We were able to ski during the first three days of the vacation, before the lack of new snow and the unseasonably warm weather played havoc with the ski conditions. After that we went snow shoeing for four days. Finally on our last day we got to ski on a few inches of new snow which fell the night before.
On Thursday, we signed up for a nature walk tour run jointly by Aspen Ski Company and ACES, the Aspen Center for Environmental Services.
Here's a typical view of the trail we were walking on for more than 90 minutes on the nature walk. Almost all of the walk was through forested areas near the Elk Camp lift at Snowmass, which is at an elevation of about 10,000 feet. Because the ground is protected from the Sun by the forest, there was still a lot of snow on the trail even though the weather was warm.
Looking closely, you can see some wispy strands hanging from the twigs of this tree. These are popularly called "old man's beard" because of their appearance. Old man's beard is a lichen, a symbiotic pairing of algae and moss. You should enlarge this picture by clicking on it to see it clearly.
ski trails, on south-facing slopes where they could find plants to eat. Other animals were below the snow, where they found warmth and prey. Potography was difficult. Animals moved quickly. The group was always moving on, and there was little time to set up a picture. Auto focus was a problem because the camera frequently focused on a twig between the camera and the subject.
Snowmass is criscrossed by numerous trails used for hiking, biking, snowshoeing, dog sledding and nature study.
