The Dog is not Dead...

Tsali, the wonder cat, is doing great in the LeClair household.  But "the dog" otherwise known as the Dead Dog Couloir off of Torreys Peak was simply an amazing snow climb.  I started climbing couloirs (i.e. a deep gully on mountain sides filled with snow) about 1.5 years ago for my Basic Mountaineering School class.  My first exposure to them was the Cristo Couloir off of Quandary Peak.  Since then, I've climbed the Lambslide Couloir off of Longs Peak as well but the Dead Dog Couloir had begun to intrigue me this year.

I have climbed Torreys Peak (14,267') via the standard route probably about 3 times now and although it is a very scenic mountain paired with neighboring Grays Peak (14,270'), it's probably not a mountain that I would actively choose to return to unless it was by a more technical approach.  Several weeks ago, I started formulating a plan to climb the Dead Dog towards the end of May 2010.  By months end, the snowpack has consolidated fairly nicely and the chance of point releases/wet slides are minimal - at least in the early morning hours.  I discussed my plans with 14er climbing partner, Alan Arnette, who planned to join us after his Little Bear Peak climb the day before as well as my ESRI co-worker, Kevin Hodson.  Two additional friends from the CMC, Greg Sherman and John Krhovjak, whom I've hiked with before had expressed an interest as well.  The plans were set in motion....

My alarm went off at 3 AM in Westminster, CO and I awakened to quickly eat some cereal, brew some coffee, and grab my pack to meet folks at the Morrison Park-n-Ride by 4 AM.  We wanted to be on the trail by 5 AM and at the base of the couloir by 6:30 AM in order to take advantage of hard snow.  As it turned out, Alan was unable to join us due to a "wardrobe malfunction" (his double plastic boots broke) so the remaining 4 folks drove to the summer trailhead and began to hike in.  The air temperature was in the high 30's and the snow on the trail was hard from the night's freezing temperatures - perfect!  We arrived at the base of couloir by 6:30 AM and started to get ready.  We put on our crampons, grabbed our ice axes, ate some food, drank some water and started up the couloir.  There was some wet slide activity from previous days but this was not too much of a worry - the snow was firm today...at least until late morning.

The Dead Dog averages about 45 degrees most of the route up and steepens to 50 degrees for the last 100-200'.  We took about 1.5 hours to ascend the 1200' to the summit ridge and stood on the summit by 8:20 AM.  The views were simply amazing - a lot of snow is still on the high mountains although it's melting quickly.  We could see Breckenridge Resort 20 miles to the west as well as numerous other 14,000' mountains nearby.  This is one of the things I live for!  We enjoyed the summit for about 20-30 minutes and then began our descent back via the standard route to the trailhead.  Kevin had brought his tele skis so he skied down the couloir with another skier while Greg, John, and I glissaded 1200' down from the saddle between Grays and Torreys.

We were back at the 'yota by 11 AM and in Denver by 12 PM - perfect - we avoided the Memorial Day Weekend "rush hour" soon coming down I-70!

This weekend, my friend/lover/companion, Karen, is visiting this weekend for a weekend of concerts at Red Rocks, visiting with friends, hitting a festival or two, and catching up on lost time.  Climb on my friends! 

Da Bear...

Nope, Mike Ditka was not on Little Bear Peak (14,037') on May 22, 2010 but there were at least 8 climbers that were on summit.  My regular climbing partner, Patrick Vall, and I have been studying this mountain for a while now and came to the conclusion that the safest time to climb this mountain was when there was snow on the crux...otherwise known as the "hourglass."  The hourglass is a rock formation that has a lot in common with a traditional hourglass - wide at the top/bottom and pinch point in the middle.  In this case, the pinch point funnels a cascade of rocks onto water slicked cliff bands that climbers are attempting to ascend.  Not wanting to be a clay pigeon in this shooting gallery, we decided to try the "bear" when the snow has consolidated into solid climbing conditions.

I left Denver Friday AM to pick up Patrick in Colorado Springs on way to the town of Blanca, CO.  Not much in Blanca these days but they had big plans once.  If you ever pull up Google Earth, you'll understand my comment.  We drove about 3 miles up Lake Como Road until the 4Runner could no longer go up due to huge rock bands across the path.  From there it was a 2-2.5 mile hike to Lake Como at 11,900'.  As we were the first folks up to Lake Como, we selected a small 10x12 cabin that's been modified over the years for climbers and 4x4'ers alike.  This was a good thing as winter still has a grasp on the high country at around 12,000'.  After a dinner of Top Raman and tuna, we called it a night.

