Friends John & Annmarie drove up from Denver where we met up to attend our first Frozen Dead Guy Days in the eclectic town of Nederland…who wouldn’t wanna join in with this lineup:
WHAT IS THERE TO DO?
- Amazing FREE Live Music all Weekend (two tents)
- Coffin Racing
- Costume Polar Plunging
- Frozen T-shirt Contests
- Ice Turkey Bowling
- The Blue Ball (live band)
- Brain Freeze Contests
- Parade of Hearses
- Frozen Salmon Toss
- Snowy Beach Volleyball
Annmarie had just purchased a new camera – so left early in time for parking & the parade of hearses. First snag – Hwy 119 (Boulder Canyon to Nederland) closed due multiple accidents including a fatality.
Wait did I mention the blizzard? Back up, start over – snow is pouring out of the sky & we are driving to Nederland Colorado to see a hearse parade & a guy who’s been on dry ice for 25 years. Seriously. LOL>
Dead Guy Story (from Wiki)
In 1989, a Norwegian citizen named Trygve Bauge brought the corpse of his recently deceased grandfather, Bredo Morstøl, to the United States. The body was preserved on dry ice for the trip, and stored in liquid nitrogen at the Trans Time cryonics facility from 1990 to 1993.
In 1993, Bredo was returned to dry ice and transported to the town of Nederland, where Trygve and his mother Aud planned to create a cryonics facility of their own. When Trygve was deported from the United States for overstaying his visa, his mother, Aud, continued keeping her father’s body cryogenically frozen in a shack behind her unfinished house.
Aud was eventually evicted from her home for living in a house with no electricity or plumbing, in violation of local ordinances. At that time, she told a local reporter about her father’s body, and the reporter went to the local city hall in order to let them know about Aud’s fears that her eviction would cause her father’s body to thaw out. The story caused a sensation…
Highway 119 is closed – how else to get to Nederland? Lucky for me I hiked so much last year that I knew of a back way (not too many road options when you live in the Rockies – mountains get in the way :)). Lefthand Canyon to shanty town Ward and then south on Peak-to-Peak Highway to Nederland.
Prius’ don’t fare well in snow & elevation. Big thanks to John and his 4-wheel drive vehicle. No blizzard stopping us!
Heavy snow coupled with the closure of Highway 119 = plenty of parking available.
excerpt from official Dead Guy Days site https://frozendeadguydays.org/
Behold the Frozen at the 12th Annual Frozen Dead Guy Days®
What goes best with a Frozen Dead Guy? SNOW!
Dress Warm. Drive Carefully.
The show goes on… snow or shine.
NEDERLAND, Colo. (CBS4) – Because of the snow an annual tradition in Nederland was postponed on Saturday. The coffin races, the polar plunge and the parade of Frozen Dead Guy Days will happen Sunday.
ARGH! No frozen dead guy this day – maybe next year. We did do some shopping (bought an official beanie), visited an indoor carousel & a coffee house lodged in a railcar AND shared some laughs & BBQ at Wild Mountain Smokehouse.
Lunch, great conversation & the drive home through Boulder Canyon made the whole day worthwhile.
Next weekend is my half marathon in Moab. That said, itching to go on a hike with Ro. Nothing like feeling small in the enormity of my Colorado wilderness surroundings. Stay tuned.
p.s. Happy Birthday Mom! March 9th is your day!
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- blizzard in bustling Nederland
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- suited up, trudging to Festival – no worries, we LOVE this stuff
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- We’re here!
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- all hunkered in the event tent
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- BBQ w/ friends after Festival postponed to Sunday
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- drive home thru scenic Boulder Canyon
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- SNO BEAUTIFUL!
Happy March – Happy Ski Day!
Stephen made the cross-country trek from New Hampshire to enjoy our Colorado powder AND to visit Ro of course.
[Aside – Ro will make a blog return for Spring hiking season. Appreciate everyone’s emails & comments :)]
Warm weather weekend but still lotta snow on the slopes after last Wednesday’s blizzard. Headed out early to Eldora after dropping Ro for the day at his pal Molly’s house. Next year I’ll venture past Eldora – still my first year of downhilling.
Grabbed a half day lesson with Wilf, a veteran German ski instructor (> 40 years of experience). Most of us feared Wilf but I did learn additional skills (Christie turns) to help improve traversing.
Still believe the key is to stay aggressive, show no fear. Skied Blue this day (bit embarrassing at my age but not crazy horrible after only 2 downhill lessons). Love the challenge of tightening turns. The tighter the turn, the more snow I spray & the more physical the sport becomes (the part I like). ALSO helps to maintain some semblance of control.
Fun day – always fun skiing with friends.
All said, ready to x-country ski again. Easier on my wallet, love the back country isolation & enjoy the workout. Next year, think I’m investing in x-country skis and an annual pass to RMNP.
LOVING all the possibilities in my Colorado life!
Happy March 2013!
Colorado powder
learned ‘Christies’ from instructor Wilf
1st time Skiing ‘Blue’
Had been flying high for several weeks, marathon training right on track, successfully finished my 1st 10 mile race Saturday past, then BAM – unexpectedly hit by the blues. Not 100% sure why…maybe one too many ‘All by Myself’ Valentines, maybe too much running (body needs a break), maybe nutrition/diet issues (have dropped too many pounds lately) – either way….
After almost a week of struggling with the February blues, couldn’t have been more excited to see my Colorado hiking friends – for a moonlight hike to Gem Lake in Rocky Mountain Nat’l Park. FAAANNNNTASTIC!
In addition to John, Annmarie & myself, we added Lisa, Paul & Terri to our Gem Lake group – making our team tally 6! Who wouldn’t want to snowshoe at night in February? HA!
Fortunately/unfortunately our biggest snow storm of the season didn’t start until after 8pm, so only microspikes (or crampons) were needed for tonite’s moonlight hike – left our snowshoes behind. Gem Lake is only a 1.7 mile hike (one-way) so tonite was all about the journey – and enjoying laughs with friends.
Snapped a few group pics showcasing our snowy Rocky Mountain view – WOW shots! ALSO snapped a shot of twinkling Estes Park down below – very Christmas card-esque. In addition to crampons, snowshoes & poles, packed a head lamp which I found wasn’t needed because of moonlight reflecting off the white snow. Such a BEAUTIFUL nite!
Our full moon dashed in and out of impending snow clouds until we reached Gem Lake, hemmed in by rock & frozen for the season. While Annmarie & I made ice angels on the lake, John unpacked a Bunsen Burner and fired up some s’mores. Seriously, my Colorado circle o’ friends ROCK!
Snow started blowing on our hike return but that didn’t deter us from stopping at the Stanley for some apps & light dinner (portabello fries were amaaazzzzing). Let the East Coast wait ‘til summer, every month is s’more season in Colorado 🙂
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- group moonlight hike
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- LOVE LOVE my Rocky Mountain view!
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- full moon (in and out of impending snow clouds)
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- Estes Park twinkling below
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- making ice angels while John fired up s’mores
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- hot chocolate & s’mores – ROCKSTAR circle o’ friends!
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- Paul Bunyan’s boot (we called this Holy Rock)
