One of the best things about having some big goals on the horizon is getting prepared. Friday evening we went up to Turkey Rock for an easy two pitches of rock climbing. The next morning, we headed over the pass towards Twin Lakes to Monitor Rock where we had a climb of the ‘Trooper Traverse’ planned. At 5 pitches in length and with a crux difficulty rating of 5.8 it was...
At 13,988 ft., Grizzly Peak is the tallest 13er in the state and a regular on many ski mountaineers spring tick list. Dirk and I found it in pretty good shape last Thursday. [singlepic=13,361,500,,center] Technically, Grizzly falls in the Sawatch Range and not in the Elks but with popular access beginning a short way up Independence Pass on the Aspen side, it feels pretty local. If you put together a list...
San Juan Ski Weekend – Day 2 We were up early. The forecast called for a beautiful spring day and with a goal to ski Handies Peak(14,048 ft.) from the east we knew we had to stay ahead of the sun. In 1999 I skied here from the American Basin/west side of the mountain and was eager to return, trying for the more exciting east side. There’s a great couloir(NE)...