Mount Bierstadt

I took the week off last week for my trip to Arizona.  Itching to get back to the mountains I decided to climb Mount Bierstadt.  The weather forecast was good as long as I got up there early and the clouds rolled in as anticipated.  Typically this mountains standard route starts from Guanella Pass at 11,640ft, but since I have made the rule to climb at least 3,000ft to check the summit off my list I had to start much lower.  Lucky for me the winter closure is still in effect so I started at 10,900ft, giving me the required climb for my books.  From the winter closure my GPS clocked in 1.75 extra miles each way and around 700ft of elevation.  The road was paved all the way up and really only had snow on the corners.  It was a good way to wake my body up and get into a rhythm.

The morning was beautiful and not too cold.  I wore my micro fleece sweater and a ball cap.  I always love it when I can wear the ball cap; the snow dome is a massive sweat collector.  Gloves were unnecessary for most of the climb.  I ended up using my fleece gloves from about 12K on up, just to protect from the gusty winds.  It took me 40minutes to cover the 1.75miles to the parking lot. 

I have read about the first section of this trail and now finally got to experience it.  From the TH you actually drop maybe 100ft across what I would call a bog.  Swampy area covered in willows, but there was a boardwalk for some of it.  I can’t imagine what it was like before the boardwalk, I think hip waders would have been a necessary piece of equipment.  There was a trail sign in station and I noticed a motion camera near the ground.  When I came back I could swear it was in a different spot, boogie man I guess.  The way across the bog wasn’t too bad, but I did find myself ice skating without skates a few times.  After about half mile from the TH the  trail started gaining a little elevation, very shallow switchbacks, which were mostly covered in angled snow making foot placement difficult.  The one thing I noticed during this section was the mass amounts of willows.  I decided in Colorado willows equal sagebrush in Idaho.  At least that’s what I’m going with.

There was a good gain in the trail up on a rib leading to the main ridge.  This section was covered in snow in and out.  There were posts and cairns marking the route, but it got to the point where I would just follow good boot prints.  There were hundreds of personal routes; you just had to find ones that were the right size.  I kept looking back, sure that someone else would be up here on such a nice day…but, nobody.  Today was actually my first day climbing in Colorado solo.  I usually run into two or three people, but today the mountain was mine, it was awesome!

From 13K on up to the summit I just followed the rocks, since they were like climbing stairs.  It was a pretty efficient way to make up the elevation, but after 13K I start huffing and puffing and my legs were feeling it too.  So, it now becomes baby steps.  I have no place to be and the weather was great, so I enjoyed not being rushed.  That is one of the great things about solo climbing; it’s always at the pace you want.  The mountain looked so close for so long, but all of them really do.  Just after 11am I made the summit.  There was no wind and it was warm, I’m really starting to love these CO 14ers.  So far they have been warm where the 13ers have been frigid.  I think I will jus climb these for a while…hahaha.

I took a bunch of pictures, looked at the Sawtooth and said maybe in the summer, but not today.  I felt good at the elevation; I think eating my old staple the PB&J did the trick.  I think Skippy has climbing juice in it..haha.  I hung out up there for about half hour, found the benchmark so I can log a geocache for that, then shortly after started making my way down.  I followed the ridge down to a large cairn where I assume the trail comes when the snow is gone.  This was a much better idea than twisting an ankle on the rocks via the way I ascended.  I usually take my time down, and today was no different.  I took two breaks and was able to stay well hydrated.  Once leaving the snow the trail was mud.  It was awful, all muddy from the heat.  So, I did my best to stay on the trail to prevent further erosion.  The best idea would have been to come up real early so I could glissade down, but that wasn’t happening.  Near a creek crossing I dropped to my knee and my boot got a bit wet on the inside, but that’s life.  Took a nice break at the parking lot and wished there was a car to take me to mine.  Then I remembered I had some peppered jerky…money, it was awesome!

Hit the pavement and I was on my way.  I removed a few layers and it was nice being in a t-shirt for once.  Mount Evans may be next on my list, so I was scoping out some route options from the area I started.  Have to get my 3K ft for that one, and that mountain has a road to the summit.  Took some pictures of a few 13ers on my way out, always keeping in mind the next adventure.  A little before 3pm I was back to my car.  Never did see anyone on the trail, so it was my mountain for the day.  I love it, climbing it something that always keeps my mind racing and I don’t know what I would do without the mountains.

