The Lucky 7...

Happy New Year everyone!  First I must apologize for being extremely tardy in my blog postings after my Qatar trip in September 2010.  As I look out the window on this very cold night, I realized that it has been nearly 4 months since I posted anything.  No time like the present.

The beginning of a new year is like any other for the most part.  It's a renewing of the calendar year, a reset switch for individuals to make personal goals that they may or may not meet, an expectation that this year will be better than the last.  As most of you know, I don't necessarily subscribe to "traditional" New Year's resolutions of any sort.  Why?  What's the point?  Rather I set goals for the new year as something to work towards.  My outdoor goal this year is to complete the 54 summits over 14,0000' in Colorado.  Currently, I sit at 47 completed peaks with 7 remaining.  Some of these remaining 7 peaks will be challenging from a mountaineering perspective while others less so.

So a bit of a preview of each one broken down by the two mountain ranges that these airy summits belong.

The Elk Range - known as some of Colorado's most rugged and beautiful peaks.  The rock in this range is considered "rotten" in the sense that its crumbling, red sedimentary rock.  I've climbed a few in this range already and can testify that these are mountains to approach with respect.

• Capitol Peak (14,130') - among 14er aficionado's, this singular peak has been considered to be one of the hardest peaks in the state due to it's infamous 100' knife edge.  My climbing partners and I attempted this in 2010 but turned back due to rain and freezing conditions.  The picture above is a 40' knife edge called Kelso Ridge on approach to Torrey's Peak.  Good practice for this one!
• Snowmass Peak (14.092') - another rugged 14er that is considered fairly remote while being north of the glitzy Aspen community.  Not as difficult as Capitol Peak, it has a long approach and a "namesake" snowfield that lasts well into summer making the trip up a little easier through the scree/talus fields.
• Maroon Peak (14,156') - perhaps one of the most photographed peaks in Colorado and perhaps the West.  This peak and it's sibling, North Maroon Peak, are collectively known as the "Deadly Bells" and for good reason.  The rock is poor and route finding a challenge.  I climbed it's neighbor, Pyramid Peak, in the summer of 2009 and can testify that one should carefully study the route and minimize the risks.

The San Juans - this mountain range is simply the most beautiful part of the state.  Remote, rugged peaks far from the Front Range with amazing backpacking opportunities for the climber and non-climber alike.

• Wetterhorn Peak (14,015') - this mountain is named after the more famous Wetterhorn rising above Grindelwald in Switzerland's Bernese Alps.  For language fans, Wetternhorn loosely translated means "weather peak" in German.  I attempted this peak in 2008 but did not have the necessary rock skills to comfortably summit this peak. After two years of rock climbing and classes, I look forward to this one quite a bit.
• Handies Peak (14,048') - this is my 14er finisher!  It's a Class 1 walk-up so hikers and climbers alike can walk up the trail to the rarefied air of 14k.  The plan is to summit this in August 2011 if you're interested - please let me know.  Details to follow in the summer.
• Sunlight Peak (14,059') - another one of the 14ers spoken in reverence due to its "leap of fate" off the summit block.  Most hikers/climbers don't stand on the small summit block.  It's a bit exposed and requires a jump down to a angled rock block.  On one side - safety and camp.  On the other - a several hundred foot fall.  I'm okay with reaching my hand up to touch the summit...
• Mount Sneffels (14,150') - located 7 miles west of Ouray, CO.  Ouray is home to the Ouray Ice Festival and is often called the "little Switzerland" of North America.  If you've ever been there, you'd agree.  This mountain serves as a good warm-up for aspiring mountaineers that have finished the "walk-up" 14ers and want to try something a bit harder.  Should be great fun!

So that's it.  The remaining 14ers that I have left to climb.  To be honest with you, when I first started hiking the 14ers in 1998 I never really gave it much thought that I would complete "the list."  But this year, if all goes well, "the list" will be completed and I will join about 1200-1300 people who have completed the 14ers.  I look forward to the challenge...Climb On my friends!

Finishing the 14ers...

