Snowshoeing Corral Creek, Vail Pass, CO 28 January 2011

The first 0.3 miles is steep uphill, then you are at the top of a ridge looking north / east at a huge bowl and hills on the far side. You can go down into the bowl (Corral Creek is at the bottom), up the other side as far as you like to go.

Odd thing is that for a fee area ($6/person/day) there are no trail markers to be seen after the big signs at the trailhead, at least not that I saw - no blue diamonds, no tree slashes. Maybe the snowshoe-packed trail went a different way...

This is a gorgeous area and as soon as you drop below the ridge line all the I-70 noise disappears.

Trail map at the ranger station is also available online here

 
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  Parking lot at Vail Pass. The cushy way to snowboard in the back country - snowmobile in -- note 4 snowboards on the back of the snowmobile. Dave and Patty (and Bob in the shade) at the trailhead for Corral Creek. Note tne $6/person use fee - not per car but per person. They do have very nice trail maps at the ranger station where you pay the fee. It's a steep first 0.3 miles up, here is the top of the ridge looking right.

 
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  From top of first ridge, looking middle - north / east Looking left From the other side of Corral Creek looking back towards I-70 corridor. Bob, Patty, Dave. Heading back south / east near the bottom of Corral Creek.

 
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  Looking left down the creek. Looking right up the creek. Back at the trailhead - which is across I-70 from the parking lot, starts right at the stop sign. Tons of snowmobiles in the parking lot.

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