BLACK CANYON OF THE GUNNISON NATIONAL PARK — Somewhere between kick and glide, amid silence and space, Wallace Stegner’s “geography of hope” is revealed on the Black Canyon of the Gunnison’s south rim.
“That’s the stuff that you live for,” supervisory park ranger Paul Zaenger says from the snowy perch known as Pulpit Rock overlooking the 1,800-foot Gunnison River gorge known as the Black Canyon.
“It’s like, how can we find more experiences so that people realize a relationship between them and the natural world? Even if it’s not a big relationship between them and this place, there are many places around the state and around the country where people can say, ‘Wow, life is still really good.’ “
Zaenger, a career ranger who has spent the past 17 years at the national park near Montrose, clearly subscribes to the famous Western scribe’s philosophy of wild country “as a means of reassuring ourselves of our sanity as creatures.” And perhaps never more so than in the quiet months of winter, when one of the nation’s least familiar national parks offers a realm of discovery unknown throughout much of the remaining year.
“There is a special beauty to the winter here,” Zaenger said of what is arguably the most spectacular chasm in Colorado on any day of the year. “Winter brings change, and while a lot of people may not necessarily like it when it’s stormy because it interrupts our lives, the snow smoothes out all the rough edges of the landscape. It adds a dimension to the landscape, particularly in the canyon, and that can add a mellowness to us as well.”
In a hectic world, many of us can use a dose of mellow now and again, a bit of cross-training for the mind, body and soul. And there is perhaps no better way to savor our sanity than on a pair of skinny skis sliding above the rim of one of Colorado’s most colossal natural wonders.
Come winter, Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park flutters somewhere between hibernation and rejuvenation as the crowds and cars of high season give way to a temporary increase in the wilderness experience. Park admission fees are waived once the snow starts sticking to the streets, and exploring the canyon rim by foot is encouraged, although few of the park’s 250,000 annual visitors tend to take advantage of it.
Buried annually under about 8 feet of snow, the 6-mile South Rim Road is not plowed in winter, turning it into a friendly out-and-back cross country ski trail that allows easy overlooks of the canyon’s spectacular scenery. Spurs off the ungroomed trail lengthen the route up to about 15 miles round trip for the fit. Motorized use isn’t allowed.
“I go as often as I can,” said Diane Winger, a Montrose resident who ski tours inside the park two or three times a week. “This is what I love to do, the cross country skiing. When I want to get some exercise and some incredible scenery, I just pop in the car and here I am.”
The park remains open 24 hours a day in winter. Monthly full-moon tours are not only allowed but guided by rangers (Feb. 12, 7 p.m). Winter backcountry camping along South Rim Road (elev. 8,200 feet) is also permitted beyond Pulpit Rock Overlook, 2 miles past the South Rim Visitor Center.
Those who prefer a bit more stability underfoot can take part in ranger-guided snowshoe tours beginning this and every Saturday at 10 a.m. and Sundays at 1 p.m. until March 6. The tours are free, and customized ranger-guided snowshoe and cross country outings for individuals and groups also are available upon request, pending availability (970-249-1914, ext. 423). No special skills are required to participate, and snowshoes (including kids’ sizes) are available for loan free of charge at the visitors center. (Check out Jeans Westerner in Montrose for cross country ski rentals: 970-249-3600.)
“The snowshoe program is a lot more popular, almost wildly popular, really,” Zaenger said. “When you are doing a snowshoe, you can be with the canyon more, walking right along the edge.”
Indeed, the payoff for any self- propelled winter tour arrives in the vistas of the park’s landscape. No other canyon in North America combines the narrow opening, sheer walls and startling depths that inspired the name of the shadow-shrouded chasm, and the snow’s contrast elevates it to another level.
Containing some of the oldest exposed rock on Earth, the Precambrian, or “basement,” rock is nearly 2 billion years old, accentuated by stripes of molten magma that squeezed its way in to form picturesque faces like that of the iconic Painted Wall about 4 miles from the visitors center.
Like the natural splendor itself, the geological history of the place is almost incomprehensible in terms of time. But the opportunity to pause and reflect is perhaps the Black Canyon’s greatest asset, Zaenger believes.
“One of the things that the wild areas of our country, places like Black Canyon, afford us is opportunities to see our lives in that big-picture perspective,” the ranger said. “Because these places change so gradually, it’s easier to feel like, ‘Wow, this is a place that is always like a home to me. It will always look very similar to the way I see it now.’ And that’s a comfort, I think, for most people.”
Scott Willoughby: 303-954-1993 or swilloughby@denverpost.com
