Loveland Pass
Loveland Pass - often overlooked, rarely surpassed! You've no doubt driven by Loveland Pass, a pristine winter playground, several times on your way to one of Colorado's many ski areas west of the Divide. While you're paying a lot of dollars for groomed ice, those in the know have been enjoying the steep and deep for years for free! On any given day, you might run into 20 other snowboarders and backcountry skiers in this huge bowl the size of most major ski areas.
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Now you're thinking, for all this great terrain I've got to hike for days, right? Wrong. Hiking is reduced to a minimum due to road access all the way to the top via Loveland Pass (US 6) and you can almost always get a quick lift back to the top with someone else. If you want the extreme, though, you'll have to hike about an hour around the cirque. From here, you can also drop into Loveland Ski Area and enjoy a run down some steep and technical terrain.
Shaped like a horseshoe straddling the interstate, Loveland abuts the Continental Divide on three sides resulting in slope aspects facing every direction except due west. Most lifts place you above tree line where a simple swivel of your head allows you to scout lines anywhere on the mountain. Loveland wallows in obscene amounts of snow, more than 450 inches a season during the 1990s, so there's plenty to scout.
Loveland Pass is usually rideable from November into July in most years. Avalanches are not a major concern until you begin hiking up and into the cirque, but carry a shovel and a beacon anyway. A little tip: full moons are often the home of some super fun snowboarding with about 20-30 others.
Getting to Loveland Pass: Drive I-70 West from Denver to the exit for Loveland Pass/Loveland Ski Area. Follow US 6 around and past the ski area to the top of the pass. From here, hop out of your car and drop in on either side. Note: The west side is usually more trafficked and safer from avalanches.
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