Date: 4/23/12

Starting Elevation: 10,900ft

Summit Elevation: 14,060ft

Elevation Gained: 3,160ft

Distance: 10.4miles

Time:6.5hrs

Grays Peak

Since moving to Colorado in August I have wanted to try and get up a 14er. I knew better; the shape I was in was crappy for climbing peaks. After a few months at the gym and slowly raising the elevation in peaks I decided to head up Grays Peak. Grays is probably one of the easiest 14ers, but that didn’t matter to me. When you climb a 14er you earn it whether it’s the easiest or the hardest. But, I had no intention of setting myself up for failure, so I picked a 14er with a trail to the summit. I will note that the trail was covered in ice and snow, but it was pretty easy and straightforward.
I seem to always be monitoring the weather on NOAA around the areas of the 14ers that are in close relation to Denver. I had almost sold myself on climbing Mt. Bierstadt, which is a 14er visible from the Denver area. But, with the high mountain roads still being closed because of snow I started monitoring the 14ers.com message boards to get some first hand reports. If I were to climb Bierstadt there would be an additional 3-4miles on closed roads. I’m not training for the Olympics, I wanted to make my first 14er as easy as possible. Last night someone posted that they were able to drive all the way to the Grays Peak trail head, so that immediately changed my plans to head up Grays.
Grays Peak road is typically closed all the way down to I-70. This adds an additional 3 miles each way, but since the report of a few rigs making it to the trail head, it was time to see how good the 4X4 in my Blazer was. This was a pretty rough road without snow, but soon I saw a couple Subaru’s parked along the side of the road. The Blazer did awesome plowing up the rutted ice covered road. There were a few dicey spots but my clearance was just enough to get me through. I arrived at the trail head around 8am, and I was the only person to make it the entire way. Shortly after arriving I geared up and was quickly on the trail to Grays.
There is a bridge crossing right out of the parking lot, once across the creek the trail was snow covered virtually the entire way. I didn’t put my micro spikes on till my second break since the snow was not completely frozen to ice. I was surprised at how warm it was, since the forecast was for a breezy 30 degree day. I covered the first 1.4miles and 1K ft in about 40 minutes. At this point on the trail there is a large sign showing the routes up Grays and Torreys Peak and giving a few stats of mileage and elevations. I took a nice break here and put the snow cap away and was able to wear my ball cap for once. The entire area was so amazing; I didn’t know what to take pictures of. The area was very unique and I loved the geology features all around me.
After my first break I made my way around Kelso Mountain and got the full view of Grays and Torreys. I was now getting my first look at a couple of the coulior’s that my friend Mike had been telling me about. I looked at them and said shit he wants to climb those, they look vertical. Not much further down the trail I noticed a skier climbing up the Dead Dog Coulior and laughed a bit when I saw a dog playing up there. The skier was still on the apron so they had a long way to go yet. Looking over at the Lost Rat Coulior on Grays it didn’t look like there was snow all the way to the top. They were a sight to see that was for sure. I kept making my way around and up onto a ramp of sorts and took my second break at around 13K feet.
At this point I put on my micro spikes. You could really see the switch backs covered in ice all the way to the top. This last 1K+ feet was pretty brutal. More of me being out of shape and being at high elevation. The trail was pretty gentle all the way to the summit. Not long after I took off from my break I heard some hooting and hollering coming from the summit. I could see two people up there and soon they were off to climb Torreys. At this point with all my huffing and puffing I had decided no 2fer today and I was happy with climbing just one 14er today. After 3.5hrs I had made it to the summit of Grays. I looked at the GPS, it said 2.5hrs of moving and 1hrs of stop time. Usually not that much stopping time, but that will get better with more mountains.
The summit was incredible. There was relatively no wind and it was warm for once. I didn’t even have to wear my gloves; it was nice bathing in the sun. I found the summit register and signed in, took a look over at Torreys and the two people were just about to summit. Now it appeared that there were 4 people on top, but I’m not certain. I wanted to head over to Torreys, but I was enjoying the solo summit so much that I was happy were I was. Next I found the Grays Peak Geocache and left my MT GOAT trackable for someone to take to another summit. Not long after I was on my way down. I just descended the same trail I ascended. The going was fast with the spikes on and before I knew it I was down to the point of my previous break. I saw the two other climbers making their way down, I was hoping to see a massive glissade but they chose life. I can’t blame them, I didn’t do it either. I took a couple glances at Dead Dog Coulior and saw some boulders making their way down at incredible speeds. I was thankful to see the skier was not in coulior at the time. Within 10-15minutes I was back to my first break area. I put my spikes away had some water and was off for the car.
I made my way without postholing more than to my ankles except for one or two times. Since it was so warm I was not looking forward to the drive down. I knew the slush and mud would have the Blazer all over the place. While getting my gear stowed, 2 other climbers came down the trail and asked for a ride. So we made a trade a beer for a ride…anytime. The road was worse than I thought, all over the place and sideways at times. Eventually we made it down to their Subaru. I was glad I was able to make it all the way to the trail head, because they had a good 2 miles more and probably another 1K ft. I don’t need any extra obstacles at this point. It was a great day, and I am happy to finally get up to 14K in Colorado. Now just do one a week, well let’s not get that carried away.
Date: 4/9/2012
Starting Elevation: 11,266ft
Summit Elevation: 14,240ft
Elevation Gained: 2,974ft
Distance: 7.07miles
Time: 6hrs

