Backcountry Places to Explore
Rabbit Ears Pass, Colorado - Walton Mountain loop
It doesn't get much better than this -- When the snow is fresh and the skies are clear we know it is a perfect day to ski Walton Mountain. The three or four hour loop begins with a short steep drop into the creek drainage. No warm-up time here. We call this the Toilet Bowl! Just do your best to make a few quick turns or traverse around to the bottom. We then follow a branch of the creek upstream for a about a mile or so to the unplowed road that winds up to the top of Walton Mountain. This road is supposed to be the non-motorized division line, but many snow machines plow across and up the beautiful slopes to your right. But keep on going and hope that they haven't "high marked" on Walton Mountain. No skins needed, just good wax will get you to the top. On a calm day we usually lunch on the top with great views of the mountains to the east or sometimes we "group up" at the bottom of the hill to watch other skiers coming down. Skiers often leave backpacks and dogs at this point. If time permits we make a few passes before looping to the north back to the trailhead. We get several more turns on the loop back including a couple short steep drops to test a good skier's ability. We get a pleasant glide back to merge into the track back to the creek and then climb to the north of the Toilet Bowl to our car.
Directions: Park at the Walton Creek Lot on the south side of the road. This is a major lot located between the east and west summits of Rabbit Ears Pass on Route 40. Use the Steamboat Springs/Rabbit Ears Pass Trails Illustrated Map (#118).