Archive for the ‘Mountaineering’ Category

Mountaineering – Crystal Peak (13,852 ft) and Bonus 13ers

Saturday, September 13th, 2014

Zach Clutching the Spine of Father Dyer
Zach Clutching the Spine of Father Dyer

Smiles on Crystal Peak Summit
Zach, Beth, and Clare on Crystal Peak

Crystal Peak and Peak 10
Crystal Peak and Peak 10, taken from Father Dyer

Father Dyer, Crystal, and Peak 10 Topo Map with Waypoints
Our loop hike of Crystal Peak Cirque

In the Colorado Scrambles book, Mr. Cooper touts the climb of Father Dyer as, “a good introduction to the “art” of scrambling, offering some exposed but not sustained climbing and even a bit of loose rock to initiate the budding scrambler.”.

The climb of Father Dyer’s East Ridge sounded like a super fun way to climb Crystal Peak; a Centennial 13er just waiting to be ticked off our lists. Beth’s brother, Zach, is quickly building his scrambling repertoire, so this was a great route for honing his skills. By throwing in Peak 10 (13,633 ft), the #178 ranked Bicentennial as a bonus, we expanded the size of our loop hike and had a real feeling of accomplishment by completing the cirque. (more…)

Mountaineering – California Peak (13,849 ft) and Bonus 13ers!

Sunday, September 7th, 2014

California Peak Topo Map Waypoints
Our loop hike on California Peak!

Clare Smiling in the Sangres
Clare on the summit of Bicentennial Pt 13,660

Frank on Summit of California Peak
Frank on the summit of California Peak

After having to cancel my CMC trip for Mt. Meeker, due to heinous weather, I was left with a blank slate weekend.

What should I do? So many mountains to climb…how do I decide?

At the height of my mountain frenzy, I get an email from Frank and he suggests California Peak. Neither of us have done it, he’s been to the area and is willing to drive, we can car camp and don’t have to get up early, it’s…Perfect!

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Mountaineering – Huron Peak (14,003 ft)

Sunday, August 31st, 2014

Huron Peak Victory Shot

On Saturday, Crystal, Jen, Duke the dog, and I piled into the Subaru. Our destination was Huron Peak. Our plan was to car camp at the trail head on Saturday night. Starting at oh-dark-thirty would give us the best chance to make the summit.

Huron Peak Summit Panorama South
According to Mr. Dziezynski, “Huron is a classic climb on a picture-perfect mountain! This 14er may be the most beautiful hike in the Sawatch Range, with excellent views from the summit pyramid.”

Crystal at 13,000 ft on Huron Peak

It is for this exact reason, I selected Huron Peak as our destination. If successful, it would be Crystal’s first 14er, so I wanted her to be rewarded with excellent views. Also, Jen and her doggy Duke were there with us, so I wanted to pick a mountain with a clean, easy to navigate trail.

Starting in the dark, I wondered if the weather would comply…I dearly hoped so!

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Trail Running – My Sawatch Sufferfest – 4 Mountains in a Day

Saturday, August 16th, 2014

Smiles on Mount Belford
Climbergirl in the middle of her Sufferfest

Doug Ends His Sawatch Sufferfest
Doug at the end of his Sufferfest

On Saturday, Doug and I decided to tackle a conglomerate of mountains in the Sawatch range. There happen to be 5 co-located mountains, which are all centennials (among the top 100 highest peaks in Colorado). Many people hike 2 of them in a day, fewer will do 3 in a day, and even fewer will do 4 or more. Since Doug and I are both training for ultras, we set out to do all 5 in a day.

My Sawatch Sufferfest Topo Map
My game plan was to do the loop and return to the Missouri Trailhead. At the end of the loop, Doug would drop off the side of Oxford and connect with the Colorado Trail, run for an additional 8 miles, and head back to the road. I would drive the truck from Missouri TH to the CO TH and pick him up, saving him a 5 mile gravel road run at the end of the day.

If everything worked out right, I wouldn’t have to wait for him and we’d both have a great day of training.

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Mountaineering – Wilson Peak (14,017 ft)

Sunday, August 3rd, 2014

Success on Wilson Peak
Clare, Mark, and Seth on the summit of Wilson Peak

Clare Scrambling on Wilson to Gladstone Ridge
Scrambling on the North Ridge of Wilson Peak. Gladstone and Mt. Wilson are behind me.

After climbing Dallas Peak, Seth, Mark, and I were hungry for more rock scrambling. There are so many mountains in the San Juan Range, one could spend hours deliberating…

However, having done Gladstone less than a week prior, and spending a couple days staring at Wilson Peak from the south side, I proposed we do Wilson Peak. Lucky for me, the guys were on board!

Strategically, by bagging Wilson Peak now, the next time I was in the area I could focus on El Diente and Mt. Wilson without having to cram all three peaks into one long weekend.

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