Two weeks ago, my climbing partner, Alan Arnette, completed his goal climbing all 54 14,000 peaks in Colorado.  Alan was part of a 6-person group to the Chicago Basin located in southwest Colorado between Durango and Silverton.  The 3 ranked 14ers, Mt. Eolus, Windom Peak, and Sunlight Peak are some of the most remote 14,000 peaks in Colorado that require a ride on the Durango Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad to shorten the hike into the basin.  For all, this was a trip we had talked about doing for years.

Our first full day in the basin brought abundant sunshine and Colorado blue skies - perfect conditions for climbing Mt. Eolus and it's neighbor North Eolus.  One of our team members, John Little, had befriended Alan several years ago and had dreamed of climbing his first Class 3 mountain.  I had not met John until this trip but had corresponded with him over the years.  Eolus and North Eolus proved to be both very beautiful and very interesting rocks to climb.  For Alan, this brought him closer to his end goal with 52 successful summits.

Our second day in the basin brought consistent low cloud cover, rain, drizzle, and groppel - not exactly perfect conditions for climbing Windom Peak and Sunlight Peak.  We delayed our start time from camp about 1-2 hours to determine whether climbing was in the cards.  Seeing a window, we set out for Windom Peak.  Windom Peak is the easiest of the two mountains we were to attempt that day and through drizzle, groppel and some wind we summited the mountain surrounded by pea soup...53 successful summits for Alan.  We then made a hasty retreat down the mountain to avoid freezing conditions.  Successfully off of Windom, Alan and I attempted Sunlight Peak in marginal conditions.  I got 200' from the top and Alan about 50' from the top before we made the call to turn around.  Wet rock, exposed terrain, and icy conditions dictated that Sunlight, an unforgiving mountain, was not to be that day...stuck at 53 successful summits.

Our third day in the basin brought an overnight abundance of rain and hail but a dawn of abundant sunshine and Colorado blue skies.  I had to hike out of the basin that morning to catch my train while Alan awoke at 4:30 AM to summit Sunlight Peak.  Although he soloed Sunlight Peak, thoughts of his mother (who passed away from complications of Alzheimer's1 year and 1 day on his completion of the 14ers), his climbing accomplishments, and his memories of all 54 summits hopefully kept him company.  A hearty congratulations in completing the goal of climbing all 54 14,000 peaks in Colorado - a task undertaken by many but accomplished by few.

As our team returned to our respective homes, all of us have had time to think about this trip and what it meant for each individual.  For Alan, a completion of a goal and the beginning of a new goal - to raise awareness of and $1 million for Alzheimer's Research with his Memories are Everything:  The 7 Summits for Alzheimer's.  The project begins Q4 2010 and will conclude in 2011/2012.  You can follow Alan's progress with this project on the link above.  Please consider donating to this cause by giving 1 penny for each vertical foot Alan climbs - it can be for all 7 summits or just 1 - $13 to $196 depending on the summit.

Climb On my friends!

Marmot Love in the Crestones...

What the heck?  Marmot love?  Surely that has nothing and everything to do with climbing.  You see the Yellow Bellied Marmot live at altitudes above 6500' which is where I spend a lot of weekends during the summer climbing season.  And this last weekend was no different...

Several weeks ago, I sent an email out to my regular climbing partners, Alan Arnette and Patrick Vall, to see if they had any interest in returning to Crestone Peak (14,294') and Crestone Needle (14,197').  Both had done these peaks on different trips but these were 2 mountains on my 2010 summit list to complete.  Unfortunately Patrick was unavailable and Alan replied "only if we do the traverse."  The traverse is considered one of the 4 great 14,000' climbs among the 14er group and one of the more difficult due to route finding, rock scrambling, and exposure.  I was tentative about this traverse but agreed - what better way to gain more skills.

