This past weekend we snowshoed 6.25 miles to the top of Boreas Pass, smack on the Continental Divide at 11,481 feet, to stay in the wonderful one-room hut called Ken’s Cabin. My pack weighed 27 pounds before adding about another pound of food, about 5 pounds of cold weather gear (it was a warm day) and 3.3 pounds of beer. Yes, I love my beer enough (Upslope’s Brown Ale to be specific) to lug 3.3 pounds of it up 1,210 feet in the snow. Linsey opted for 6 cans of Ska’s Modus Hoperandi, for a whopping 4.8 pounds!
Hut beers cooling in the snow
The snowshoe in was tough with a 35 pound pack, the steady climb, and the already high elevation. We took the singletrack Baker’s Tank Trail through the forest before joining Boreas Pass Road at the tank, our lunch spot in both directions. The road follows the old railroad route, circling up the side of the mountain and over the pass which the railroad workers renamed “Boreas” after the Greek god of the north wind. Boreas did not disappoint, with ample winds whipping each night and 8 inches of fresh snow turning into 6 foot drifts covering the road on our way back out.
Ken's Cabin on Boreas Pass
Life on the pass was beautiful and busy. Between games of Scrabble or Quiddler, napping, and playing in the snow we maintained our fire for warmth, filled large pots with snow to melt for drinking and washing, swept up snow we tracked inside, cleared snow from the doorway and windows of our mostly buried cabin, and kept fresh snow in the plastic trash can which served as our refrigerator. The weather provided us with whipping snow that kept us indoors, dusk and dawn worth bundling up to get out and enjoy, and a calm sunny afternoon that drew us out for a snowshoe followed by happy hour on the roof.
After two nights on the pass we donned our packs, lighter now with empty beer cans, much less food, and little cold weather gear (it was not a warm day this time) and began the journey down. We had been excited for the easy trip downhill, but breaking trail in fierce winds and focusing hard to follow the covered road turned out to be just as hard, if not harder than the trip up.
Session Pale Ale and Peak One Robust Porter at Backcountry Brewery
Our reward awaited us in a visit to Backcountry Brewery in Frisco. After a short sampling of each of their beers, I settled on their current seasonal, Session Pale Ale, which they expect to be a big hit this summer. While I went from dark malty browns at the hut to a light hoppy pale post-hut, Linsey did the opposite, opting for a Peak One Robust Porter after her hoppy hut beers. Watching the blowing snow outside, we toasted a successful trip and great Colorado beer!
I’m up to my eyeballs in work lately, which is why I couldn’t post about Saturday’s release of Asher Brewing’s organic Oatmeal Stout until today. That being said, this post deserved some attention, so here it is!
and friend, Lynette, arrived just after the tapping of this new beer. We were initially wowed by the nose, very crisp and clean with a hint of chocolate. A first taste continued to impress us…it was a little more carbonated than traditional stouts, but the flavor was nicely balanced in its malty darkness. We noticed that it was a touch bit watery with maybe a hint of metallic flavor at the back, but still very drinkable. We continued to enjoy this stout until late in the afternoon, and I would encourage a trip to Asher in the near future, to try their new stout before it’s gone…and also to get a taste of their other amazing beer on tap!
