PaperToast
06-06-2008, 12:13 AM
On the last day of march, 3 friends disembark on a trip to Steamboat Springs to hunt yeti in the 15 ft+/- of snow on the pass above the town.
Everything was going great until about an hour into the trip and the worst happens
AAAAAARRRRRRGGGGGG:eek: attack of the volvo snow demon ! ! !
(and yes those headlight wipers do come in handy:p)
http://i289.photobucket.com/albums/ll223/PaperToast/IMG_0594.jpg
We escaped from that rare creature and continued on our trip up US 40
The dry roads are a welcomed sight. Lots of snow covering the surrounding plains and mountains.
http://i289.photobucket.com/albums/ll223/PaperToast/IMG_0601.jpg
http://i289.photobucket.com/albums/ll223/PaperToast/IMG_0606.jpg
As we got closer to the pass, road conditions deteriorated to packed snow, but the XC didnt have a problem going up.[cool2]
http://i289.photobucket.com/albums/ll223/PaperToast/IMG_0610.jpg
Take a look at the speed limit sign, that gives you an idea of how deep the snow was on the side of the road.
http://i289.photobucket.com/albums/ll223/PaperToast/IMG_0614.jpg
Finally made it to the top of Rabbit Ears Pass, 9426 ft in elevation. The wind was blowing hard and snow was coming down hard with big flakes. The snow on the XC was about 45 min worth of accumulation there while we hunted yeti
Look at the snow drift behind the car. it was about another 8+ ft or so higher than the top of the XC
http://i289.photobucket.com/albums/ll223/PaperToast/IMG_0633.jpg
The drive down was worse than the drive up. Visibilty was low and there was new snow on the road. But no problems whatsoever. The XC drove like a tank.:cool:
http://i289.photobucket.com/albums/ll223/PaperToast/IMG_0635.jpg
http://i289.photobucket.com/albums/ll223/PaperToast/IMG_0646.jpg
Made it down off the pass and we are greeted with blue skies heading S on US 40
http://i289.photobucket.com/albums/ll223/PaperToast/IMG_0654.jpg
Decided to take CO Hwy 9 S into Silverthorne to catch the interstate.
http://i289.photobucket.com/albums/ll223/PaperToast/IMG_0659.jpg
Got on I-70 East and headed through the infamous Eisenhower Tunnel. (thats the west bound side, the east bound side is the Johnson Tunnel)
http://i289.photobucket.com/albums/ll223/PaperToast/IMG_0665.jpg
Cool inside shot of the tunnel. some nice motion blur
http://i289.photobucket.com/albums/ll223/PaperToast/IMG_0666.jpg
The exit side of the tunnel, still snowing
http://i289.photobucket.com/albums/ll223/PaperToast/IMG_0669.jpg
All in all it was a fun day trip. A kool little factoid, the route we took we crossed the continental divide twice (the first one was Berthoud Pass @ 11307 ft elevation and the other was Rabbit Ears Pass). Roundtrip it was about 335 miles.
I had never seen so much snow ever
[thumbup] [thumbup] [thumbup]
Everything was going great until about an hour into the trip and the worst happens
AAAAAARRRRRRGGGGGG:eek: attack of the volvo snow demon ! ! !
(and yes those headlight wipers do come in handy:p)
http://i289.photobucket.com/albums/ll223/PaperToast/IMG_0594.jpg
We escaped from that rare creature and continued on our trip up US 40
The dry roads are a welcomed sight. Lots of snow covering the surrounding plains and mountains.
http://i289.photobucket.com/albums/ll223/PaperToast/IMG_0601.jpg
http://i289.photobucket.com/albums/ll223/PaperToast/IMG_0606.jpg
As we got closer to the pass, road conditions deteriorated to packed snow, but the XC didnt have a problem going up.[cool2]
http://i289.photobucket.com/albums/ll223/PaperToast/IMG_0610.jpg
Take a look at the speed limit sign, that gives you an idea of how deep the snow was on the side of the road.
http://i289.photobucket.com/albums/ll223/PaperToast/IMG_0614.jpg
Finally made it to the top of Rabbit Ears Pass, 9426 ft in elevation. The wind was blowing hard and snow was coming down hard with big flakes. The snow on the XC was about 45 min worth of accumulation there while we hunted yeti
Look at the snow drift behind the car. it was about another 8+ ft or so higher than the top of the XC
http://i289.photobucket.com/albums/ll223/PaperToast/IMG_0633.jpg
The drive down was worse than the drive up. Visibilty was low and there was new snow on the road. But no problems whatsoever. The XC drove like a tank.:cool:
http://i289.photobucket.com/albums/ll223/PaperToast/IMG_0635.jpg
http://i289.photobucket.com/albums/ll223/PaperToast/IMG_0646.jpg
Made it down off the pass and we are greeted with blue skies heading S on US 40
http://i289.photobucket.com/albums/ll223/PaperToast/IMG_0654.jpg
Decided to take CO Hwy 9 S into Silverthorne to catch the interstate.
http://i289.photobucket.com/albums/ll223/PaperToast/IMG_0659.jpg
Got on I-70 East and headed through the infamous Eisenhower Tunnel. (thats the west bound side, the east bound side is the Johnson Tunnel)
http://i289.photobucket.com/albums/ll223/PaperToast/IMG_0665.jpg
Cool inside shot of the tunnel. some nice motion blur
http://i289.photobucket.com/albums/ll223/PaperToast/IMG_0666.jpg
The exit side of the tunnel, still snowing
http://i289.photobucket.com/albums/ll223/PaperToast/IMG_0669.jpg
All in all it was a fun day trip. A kool little factoid, the route we took we crossed the continental divide twice (the first one was Berthoud Pass @ 11307 ft elevation and the other was Rabbit Ears Pass). Roundtrip it was about 335 miles.
I had never seen so much snow ever
[thumbup] [thumbup] [thumbup]