Route: Northeast Face

Team: Ted, Christy, Jill Midthun

While on Quandary Peak, I was able to catch a view of Grays and Torreys and thought they looked pretty snowy. I sought some acclimatization before an upcoming climbing trip to South America trip, and Christy and friend Jill Midthun were looking to get out and do something. I pitched the idea of going to these two Front Range peaks to camp and perhaps ski, and they decided it sounded fun.

We drove to the Peru Creek Road snow closure, skinned in, and set up camp in Chihuahua Gulch around 11,000 ft. Our plan was to try for Grays Peak in the morning, and if things went well and time allowed, we could also attempt to ski Torreys.

We were up and out of camp early, and not surprisingly, the snow was pretty firm. Skinning up the south face of Grays Peak was tough. As the angle steepened, the frozen snow was challenging the grip of our old skins.

We did our best to make it up the frozen face and then traversed to the Southwest Ridge. We packed our skis on our backpacks and booted the remaining way to the summit. Once up top, the challenge was behind us; all that remained was to enjoy the spring skiing. Pushing right off the summit, we skied northeast toward the Stevens Gulch trailhead.