Cupid and Grizzly Peak

The weather in Colorado has been driving me nuts. Every day I work the weather is good, then the days I have off I'm lucky to get one good day. For the last two days the high country has been getting snow and wind. When I climb solo I don't climb in such conditions, so I had to sit at home twiddling my thumbs till the weather turned.

I had these two peaks on my radar since I climbed Mt Sniktau. If I was a real go-getter, I would have combined all three...but that's just crazy talk. Grizzly Mountain and Cupid are both ranked 13ers, so my total of 13ers is up to three now. During my down time I got all my gear ready to roll so I could get an early start. I set off on the trail at Loveland Pass just before 8:30 AM and there wasn't any other cars in the lot yet.

I've been up this first 800 foot gain before so I knew what to expect. Just this time the trail was covered in snow. I didn't bring my snowshoes because I didn't think they would be that much help..not when your as big as me. The powder was dry and soft, much different from the snow in Oregon and Washington. There was hardly any wind in the morning and I was only sinking to ankle and at points calf level, so this wasn't so bad. I was still huffing and puffing though, still not close to the shape I want to be in for the mountains.

Once on the main ridge, there was a roller coaster affect taking place. A lot of gain and loss getting to the peaks. I typically don't like this, and this time was no different. Cupid was on the way to Grizzly, but instead of hitting Cupid during the beginning I saved it for the way back. Grizzly was the real goal for this hike. After I passed Cupid the snow got deeper and I was commonly sinking to knee level. I tried to use surrounding rocks as much as I could like steps on the incline then I would plunge-step in the snow on the decline. It worked for the most part, but I was still panting like a dog up there. I could see clearly into the Arapahoe Basin Ski Area and they weren't running yet, so that let me know I was making good time considering everything.

When I got to the base of the last push for Grizzly I took a break. I knew it was going to be a brutal 600 foot climb so I needed to refuel. The view everywhere was amazing, the sky was crystal blue with not a cloud in sight. Almost perfect for climbing. Unfortunately there was a breeze and my break spot and not a good place to find wind block. I made it quick, and was on my way up the bear.

I'm not sure how long this part took me, but it seemed like an eternity. There was decent snow coverage, and If I got off the beaten trail I sank deep. Normally a class 2 climb, with me it turned into a class 3. The footing was less than stellar, but I just made my way up with lots of breathing breaks. Just before 11 AM I was on the summit. The view of Torreys and Grays were amazing. Some people will add Torreys for a 10-mile day...no way Jose! I enjoyed the view for about 30 minutes and started down.

I was not looking forward to the down climb, but the snow was better than I thought. It was good for plunge-stepping and I was able to avoid most of the snow covered rock. I ran into another climber at the base of Grizzly, he looked like he had things under control. I took a long break since the wind was gone before the push back up the roller coaster.

After a lot of time I finally made it to the base of Cupid. I just followed my tracks and made it to Cupids summit in no time. While sitting on Cupid in a little wind break I noticed this trail runner coming my way..wearing shorts and running shoes. He was going to run all the way up Torreys, crazy but doesn't surprise me in Colorado. The rest of the way down was uneventful, took advantage of the snow and in no time I was back to the car park.

Was another great day in the mountains. This one took everything I had today. One day it won't be so hard, but till that day come I will slog up the mountains and still enjoy every minute of it.

Date: 4/4/2012

Starting Elevation: 11,993 feet
Grizzly Peak Elevation: 13,446 feet
Cupid Elevation 13,140 feet
Total Elevation Gain: 2,164 feet
Distance: 5.94 miles
Time: 6 hrs car to car
Weather Information
Grizzly Peak: Wind Speed 13.3 mph, temp 30 F
Cupid: Wind Speed 12.4 mph, temp 32 F

Mount Sniktau

I wasn't sure I was going to go out for a third day in a row, but figured what the hell. This is the peak I was going to climb the day before, but the road conditions turned me away. This was the furthest drive from home, about 1hr 30minutes. Mount Sniktau is an easy 13er by climbing standards, but for me it was just right. Standing at 13,277ft Sniktau reminded me of my favorite mountain near Boise; Cervidae peak, but on steroids.

