The massive ridge. With the start labeled, we first climbed south to Len Shoemaker Peak and then followed the ridge as it swung north, all the way to Pyramid. Click to enlarge. Totally psyched and somewhat surprised to have actually pulled it off, Neal Beidleman and I sat on Pyramid’s narrow summit in the afternoon sun and processed it all. It wasn’t that we thought it couldn’t be done. Through...
Christy and Dirk in the Southwest Couloir of Peak C. Christy, Dirk and I had a great trip to the Gores recently, and tagged the summit of Peak C, 13,220 ft., described as “the gem of the Gore Range” according to Dave Cooper’s Colorado Scrambles guide. It was an interesting peak and well worth climbing, and I once again wondered why it is that there are so many distinct and...
A trailrun up to Rito Alto Lake followed by a hike up the ridge to Rito Alto Peak.
A trip to Lower Sand Lake and Tierjas Peak.
From the summit of Storm King Peak. It’s wild back here. Last weekend, Christy and I went down to the Weminuche, in the heart of the San Juans. It’s an incredible place, one of our favorite spots in the state. The Weminuche Wilderness handily takes the award as Colorado’s largest wilderness area. At nearly 500,000 acres in size (Maroon Bells/Snowmass is 181,000 acres by comparison) it is so vast, with...
Just the three of us on top of #100– Ted, Christy and our good friend Nicholas Feuillatte. Christy and I climbed Gladstone Peak on Saturday, a 13,913 ft. scree covered mountain in the San Juans, and with that summit, Christy has stood atop the 100 tallest mountains in Colorado. So I will say once again (and for the umpteenth time this year), congratulations Christy. For some background on the 100...
It’s all downhill from here, or at least from a little farther up. Neal climbs up from Taylor Pass. “Thirty-seven.” That was his answer to my question as to when he thought he had reached his top form, and after which he first noticed his speed, stamina and general physical condition begin to deteriorate– in other words, when things started going downhill. I didn’t think it to be an inconsiderate...
North Apostle, Ice Mountain and West Apostle, left to right, frame the valley on the hike in, under cloudy but dry skies. Lake Ann and the west peak were our destination. The wilderness rehabilitation continues and for the second week in a row, we managed to escape the summer crowds and find a little peace and quiet. Well, it was quiet at least with regards to the lack of people,...
An amazing overnight that included a climb of the west ridge of South Maroon Peak.
Christy and Lissa on the ridge, seen here form the summit of North Traverse Peak. The route heads to the highpoint out to the left, Grand Traverse Peak. Christy, Lissa and I did the Gore Grand Traverse the other day. Not to be confused with the popular ski race, the Elk Mountain Grand Traverse, often discussed here on the blog and which was a grand disappointment this year, the Gore...