I resolved to explore more of Peak 10, which is a little off to the side and has mostly black and double black trails (except for the groomers under the lift), which discourages some from trekking over there.
This is Peak 1 on the drive over:
This day I resumed skiing blacks and double blacks because the snow was great. Not untracked, but soft enough and easy to navigate. This is a trail on Peak 8, maybe Frosty's or Psychopath:
The Burn, which I skied a couple of times:
I cruised over the top of Mustang, and some skiers were standing at the top looking down, commenting on its steepness, and decided to traverse instead. I headed right down the fall line, and it was a blast. I pretty much skied the south side of Peak 10 the rest of the afternoon. Looking south from the top, the drop-off on the left:
Lift lines at their peak. This was about a 20-minute wait:
The singles' lines (two, side by side) were not well-marked and one lane was too wide so nobody could tell it was only for one person, causing bitching from the experienced and confusion in the inexperienced. I told the liftie but don't know if anything came of it.
There is a sketchy run-out in the valley below these trails that was almost as tough as the trails themselves: bumpy, narrow (sometimes not wide enough to turn or slow down) and with the occasional root or rock. Through the day I saw two people down after taking a spill, barely being able to stop before one of them.
It was windy up high:
In spite of the occasional crowds, the skiing was great though. Fantastic day.
Honestly, of the trails I've skied at Breckenridge, Lake Chutes are the only ones I'd call double black, especially since what I skied Saturday was the equivalent of the black diamonds at Mary Jane. Lake Chutes are not long, but they are steep as heck and you have to bypass cliff bands and spines of rock. I chickened out last time.
Afterwards I hit the bar at Kenosha Steakhouse, then banged around town, picked up a Patagonia quilted top for about 40% off, etc. At about 8 PM I rolled out back home, and there was no traffic to speak of. Perfect.
Distance was 34.13 miles, time 6:00 (moving 5:18), elevation gain/loss 15,573 feet, avg. speed 5.7 mph, and max speed 35.0 mph.