The alarm went off at 4 AM - we started to boil water for oatmeal and hot Starbucks coffee - thank God for Via!  By 5 AM, we were geared and working our way to the first crux - a 600' snow filled 30-35 degree sloped gully.  After some crampon maintenance, we were at the top of the gully and traversing across the west ridge to the base of the hourglass.  At Point 12,980' Patrick called his climb due to not feeling 100% for the hourglass and encouraged me to continue...I did after knowing that Patrick would be watching my ascent for safety.  Seeing 4 climbers ahead of me, I attempted to catch up with them to tag the summit.

The crux of the climb had arrived...the hourglass...something I've read about for a year now and I was nervous.  Seeing good snow positioned at a 45 degree angle to the summit, I ascended.  I caught the first of the 4-person party above the pinch point of the hourglass and took some pics for 14er partner's (Alan Arnette) attempt next weekend.  Above the pinch point, the ascent went climber's left to the summit - a 50-55 degree snow slope.  Since many parties has summited Friday and Saturday AM, there was a great set of "steps" in the snow.  Within minutes, I'm on top of Little Bear Peak - #40 out of 54 summits complete.  I called Patrick on the walkie-talkie - "I'm on summit!"

I spent the next 10-15 minutes talking to fellow climbers, taking pictures, and eating/drinking.  My climb was half over...now I had to descend the hourglass.  It took about 2 hours to get back to the base of the gully but I had made it.  The "bear" is a tough mountain...it is to be respected.  My BMS training this year and last was a major factor in my summiting and the training paid off.

Next on the schedule - Dead Dog Couloir on Torrey's Peak next Monday.

Climb On my friends...

The Iceman Cometh...

Alright I'm not exactly a Colorado mountain yeti but I was up in the high country where there was snow...in May.  Two weekends ago was the Basic Mountaineering School's "Hard Snow" day.  The premise of this field trip was to introduce students to couloir climbing, hone self arrest skills with an ice axe, crampon use, and rope travel in teams.  The route - Cristo Couloir on Quandary Peak.

Quandary Peak (14,265') is located south of Breckenridge, CO and is part of the Tenmile-Mosquito Range.  It is generally climbable year round due to easy access and avy safe routes.  The Cristo Couloir is located on the south side of Quandary Peak and is rated a Class 2 snow climb.  The stats are 2.0 miles/2600' gain/loss.  Typically, Cristo Couloir becomes climbable in early May but this year, conditions were questionable in the weeks leading up to the climb due to late snows that had not had time to consolidate.  The only way to know for sure was to give it a shot.

Our student/instructor group left Denver at 4 AM and arrived at the trailhead at 5:30 AM for an alpine start.  The alpine glow on the surrounding mountains was simply incredible.  As the students geared up, we communicated the plans for the day.  From there, we worked our way to the base of the couloir.  Last year when I was a BMS student, the Cristo Couloir was my hard snow so I felt comfortable on this terrain.  Initially, we asked the students to practice the 4 styles of self arrest with an ice axe - sliding down a snow slope on your back feet first, in a seated position, on your stomach face first and my favorite, on your back head first.  Once they felt they had enough practice, we started our trek up the mountain.  Snow conditions were not great but we continued on up practicing skills.

We successfully summited Quandary Peak about 1:30 PM and enjoyed an outstanding view on summit for about 20-30 minutes.  A lot of folks called their Mom's to wish them a Happy Mother's Day.  I called Karen and my Mom as well to wish them both a happy, happy.  Afterwards, we down climbed about 500'-750' on the couloir before setting up the glissade - basically sitting on your butt and ride the snow down to the TH.  We probably lost 1500' in about 5 minutes of sliding - great fun!  All in all, hard snow day was a success and I believe the students learned quite a bit about snow travel.

Next on my agenda, climbing Little Bear Peak this Saturday AM with great friend and fellow climber, Patrick Vall.  Little Bear is a serious mountain - a Class 4 - more so in the summer because of rockfall.  Our plan is to do Little Bear as a snow climb thereby reducing the risk of rockfall.  That and the snow provides a more solid anchor of sorts - we'll have crampons and ice axes to aid us.  If successful, this will be #40 out 54 14,000' peaks in Colorado.

Climb On my friends!