Alan and I left Denver Friday afternoon and 3.5 hours later we were at the trailhead, geared and ready for our 4 mile hike to base camp.  We arrived at camp around 6 PM, set up our tents, ate dinner, and set the alarm for a 3:40 AM wake-up call.  It arrived too soon but we were greeted by clear skies and tons of stars!  We left camp at 4 AM to climb Broken Hand Pass - a several hundred foot scree slope to a weakness in the mountain.  From there we descended to a beautiful lake valley and made our way to the Red Gully.  The Red Gully is a polished, red rock section that climbers take to within 200' of the summit block.  The hiking/climbing was moderately hard but manageable and soon enough we were on the summit of Crestone Peak.  But the "fun" was only beginning....

To reach the traverse entry point between Crestone Peak and Crestone Needle, one has to descend 600-700' from the saddle of Crestone Peak.  We spent some time attempting to find the entry point and eventually found a strong climbers trail - the traverse!  The traverse is a slog of upclimb and downclimb between gullies and fractured rock to an obvious rock formation called the Black Gendarme.  From this point on, the climbing gets more serious due to exposure - a fall in some portions is fatal.  We took our time finding the safest route and eventually found ourselves at the base of the crux.  The crux is an 80' climb on 70-80 degree rock with solid hand and foot holds.  Alan was a spider monkey on this portion and free climbed it to the top.  I, on the other hand, was a marmot but fortunately was able to tie into a rope from an earlier team that ascended this portion 10 minutes before us.  Tied into a safety system, I climbed the 80' crux with no problem and soon enjoyed the summit of Crestone Needle.  The remainder of the trip was a slog of a downclimb via the standard route off the Needle back to camp and exhaustive rest.

Overall, the Crestones are quite a beautiful range of mountains and I felt both spent from the exertion yet happy to have climbed these mountains.  Next on the agenda, an attempt on Capitol, Wilson, and El Diente this weekend.  The "list" grows shorter but my happiness in the mountains continue to grow...

Climb On my friends....

Head west young man...or is it north...or...

This past Sunday AM, Easter Sunday, was the first field day for a new Basic Mountaineering School (BMS) class.  Last year at this same time, I was a student in BMS but this year I'm an assistant instructor.  BMS is a class offered by the Colorado Mountain Club and is designed to give aspiring mountaineers the skills necessary for navigation, rock climbing, and snow skills.  The class is broken down into 5 lecture nights and 6 mandatory fields trips with 2 "qualifying" trips afterwords to officially graduate from the school.  The field trips cover such topics as map/compass, rappelling, rock climbing, escaping the belay, "passing the knot" in the rope, self arrest with an ice axe, crampon travel, and a host of other skill sets to prepare the student to safely traverse the mountains - whether it's in Colorado or other loftier ascents.

I had an excellent BMS experience last year and was pushed outside my comfort zone often - particularly when we got to the rock climbing field trips.  I guess it's a natural fear that you don't want to fall off a mountain; yet rock climbing, by it's nature, is typically on vertical terrain and gravity always winds.  You have to train your mind to trust your gear, your fellow students, and your instructors.  It took some time to trust the gear but once I learned  the reality that my body weight on a rope is really nothing for the system, then my fear of falling decreased dramatically.  Now I can rappel off a 50-75' cliff without much fear.  The class also has the added benefit that as I get closer to completing the 54 14ers in Colorado, my comfort level on the more difficult peaks is better than if I had not taken the class.  Case in point, I climbed Pyramid Peak (one of the top 5 most difficult 14ers) last summer with my climbing partner, Alan Arnette, last summer and felt more confident in my abilities to summit.

So, this past Sunday...map/compass day with the students.  The gist of the trip is to have the students guide the group to 6 points on a map using their compasses and terrain reading skills compared to the map.  Our roles as instructors was to make sure they did not get into difficult terrain, to assist those who did not understand how to use a map/compass and provide support.  Long story short, they were rock stars!  They found all 6 points without much difficulty and in reviewing the GPS track, did it in an efficient manner.  I was pleased with their teamwork and their skills.

Next Sunday is 1st rock day on Little Scraggy Peak.  My guess is there's some anxiety among some of the students but I'm hopeful that they will do well.  More to come...

Climb On my friends!