Nov 19

Winter 2014/15 Begins

Marble area hasn’t received some of the larger recent snowfalls we’ve had in other parts of Colorado, but the snowpack build has definitely begun. We’ve seen a few folks trying to push the skiing, but snow depth on the access routes from Quarry road is insufficiant to cover downed trees and other obstacles. We’d recommend waiting for another storm or two before backcountry skiing.

We’ve been working on the Marblecam (see menu above). As always, a technical challenge, but we hope it to help increase skier awareness and safety — as well as being just plain useful for trip planning.

Colorado Stone Quarries made quite a few road improvements this past summer. Stop by their office at the loadout and thank them. At the same time you can inquire about road conditions; they’ll tell you if the hill truck is on the road so you know what to expect or can wait till they’re done.

In terms of road safety, this summer the erosion at Shale Cut ate into more of the road “shoulder.” It appears a repair is in the works, but may be halted by winter. As always, be super aware of these eroded narrow sections when you’re driving Quarry Road.

For names of road features as well as tips on how to listen to Quarry business radio, see this post.

Oct 23

Getready for 2014-15 — Quarry’s Rotary Plow

Check out the Volvo L110F compact loader that'll be pushing a loader mounted R.P.M. Tech LM220

Check out the Volvo L110F compact loader that’ll be pushing a loader mounted R.P.M. Tech LM220

We wouldn’t have the Quarry Road to use if it wasn’t for Colorado Stone Quarries Inc. doing snow plowing and road repair. Even so, without a rotary the plowing has been problematic as the road becomes narrower and narrower with a blade plow packing the berm against the roadside. We’re thus duly impressed by what we saw parked and ready to rock at the Marble Loadout a few days ago.

This loader mounted RPM Tech LM220 rotary (snowblower) has its own 275 horsepower turbo diesel, pushed by a sweet little Volvo L110F loader with a gleaming set of killer tire chains. Reminds us of well organized and efficient mountain road maintenance we’ve seen in Europe.

Please, everyone, at least stop in at the Quarry offices this winter and thank them for keeping the one-lane road turnouts and parking free of snow. Consider leaving a plate of cookies, or a tip for the plow driver? Continue reading

Jul 16

Quarry Makes Major Road Improvements — Summer 2014

All varieties of backcountry travelers, rejoice. Colorado Stone Quarries, Inc. has been spending an immense amount of money and time widening sections of Quarry Road out of Marble, Colorado. They’ve been adding parking, trucking in roadbase and applying chloride to keep the summer dust down. We’ve been watching the work all summer — impressive. This coming winter, provided they push snow out of parking areas, we should have even smoother vehicle access to the backcountry skiing.

Looking NE from Lumber Curve to Windy Corner, new roadbase , much wider than before.

Looking NE from Lumber Curve to Windy Corner, fresh roadbase, much wider than before. A new parking area is visible about halfway into the photo on inside of curve, as well as to right. In this area alone, we count additional parking for at least 8 passenger vehicles, as well as an extra turnout for passing.

Continue reading

Mar 24

Listen to the Hill Truck — Use Radio Scanner

One of the famous hill trucks.

One of the famous hill trucks, parked at loadout. Note the huge tires, every one chained up. Those blocks weigh thousands of pounds.

We would not have the Quarry Road for winter use if it wasn’t for the operating Yule Quarry business. Tradeoff is that most weekdays and sometimes on the weekend a huge “hill haul truck” loaded with gigantic blocks of white marble is making multiple runs up and down the mostly one-lane shelf road. We have to be as nice as possible to these guys while they’re running the truck. It’s dangerous to just blunder up and down the road, expecting to somehow get by the hill truck (or for that matter, other quarry business traffic). If an accident happened, that could be fodder for the road being closed to public traffic.

How to not blunder? Firstly, prepare at home. During snow and mud seasons, you should only drive Quarry Road (County Road 3) with all-wheel-drive or 4-wheel-drive. Your vehicle must have aggressive snow/mud tires that are in good condition, or tire chains on at least one pair of wheels (with a 4×4, you usually chain the front wheels to maintain steering control). Also prepare by calling Colorado Stone Quarries at 970-704-9002 and inquiring for road conditions. The Quarry has posted on their Facebook that they welcome phone calls about road conditions.

When driving Quarry Road, pay attention to all zones where you could pull over to let the haul truck pass on the INSIDE (due to possible soft shoulder on the drop-off side). If you encounter the hill truck, immediately reverse to one of the spots you memorized. The truck has right-of-way in either direction. The need to park tightly on the side of the road to allow the hill truck to pass is the main reason you need all-wheel-drive and good tires. This is serious stuff that involves your own personal safety as well as that of the Quarry employees. What is more, if the road situation becomes difficult to manage, the road could be closed to public use. Thus, driving with care and using the correct equipment is not only a safety issue, but could be an access issue.

Better still: During winter, the quarry avalanche safety plan requires their vehicle operators to radio their locations on the road while they’re driving. This is done using a basic 2-way business radio system that’s easy and legal to scan. Implement a couple of tricks and you can easily know if the hill haul truck is moving up or down the road, as well as the truck’s approximate location. Continue reading