The Blue River at Valley Brook in Breckenridge. Photo by Jenney Coberly

Compiled by Jenney Coberly

Elk River breaks stream flow record

STEAMBOAT SPRINGS — The Elk River broke its all-time record early Tuesday morning, according to provisional data recorded by the U.S. Geological Survey. A measuring station at the Routt County Road 42 bridge measured the peak at 7,520 cubic feet per second at 4:45 am on Tuesday.

“Preliminarily, that is a new peak of record,” said Michael Lewis, associate director of the USGS Colorado Water Science Center.

Read the full story at Steamboat Today.

Second-largest wildfire in Arizona history topped the news of the week

Be sure to check out this amazing photoblog of AP photos of the Wallow wildfire posted by the Denver Post on June 6.

Ski resorts in Argentina coated with volcanic ash

The eruption of a volcano chain in Chile spewed ash over nearby Argentinian ski resorts just two weeks before they were set to open. Huge columns of smoke rose from the Puyehue volcano chain in the Andes, and ash and rocks were thrown 6 miles into the air. The volcano is about 500 miles south of the Chilean capital Santiago and on the border with Argentina. Officials have issued a red alert, the maximum warning level for the area, and more than 3,500 people have been evacuated from their homes. It’s the first time the Puyehue has erupted in 50 years.

Read the full story at PlanetSki, along with some great videos of the volcano.

Hidden Gems hiking series begins June 14

The first hike of the season is the Thompson Creek Fins Hike, a short drive south of Carbondale. The Roaring Fork Audubon Society joins Hidden Gems for a morning stroll up Thompson Creek to identify and learn about native birds of Colorado. Just a few feet wide, the fins stand up to over 60 feet tall. Discover these odd geologic features in the Assignation Ridge Proposal Area,

Visit the Hidden Gems hiking page for a complete list of hikes they are sponsoring this summer.

Thompson Creek — photo courtesy Ecoflight at http://www.ecoflight.info

The Push — a South Pole adventure

As reported on Facebook by the Mountain Riders Alliance, inspirational sit skiers John David and Grant Korgan, guided by Douglas chandler Stoup and Tal Fletcher, Jr., will push themselves 100 miles to the South Pole. This epic journey will be filmed by Tom Day and Siig Steven.

Using custom designed sit skis, the two adaptive athletes hope to reach their destination on the 100th anniversary of the first explorers to travel to the South Pole. The team hopes to inspire people in all walks of life to achieve the seemingly insurmountable, to push their own everyday limits, and to live up to their ultimate potential.

Check out this great preview video posted on Vimeo: