An account in Pitkin County, Colorado

I lived in Colorado for 29 years. Eighteen of those I spent working at ski resorts. Over the years I've seen hundreds of deer and elk as well as dozens of bear, everything from cubs to large 400 pound males. In the last 4 years I've had 3 separate sightings of 4 creatures that I hesitate to identify. My second sighting occurred during February 2001 near Aspen. I was hiking with my dogs on BLM land at the base of Sopris Mountain. I was on a steep trail that snowshoers had packed down firm. My dogs began to sniff the air and get excited, so I knew they had picked up the scent of an animal. Then two dogs that live on the other side of the road and up the hill began to bark. When I looked down at them I realized they were looking at something ahead of us, not at me or my dogs. Sure enough not 50 yards ahead of me sat what looked like a gorilla sitting in the snow under the shade of a pine tree. It was looking at the barking dogs across the little valley. I could tell it hadn't spotted me yet and I was determined to keep this one in my sight. The trail switched back to the right up ahead and I wanted to see it move when it did finally see me. After walking about ten more feet, I tripped in a deep hole in the snow that the snowshoers had left with their poles. I stood up as fast as I could only to see the back of a large furry head disappear over the ridge. I tried to find a path or some tracks to follow up the hill but without success. The snow was up to my waist off the trail so I couldn't get any closer.