Archive for August, 2009

Rock Climbing – Elevenmile Canyon (Day 2)

Saturday, August 29th, 2009

Kat Smiling on Granite of Elevenmile Dome
Saturday morning, we got a call from Kris around 7:30am. The group would be arriving in about an hour. Boy was I excited! We were expecting Kris, Kat, and Steve. A couple of Kris’ friends would be joining us later…so a nice sized group. (more…)

Rock Climbing – Elevenmile Canyon – Day 1

Friday, August 28th, 2009

Elevenmile Canyon, CO
On Friday, Dennis & I headed to Elevenmile Canyon State Park, out of C-Springs, CO. Our immediate goal was to snag a good campsite for the group. Everybody else would be getting there in the am on Saturday, so we were hoping there’d be something available in the Canyon.

We arrived at the mouth of Elevenmile at around 3pm, and it was clear there were no open sites available. All the walk-ins were taken. Darn! The ranger informed us that there was a campsite (Blue Mountain) which was just 1 mile down the road.

Dennis Preparing Camp
We ended up with this lovely site (#8), at Blue Mountain. It is a great site for a group. We were able to park all 4 cars, no problem. (Of course, there was an extra fee for the two extra cars, but no biggie!). (more…)

Day Hike – Mt. Princeton

Sunday, August 23rd, 2009

Two Trees on Mt. Princeton (14,197)
My back was still not recovered from the injury, so I decided to spend one more weekend above treeline, bagging peaks. Kris mentioned Mt. Princeton, and I thought, “Why not, we were just up Columbia and Harvard!”.

Clare Checks the Topo to Assess Progress
As Gerry Roach says, “Princeton is the southernmost and most visible of the Collegiate fourteeners. As you descend west into the Arkansas River Valley, on U.S. 285, Princeton stares you smack in the face for many miles. You cannot ignore its gaze.”

Princeton stared us smack in the face and then delivered a sly & wicked lovetap. It passively allowed us access to the summit, then aggressively spit us out on the opposite end from whence we came. Beware the subtle, twisted, and tangled nature of the many high ridges of Princeton! (more…)

Rock Climbing – Third Flatiron

Saturday, August 15th, 2009

Dan & Clare Celebrate Third Flatiron Success

I saw a post online from Dan, he needed a partner for a weekend romp up the Third Flatiron. I was quite excited to join him, as I had a ton of fun doing the First one two weeks prior. My painful & lingering back/rib injury was not going away, so the gentle slope of the Flatiron was just what the doctor ordered!

Cliffnotes of the Day:
I woke up really early. Met Dan. We arrived at crag, we were third in line. We saw 5 other climbers while we were climbing. We took pictures and climbed quick, just barely getting caught in an afternoon thunder storm. We went out for quesadillas at Morning Sun post climbing.

What a FUN day!
(more…)

Mountaineering – Mt. Columbia (14,073′) and Mt. Harvard (14,420′)

Tuesday, August 11th, 2009

Mt. Harvard (14,420 ft) Summit Nice Group Shot
On August 10th, I met with Kris and Brian to attempt Mt. Columbia and Mt. Harvard (14,073′ and 14,420′, respectively) the following day. The plan was to drive up to Buena Vista, have dinner, and then bivy until o-dark-thirty, and head for the high points.

Before I get into the details about Harvard & Columbia, I must rewind to ealier on Saturday.

Dennis & I had so much fun Mountain Biking in Canada, that we decided to give it a whirl locally. As luck would have it, a co-worker of mine, Dan, was happy to show us around. So, on Saturday,we went for a nice little ~10 mile single track bike ride around Bear Creek Lake Park.

After the bike ride, Dennis dropped me off at Kris’ house, so that I could go climb mountains. What a hectic 36 hours, for me!!! (more…)