Posts Tagged ‘Collegiate Range’

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…)

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…)