Black Canyon of the Gunnison great for cross country skiers
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- Created on Tuesday, 18 January 2011 23:01
- Written by Nathan
By SCOTT WILLOUGHBY, THE DENVER POST
BLACK CANYON OF THE GUNNISON NATIONAL PARK — Somewhere between kick and glide, amid silence and space, Wallace Stegner's "geography of hope" is revealed on the Black Canyon of the Gunnison's south rim.
"That's the stuff that you live for," supervisory park ranger Paul Zaenger says from the snowy perch known as Pulpit Rock overlooking the 1,800-foot Gunnison River gorge known as the Black Canyon.
"There is a special beauty to the winter here," Zaenger said of what is arguably the most spectacular chasm in Colorado on any day of the year. "Winter brings change, and while a lot of people may not necessarily like it when it's stormy because it interrupts our lives, the snow smooths out all the rough edges of the landscape. It adds a dimension to the landscape, particularly in the canyon, and that can add a mellowness to us as well."
Photo gallery of the Black Canyon from member Soleman Ralph
In a hectic world, many of us can use a dose of mellow now and again, a bit of cross-training for the mind, body and soul. And there is perhaps no better way to savor our sanity than on a pair of skinny skis sliding above the rim of one of Colorado's most colossal natural wonders.
Buried annually under about 8 feet of snow, the 6-mile South Rim Road is not plowed in winter, turning it into a friendly out-and-back cross country ski trail that allows easy overlooks of the canyon's spectacular scenery. Spurs off the ungroomed trail lengthen the route up to about 15 miles round trip for the fit. Motorized use isn't allowed.
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