get to the final stretch which is also the most difficult part of the hike. If you're overweight or scared of heights then this might be too much for you. This part can be treacherous. Make sure to hold on to the railing and have proper footing (see photos below). Once you get to the top you can walk around the lake and under the falls and depending on the temperature you'll see if the water is actually flowing or frozen. After you have explored the lake, you can hike up a little further and see spouting rock. Like I said, if it's been a cold winter you might not see any water flowing and it'll be frozen shut. Nonetheless you should see breathtaking icicles and you should get more than one good photo. Here are each of the seven bridges and what you can expect of them around the winter time. It took us about 2 hours and 20 minutes for the trailhead then up to the top and down with ample time to explore and mess around. In that time we went 3.7 miles. If you're planning on being up there awhile bundle up. With that said, practically anyone can do this hike with a little inspiration. Good luck! Be safe & enjoy the photos! 

 

The #3 (and final) post on Eldora Mountain Resort.

Sorry I'm late!!! It's almost summer. I wanted to make sure I posted this before people started deciding if they wanted to go the Eldora route. After an entire season of almost weekly visits, I have written my conclusion and added some pics below. Email me or comment if you have a different opinion about any of this.

Pros:

-Close for Front Range residents. If Nederland gets a nice dumping of snow overnight and you can make it to the resort and be ready to jump on a lift at 9am then you're good to go. You can get 8-10 runs in by noon and be out of there. Do this on a weekday and you'll have a ridiculous amount of freedom to do your thing.

-The price if you have a college pass. If you live close to Boulder, $150 is not bad at all for an unlimited season pass. If you have your own gear and make it out there for some early season runs, peak season powder, and late season snows then the price of the pass will be cheaper than gas to actually reach Nederland.

-Staff. Everyone that works there is really nice. No elitist attitudes from attendants. Everyone just does their job and it is mostly a chill atmosphere. I have never had an issue with someone working there. They always pick up after my wife when she has a yard sale on the mountain and have even given me pointers while snowboarding.

-Not on I-70. Have you ever been stuck on I-70 in the dead of winter behind a 4 hour delay? If you haven't, let me give you some insight... It will ruin your day. At worst with Eldora, you will get stuck behind someone slow going up Boulder canyon.

Cons:

-First and foremost... MISINFORMATION!!! It was about a 75% chance that one of the runs they have open listed on their website (grooming report, here) is not actually open. I repeatedly checked the NIGHT before and the MORNING of right before we got in the car and still I would get there only to see a red digital "X" next to the run that the website says is open. Adding to the bad info, their snow report is either quite an embellishment or it is not properly updated. A couple times last season I would get an alert on my phone with an email from Eldora early in the morning saying "7 new inches." Well, shit...  That's good enough for me!!! Only to get there and see zero new snow and mostly hardpacked groomed garbage. Some people love that shit, but not me. I brought this to the attention of the appropriate person and was pretty much told that its not a perfect system. wtf? A perfect system? We have a remote control car running around on Mars and we can't get accurate grooming report?? Pfft.

-Size. It's really small. Most of the runs that are open most of the time are blues/greens. The blacks and doubles only past the midpoint in the season. So really, even if the season at Eldora begins on the 19th of Nov. It'll be after the new year until most of the runs are open. They claim to have some revolutionary snow making system, but I wasn't impressed in the least.

-The lifts***(see pic below). They are really, really slow. Pack a lunch, pack a smoke (this is not allowed), pack whatever you can do sitting down on a lift while cold air chills your bones. This brings me to the next con...

-The wind. It blows at this resort. If you are not prepared, it will ruin your day.

-The expenses: Pretty pricey. like $14 for a shit hamburger and a soft drink sorta thing. They sell beer but everyone knows if you drink on the mountain you bring it in your car.

-Boredom. If there are a limited amount of runs open, they get tiresome quick. You can only ski a short run so many times. Combined with the lift being so sluggish, you will wonder if you shouldn't have sprung for a pass somewhere else.

The verdict: All-in-all, I would not recommend this place to anyone. I realize people have a lot of love for this place because they learned how to shred here or they grew up here, but the fact of the matter is that it should be a LOT cheaper for what you pay for a full season pass. I would rather spring for the Rocky Mountain Super Pass or the Epic Local Pass. Sure, traffic sucks and the resorts are crowded but you're paying for world class skiing/snowboarding and having that experience. Eldroa is more of a place you would just buy a ticket for and spend a day trying to learn before you hit the big resorts here in CO. Then again, lift passes are pretty expensive also. Sorry, Eldora. I came in with an open mind but you left us very unsatisfied for the season. Hope this helps those of you considering a pass to Eldora Mountain Resort.

Busy day early. Lift lines were soon 20 minutes for basic runs. You can see how this could suck if only a few runs are open. 

**One of those particularly awful days. Below 10 with snow blowers blasting you all the way up the one lift that leads to blacks.