Let’s see… record temperatures today and sunny through the weekend. Probably not the best time to run a story on how tough it is to get outside in November.

It seemed like a funny idea while I was shivering next to the furnace a week ago… when my story on fall mountain biking ran.

I won’t complain about the injustice of Mother Nature to those with early deadlines. I’m just going to enjoy it while it lasts.

At least if having its own Olympic team is any indication: Comedy Central’s Stephen Colbert took over as lead sponsor of the US Speedskating team.

Technically, he took over as sponsor on behalf of his loyal fans in the Colbert Nation - he won’t be fronting any money himself. But the Colbert Nation logo really will, apparently, be plastered on Apolo Anton Ohno and company in Vancouver next year. Which is just weird enough to be awesome.

Ohno, by the way, says he’s a fan and thinks it’s a great idea (but he has to say that now that Stephen is his boss).

If you’re moved by the ridiculousness of the stunt, you can donate here. Or you can watch the episode here.

During last week’s snowy deluge, I e-mailed Monarch asking if they were considering opening early, what with the blizzard at all. They got back today and said, sorry Charlie, it’s still Nov. 25.

Even with this week’s warm weather, they should at least have a pretty good base by then.

Ski Country USA sent out photos from the winter storm. This one’s from Sunlight.

This is usually Crested Butte’s gimmick, but this year Winter Park is offering free skiing with a stay from opening day, Nov. 18, through Christmas Day (Dec. 25, last we checked).

Here’s the fine print:

Winter Park will provide free lift tickets when guests book a minimum of two nights of lodging between Opening Day and Christmas Day. Skiers and riders will get one free lift ticket per night booked, regardless of the size of the unit or number of people in the party. The “Ski Free at Winter Park” lodging package* is available at http://www.playwinterpark.com or by calling 800-979-9874.

It’s not a bad deal if the snow is good and you’re looking to get away for a weekend.

So I’m driving up to Monument yesterday to work on that shoulder season story (and by “work,” I mean - go mountain biking).

I’m passing the Air Force Academy and I hear this thunk and I look up just in time to see the back wheel of my bike bouncing off at 75 mph.

I pulled over and looked, then did another drive-by, but it was gone. I dunno if it rolled off into the tall grass or if it got caught under a semi and is on its way to Saskatchewan. All I know is that it’s very difficult to ride a bike with only one wheel.

It’s weird it’s the back that came off (OK, it’s weird that anything came off - I rode it just the other day and everything was kosher), because of the chain and stuff. Some friends helped me put disc brakes on this summer. It occurs to me that it never would have happened with old-fashioned brakes.

My wife accused me of staging it so I can finally get a new bike that, you know, stays in one piece and stuff. Maybe, although if any of you see a bike wheel still rolling toward the Palmer Divide, feel free to return it at The Gazette.

Dave Philippe is out sick. Scott’s out sick. I’m at home trying to avoid getting sick. So our loyal, if persnickety, readers will have to endure a lean diet of posting until health returns to the Gazette newsroom.

In the meantime, I’m working on a shoulder season story - what to do, where to go to stay active in these leans months until it’s worth hitting the lifts/backcountry/XC trails.

Personally, I’m hoping to get some final rides at the Monument fire center and Rampart Reservoir in. Monument is actually sorta rideable all winter, but there’s usually ice under the trees. I’ve never tried Rampart in the depths of winter. I assume it stays pretty snowy - lots of shade there.

For boaters, there’s still water in the Lower Blue, which is a gorgeous fall float (assuming there’s any leaves left - I haven’t been up to Summit recently). Some people do Gore or the Upper C this late, too. Seems cold to me.  There was a thread on Mountainbuzz recently about whether there’s enough water to do the Royal Gorge. At 400 cfs, we’re right at the line between what’s possible to do and what’s possibly worth doing. Don’t let me stop ya though.

What about hikes? You can still do the high country, but it’s a better time to do the local hills - Seven Bridges, Eagle Peak, Blodgett.

Chime in with any favorites you have to get through the fall.

Can I just say how disappointed I am that no one could think of anything witty to say about cross-country snowboarding?

Via The Goat, here’s an LA Times story on America’s least-visited national parks. Great Sand Dunes is on there, which doesn’t surprise me. Canyonlands is, too, which does suprise me. Also on the list - Black Canyon of the Gunnison.

