Beaver Dam with Red Peak in background.

Beaver Lodge

The view opens up into high meadows. Somewhere in this meadow is the intersection of Meadow Creek trail with the Gore Range Trail.

Crossing snow. There wasn’t any difficult snow crossings on this day.

View west from Eccles Pass. Many snow patches in the woods. Copper Mountain and the Ten Mile Range is visible. Look closely and you will see a Marmot standing up. This little creature was trying to sneak up on me while I was eating lunch. The Marmots were very shy of me at least until I brought out the food.

Better view of Copper Mountain

Snow covering northeast descent from Eccles pass along Gore Range Trail.

On Gore Range trail, view from Eccles Pass toward Red Buffalo Pass (Gore Creek Trail). Red Buffalo Pass is the low point on the ridge where you see grass. The pass is topped by a snow cornice. It would be very difficult to pass Red Buffalo Pass on the Gore Creek Trail on a hike to Vail. I hiked from Frisco to Vail on the Gore Creek Trail 2 summers previous. There was no cornice blocking the way that summer. The Gore Ridge Trail intersects the Gore Creek Trail at the bottom of this hill near the lake seen below.

View of Gore Range Trail to northeast of Eccles Pass. This is the area behind Buffalo Mountain.

Here I am with the back of Buffalo Mountain to the right.

View north from Eccles Pass with Gore Range trail visible. I don’t think that is Red Peak, but it is somewhere over there.

Gore Range trail leads over the pass and directly into the snow.