May 1 XC in Colorado?

I may tag along with the wife on a business trip to Denver. What's the XC
scene likely to be at the end of April/start of May? Devil's Thumb looks
good. Is it really only 90 minutes from the center of Denver? Are there
better choices in terms of drive time/trail variety? And most important:
will the prescient among you tell me if there will still be snow?

TIA,
Bob

"Bob" wrote in message
...
I may tag along with the wife on a business trip to Denver. What's the XC
scene likely to be at the end of April/start of May? Devil's Thumb looks
good. Is it really only 90 minutes from the center of Denver? Are there
better choices in terms of drive time/trail variety? And most important:
will the prescient among you tell me if there will still be snow?


oops. http://www.colorado-xc.org says Devil's Thumb will be closed by then.
OK, so I guess it's Frisco or Grand Lake. Any thoughts? I'm looking for
areas groomed for skating, btw.

Bob

Look for places to do crust skiing; it will be just as good as
groomed. A lot of places in CO make Tahoe feel like sea level, tho.

That's all I got.

bt

Bob wrote:
I may tag along with the wife on a business trip to Denver. What's
the XC
scene likely to be at the end of April/start of May? Devil's Thumb
looks
good. Is it really only 90 minutes from the center of Denver? Are
there
better choices in terms of drive time/trail variety? And most
important:
will the prescient among you tell me if there will still be snow?

TIA,
Bob

Devil's Thumb is awesome...getting better every year (aside: they
added an additional 25km of trails this year, plus a new day lodge),
but they close the first week in April (that's what the Spring Series
is for...end of the season celebration).

All the nordic centers are closed by May. Blue Ridge at Snow Mountain
Ranch will probably have snow and they may still be dragging a roller
over it every once in a while. Other than that, you'll need to head to
the backcountry...there you will find numerous options.

GSW