Archive for the ‘Snowshoe Hiking’ Category

Snowshoe Hike – Herman Gulch Trail Head

Sunday, January 6th, 2013

Citadel to Pettingell
Erin and I met at oh-dark-thirty at the Herman Gulch Trail Head. We were planning to snowshoe up to the basin below Citadel and Pettingell. It’s a nice aerobic snowshoe, up a steep gulch, with fabulous views of the mountains. We had a lovely time romping up the trail; happy that we didn’t need the snowshoes until the last hour or so of our hike. We ate lunch at a rocky outcropping which was nicely sheltered from the wind.

The hike was great, but I found out a week later that I left my very expensive red OR mountaineering mittens on a post outside of the bathroom. By the time I realized I lost them, it was undoubtedly too late to recover them.

In tears, I took a trip to REI. The poor guy working in the glove/mitten section had to discern what I was asking for, through my sobs and intermittent blowing of the nose.

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Snowshoe Hike – Chief Mountain (11,709 ft)

Saturday, December 22nd, 2012

Clare & Linda Summit Chief Mountain
Linda and I snowshoe hiked to the summit of Chief Mountain (11,709 ft). It was a gorgeous blue sky winter day. The snowshoe was steep, with easy route finding.

We had a lot of fun coming back a different way. We plunged through knee deep powder in the backcountry and summited a nearby peak which Linda had not done before. It was a nice day to be in the mountains. Linda did awesome, which is why she has such a big smile in the pictures!

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Annual Waffles and Ski, Snow Mountain Ranch, CO

Saturday, January 28th, 2012

Snow Mountain Ranch

Clare & Dennis Snowshoeing at Snow Mountain Ranch
Dennis and I attended the annual Waffles and Ski day up at Snow Mountain Ranch at YMCA of the Rockies. Dan’s waffles were extraordinaire, as always! After the sumptuous breakfast, we broke out into indivual groups to either cross country ski or snowshoe. There was a big snowshoe contingent this year, so we were happy to not be the only ones…Ryan & Erica, Eddie and his friend, Dennis and I. (more…)

Silver Plume Mountain (12,457 ft) Snowshoe Hike

Sunday, April 17th, 2011


On Sunday, I had a fabulous time summitting Silver Plume Mountain (12,457 ft) along with 7 other members of the CMC. This was my 2nd Co-Lead (aka Leader In Training) hike, and I was fortunate to have Dave as my sponsoring Leader.
Silver Plume Mountain SE Ridge TOPO & Elevation Profile
Dave was thought provoking and challenged me to continually assess the conditions, decisions, and mood of the group. I decided to be a consensus building leader, so my approach was to include the group as much as possible. Dave helped to cement, in my mind, where & when the consensus approach might need to be adjusted-such as situations with a “Big Ego Climber” or “Indecisive Sheeples”.
CMC Silver Plume Snowshoe Team
Lucky for me, we had neither of these situations during this trip. We immediately gelled as a group and had a fun & challenging day! (more…)

Snowshoe Hike – Avalanche Awareness Class – CMC

Saturday, February 26th, 2011

Probe Demonstration
The CMC offers an Avalanche Awareness class, many times over the course of a winter. As I’m fond of snowshoe hiking and cross country, I thought it would be a good idea to partake. So, I joined about 30 CMC members for an all day session near Rogers Pass, CO. I carpoolled with Robert, who was nice enough to drive his Jeep piled full of people & gear to the Trail Head.

My Group: Connie, Bryan, Adam, Robert, and Karsen (Instructor in Rust Colored Jacket)
Avalanche Awareness Primer
The instruction from Karsen was first rate, he spent a great deal of time with us (more than any other instructor!). I thought he did a great job of explaining the essential details and repetitively reviewing the material. (more…)