Tour de Colorado - Part of Segment #8

Part 1 of Segment #8 — Copper Mountain Trail-head to Searle Pass 12044'
Riders: Chuck, Kristin

The CoT

Date: June 16, 2012

Ride Type: out and back
Chosen Direction: Copper Mountain Trail-head to Searle Pass 12044'

Mileage: 19.3 miles (9.65 each way)
Elevation Gain: 2360'
Average Pace: 19 min/mile 
Total time includes breaks: 6 hours

Trail description: Great rolling singletrack including several bridges as the trail cuts across Copper Mountain Ski Resort.  Once alongside Guller creek several creek crossings and a continuous moderate climb through treeline upto the alpine basin formed by Elk Mountain and Sugarloaf peaks. Here you can expect snow fields and muddy conditions starting around 11700' during early summer months. 

Interactive GPS track recording:

View Part of Segment #8 — Copper Mountain Trail-head to Searle Pass 12044' in a larger map

A great place to park and start segment #8 is from the large dirt overflow parking lot for the Copper mountain ski area, which is just east of highway 91 and just south of the main entrance to Copper Mountain Resort.  Once can park here or a 1/4 mile further north of the lot is a Conoco station and additional dirt parking lots.  In the SE corner of the overflow parking lot is a perfect junction for Segment #7 and Segment #8.  Look for a bridge crossing the Tenmile Creek, rather then crossing the creek Segment #8 heads directly south keeping the creek on your left hand side.  In a short distance it crosses over 91 and skirts across the ski resort, follow well marked CT signs and glorious single track!    

Our GPS tracks overlaid onto Google Earth

Elevation with corresponding speed profile

Ski Crossing
Copper Mountain Resort

Pitstop'n

Lookin to Far Away
Guller Creek,  Sugarloaf peak and Searle pass

We Break Treeline

In Our Sights - Searle Pass

Short Socks Suck

Snow Pending - Some Rad Skiing: Pacific, Atlantic, Fletcher Peaks

Segment 8 continues for another 15 miles over the ridge-line to the right, over Kokomo pass, eventually ending at Tennessee pass.  We plan on riding from Tennessee Pass to Searle pass to finish off segment 8.

12044' - view north from Searle Pass

Now for the Fun