Backcountry Skiing the “Breck Burn,” Tenmile Range, Breckenridge, Colorado

Feb 16

“What’s that burn area over there that looks like it might be good for backcountry skiing??” I asked my husband as he was driving us westbound on I-70 near Frisco, Colorado. He told me he couldn’t look since he was driving, but that didn’t stop me from taking a few pictures and trying to figure out where it was. After some research, I guessed that it was a wildfire burn area on lower Peak 4 in the Tenmile Range. This past weekend when we were trying to decide where to go backcountry skiing, it seemed it was finally time to go check out this area to see if the skiing was worth it.

We parked in Frisco and took the Peaks Trail to Miner’s Creek Road and from there navigated to the top of the burn. Along the way we saw a handful of cross country skiers. The snow was feeling great for skiing and the coverage was as well. We decided it looked good to ski. It was. Our biggest complaint was that we wished the run was a little longer, but it is easily lap-able. We only ended up doing one lap, but I wish we had had time to go up for another. We went back out the same way we came in. The whole tour ended up being just under 8.5 miles with just over 2,100 ft of vert.

What a fun day!