Coney Flats
Some snow and ice turn this challenging trail into something pretty difficult! We all made it through but everyone had to work at it at some point on the trail. We ran Middle St. Vrain first, so we had some practice dealing with the slippery snow and ice that was yet to come.
We started up the hill and found it icy in spots and slick everywhere. We spent a lot of time getting to the top of the hill because if you lost your momentum it was almost impossible to get going again. The hill is so long that it was also impossible for everyone to back down and get another running start at it. Carlos and Marla both found some slick spots, and almost everyone slid sideways into a rock that made a big noise as it connected with rims.
At the rocky area some people had to work at it a little bit but everyone did really well on the slick rocks. Almost everyone took a line that was a little bit different, making it cool to watch everyone come through.
We finally struggled our way to the top of the hill and unfortunately Joe wasn't there anymore. He had gone ahead without us but the wait was too long so he continued on. When we saw the "lake" it made everyone stop and worry. It was covered in floating "icebergs" that were all pretty thick. We lined up and took some cool pictures of the group before Dave went in first.
It seemed to go pretty well, like usual, until he got to the other side. It was there he found out that the other side was a big shelf of ice that you had to climb over to get out. He worked on it in a few places and got a little bit worried until he found a place where his tires caught and he spun until he got out the other side.
Everyone went through then, one by one. A few people needed a little bit of a tow strap at the far end just to get over the shelf, but we didn't have to wade out in the icy water to get to anyone (everyone made it within reach of the other side). There was also a loose rock in the bottom near the ice shelf that almost everyone got hung up on at some point.
The only trail damage happened to Mike S. as he went through the lake and one of his turn signal light covers popped off when a large piece of ice worked its way in under his fender. He didn't get any body damage so it wasn't too bad.
A few people threw ice and water around with wider tires, making a cool show on their way out. Perry's wide tires made some big "rooster tails" before he got out.
After we all got through the sun was already going down as we made our way off the trail. By the time we got out to Beaver Reservoir it was dark and cold, making airing up challenging. A group of us went to Red Robin in Boulder and watched our movies and looked at pictures. Even though it was really cold we all had a great time!
Reports from Other Days: 12
Use the arrows or dots to flip through the previews of the other reports for Coney Flats. Click one of them to read more and see all of the photos from that day.