The least-visited park? Kobuk Valley National Park in Alaska, which receives approximately 1,250 visitors a year. Although you wonder how they measure that given that it has no roads, campgrounds or even trails and it’s north of the Arctic Circle. The story says most visitors are caribou hunters.

So, to everyone who was pissed they didn’t get to cull the elk herd in Rocky Mountain National Park, I say: Go North! OK, actually, don’t - it’s only natives who get to hunt in the park.

Incidentally, the National Parks page for Kobuk Valley says the park has its own set of Great Sand Dunes, where temperatures can reach 100 degrees in the summer.

Check out this story about a local woman attacked by a deer.

It’s no joke - deer kill more people each year than bears and cougars. Deer also eat baby birds. And everyone knows what they’ll do to the hood of your car.

Deer: Thugs of the forest. Stay away from the venison if you know what’s good for you.

Saw this item via Dawson: Apparently, 10th Mountain is going to try to get a yurt up on Resolution to replace the late, great Fowler-Hilliard Hut, which burned down last month after a lightning-sparked fire.

I dunno if you can really fit 16 people in a 30-foot yurt, but it sounds like fun to try. And, anyhoo, the real beauty of F-H was the climb, the views and the excellent skiing below the hut. So I’m all for it, especially if they’re able to rebuild the real hut next summer.

Oddly, there’s not a word about this I could find on the 10th Mountain page. Even the reservation page is still indicating there are spots available at the pile of charcoal that is currently all that’s left of Fowler-Hilliard.

Take some sandpaper to your favorite rock skis, ’cause the season has arrived. Well, maybe more of a pre-season. Loveland looks to get the jump on A-Basin this year, opening tomorrow, while A-Basin has to settle for Friday.

Scott’s headed up tomorrow for an in-depth investigation of whether the dude in the bunny suit gets first chair.

UPDATE: Vail announced they are now making snow in preparation for the season… which will begin in a mere 45 days. Jeez, if I had 45 days to work with, I could be get a decent base going - in Florida.

UPDATE UPDATE: I’ve been up here at Loveland all morning, and conditions are actually not bad. The coverage is decent, not too many icy patches and, best of all, no line to speak of.

It being a Wednesday morning, though, I’m sure most of Summit County’s skiers and snowboarders are at work….right.

There’s a decent layer of natural snow on the rest of the mountain, and, with some cooperative weather, more terrain could be open soon.

Oh, by the way, frances tolbert, I do believe you are posting your comments to the wrong blog. This is for people who go “out there,” not people who are “out there.”

Intrepid Gazette reporter Scott Rappold succeeds where television and the railroad failed: He’s coming back, and he’s bringing Fluffy with him. Hopefully not to the newsroom, because llamas poop everywhere, but still.

Apparently, Scott’s calm demeanor and pockets full of dried corn did the trick. That, or the llama people he was going with brought some rope.

UPDATE: Apparently Fluffy, the lonely llama, suffered frostbite on its poor, now-less fluffy ears. Oh poor llama, you will not be able to hear our cries of sadness!

UPDATED UPDATE: ”All I did was pull the llama on a rope over some snowfields,” says our always-humble reporter of his treacherous journey through the crevasse-pocked glaciers of Pikes Peak. No word yet on whether Scott will lose his ears to frostbite. All we can do is wish him well. Courage, Scott. Courage.

UPDATED UPDATED UPDATE: Scott is now reporting that one of the brave rescue llamas was injured in saving Fluffy and had to be evacuated on the Cog Railway. It is also possible that the llama was simply being lazy, Scott notes.

Actually, I’m going nowhere. Scott is off hunting the peripatetic llama of Pikes Peak. We told him to come back with a llama, or not to come back at all.

Expect great things. Great llama things.

I mean, it’s actually quite delightful outside. But these warm temperatures are not helping the snowmaking at A-Basin (above) and Loveland (below). Great day for a bike ride, though.

Here’s a weird story from Law Week Colorado describing a lawsuit against Vail Resorts for not honoring lifetime ski passes given to the 33 original investors in Keystone. Apparently, the original language gave this handful of pass-holders the right to loan or rent out the passes. Vail decided that it would honor the passes for the original holders, but no more rentals.

Here’s a quote from one pass-holder: “We had openly rented the passes for years,” Snyder said. “The rental of these passes [was] to be a financial component of our retirement.”

The article says renting the passes could be worth as much as $8,000 a year.