Last year I had the opportunity to be a part of an amazing mentorship program that the Aspen Middle School conducts annually with their 6th-grade students. I was approached by an impressive 11-year old girl who asked if I would be willing to participate in the program as her mentor for ski mountaineering.
After our run up Quandary's East Ridge we decided to climb the mountain a second time (the next day) at a more casual pace. The north side of the mountain has a seldom visited, semi-technical climbing route called the Inwood Arete that we wanted to explore. (more…)
The text from my younger sister wished me a happy birthday and went on to say, "Hope you are doing something fun-and I don't mean running 100 miles or climbing a mt…hope u have a great day…" I guess we just disagree on what constitutes birthday fun. I was really excited for our plans later that afternoon-- to join a group of friends on a run up and down Quandary...
Route: Cristo Couloir Team: Ted, Aaron Brown Aaron, a new friend from Aspen, and I headed to Quandary early May for another Quandary ski. I think Colorado's lucky to have this peak, with it's easy drive and high trailhead all winter long. There aren't too many more straightforward ways to get up to 14,000 feet on skis in the heart of winter anywhere else in the country. And for a...
A spring ski descent of the south couloirs on Quandary Peak with some adventure friends from out of town.
Route: South Couloirs Team: Ted, Chris Davenport Sometime in the fall of 2005 I first heard of Chris Davenport's plan to ski all the 14ers in a year. Opinions on the subject ranged from incredibly ambitious and cool, to completely impossible. Having some knowledge of what his plans required, my opinion fell somewhere in the "let's be realistic" middle, although I knew Chris enough to know to give him the...
Route: Cristo Couloir Team: Ted, Sean Shean Spring is here. The lifts just closed and without any big, far away adventure planned, I was hoping to get a short list of 14ers skied before the snow melted. If it's anything like last spring (14 peaks skied) then I'd be psyched. Let's start out with a Quandary East Ridge/Cristo Couloir warm-up. Technically dull and with great road access it's a classic...
Route: Cristo Couloir Team: Ted, Jared Ettlinger Late April— snow is everywhere but the lifts are closed. It doesn't always make sense to me, for example, why Aspen Highlands' maximum base depth is often reached on or near the mountains closing day. There's still so much skiing to be had when everyone starts thinking summer. Jared agreed, so we went to Quandary Peak. In ten days or so I was...
Route: East Ridge Team: Ted, Christy Christy and I had just started hanging out and I figured why ease into it? Let's cut to the chase. Let's see how she handles this stuff. Closing day on Aspen Mountain brought a big spring storm. We had already made plans for Quandary Peak the morning after, some new snow made it sound more interesting. Still in the early "getting to know each...
Route: Cristo Couloir Team: Ted, Matt Hannon You might say it all started with Quandary. While Mount Sopris was my first official summit skied back in 1997, it was Quandary two years later that really got me inspired. Living in Aspen with my cousin Matt Hannon, I was about fifteen or so summits into my summer 14er tick list. Hearing from a friend about a cool ski day on Quandary...
We met in Aspen in 2000 and have been happily stuck in the rockies ever since, getting out in the mountains every day we can, in every season and by all means possible. Read More
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