Posts Tagged ‘Mountaineering’

Mountaineering – Little Bear (Attempt 2)

Saturday, September 27th, 2014

Mark in the Avenue of Aspens

On Saturday, I met up with Mark and we drove to Lake Como Road. Our destination was Little Bear; a much feared or admired (depending upon your perspective) 14er in the south end of the Sangre De Cristos. In a prior trip, I did not climb it because of bad weather, so I was hoping to get a good window this time.

Lake Como - Cold, Wet, and Windy

Unfortunately, on the way up to Lake Como, the skies opened up on Mark and I. We took shelter in the boughs of an evergreen and used a tarp to stay mostly dry. We waited for nearly an hour as hail, lightning, and thunder boomed. Finally, it let up long enough for us to make it to the lake.

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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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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 – Dallas Peak (13,809 ft)

Saturday, August 2nd, 2014

Blue Lake and Mt. Sneffels Panorama from Dallas Peak
Blue Lake and Mt. Sneffels Panorama From North Side of Dallas Peak

Fortunately, it did not rain over the course of the night. Maybe we would have dry 5th class climbing!

Dallas Peak Topo Map With Waypoints
Our Route with Waypoints

At 4am, Uwe made the rounds, making sure everybody was awake. In complete darkness, I emerged from the tent. Everybody was ready and excited. Would this be our lucky day?

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