I arrived at Loveland Pass around 10am, there was one car there and two people were just heading up the trail. Loveland Pass is pretty cool, the elevation is 11,990ft. Nothing like almost starting at the high point in Idaho. But, you earn it either way.

I was surprised that I caught up to the two climbers ahead of me. Only about half hour after I started the wind started howling pretty good and they were putting on shell parka's. The lady was from Fort Collins and her companion was from Kentucky. This would be incredibly hard for a flat lander to come and tackle, but I'm sure it happens often. I was just excited that I wasn't the one getting passed for once. They wanted to tackle Grizzly, I said good luck and was on my way. Within 15minutes I had topped out on the ridge line at 12,915ft. Well it's cake now...right? Not so fast my friend as Lee Corso would put it. The wind died on the first part of the ridge, but I could diffinently feel the elevation with my breathing. There was a good sized false summit before hitting the true summit, so I caught my breath and took off.

Kentucky seemed to be struggling, so I never saw them leave point 12,915. I was trucking along pretty good on the ridge, just enjoying the spectacular views I had in front of me. The false summit is within 100ft of becoming its own mountain, too bad it felt like its own mountain. Once on the other side of the false summit there was a good drop then the gain to Sniktau's summit. Here is where it got cold, oh the wind was frigid. I just kept my slow place so I was always moving and for once actually enjoyed the uphill. The last few hundred feet had me breathing pretty good, but soon enough I summited. It was about 2 miles to the summit from the car and took me 1hr 20minutes. Not bad for a 270 pounder...still breathing, and that's always good.

This was something I wrote on the summit: My younger brother Nate is the photographer in the family. Yesterday when I was on Squaw he texted me something that is so true. "A picture will never capture what your eyes do." Isn't that the truth! I sit here on the summit of Mt Sniktau marveling at Torrey's Peak in front of me, possibly in the top 25 views I've ever seen. And this is a view I am sure only my eyes will appreciate. I wish everyone could see this rather than a picture, there is no justice.

I was actually able to stay up there for quite a while since I found a nice wind block. I took a bunch of pictures but half of them didn't turn out or had sun spots in them. As I said I'm no photographer, but these eyes got great pleasure in everything they saw today. Maybe next weekend a 14er or another 13er, doesn't really matter as long as I'm out in the mountains again.

Date: 3/21/2012

Starting Elevation: 11,990ft

Summit Elevation: 13,277ft

Distance: 4.07miles

Time: 2.5hrs

Squaw Mountain and Papoose Mountain

Had to get out for the second day in a row. The weather looked good again and I had a desire to climb something high. Originally I wanted to head up a 13er near Loveland Pass, but there was a chain restriction on the road and I had no desire to deal with an icy road. Quickly this morning I pulled out a map and found an area that had three 11ers within a few miles of each other. I didn't end up climbing all three, but here is how it went for the two I did get up.
Squaw Mountain stands at 11,523ft according to my GPS. Not far from the road which made it appealing to me since I had such a long hike yesterday. It wasn't a route, it wasn't a trail, it was a old dirt road. You may call that cheating, but according to my book roads count too. Covered in hard packed ice, which was once snow it reminded me of hiking up a glacier. Do you know that crunch sound that crampons make while cutting into the ice? Oh yes, I love that sound. I wasn't wearing crampons today, just my micro spikes which have turned out a wise investment in Colorado. The solitude of hearing your footsteps and a random gust of wind hitting the trees is awesome. And the feeling knowing your not going to fall on your ass is a comfort too. Squaw was a nice easy hike up the glacier and only took about 45minutes to summit from the car. The fire lookout on top was impressive. I was lucky enough to hang out on top for a while without freezing from the wind. I took a bunch of pictures because the sky was blue and beautiful. The divide mountains were covered in a cloud but to the south the Evans Group looked massive and clear. This was the closest I have been to those giants and I was impressed.

Next I decided I would head over to Papoose Mountain a nearby neighbor without much of a climb to reach the summit. As I got down to the point of leaving the road I found the snow to the likes of a styrofoam origin, which in the climbing world sucks ass. My first few steps I post holed to mid thigh, there was a 3 inch crust then after that cold powdery snow. I quickly decided to turn back to the road and see if I could find another way.
Not far down the main road there was another path making its way SE around the mountain. This road was not near as wide as the main road so I imagine it's an old jeep track in the summer time. I was glad to see the hard packed snow here could hold my weight. It was a nice and easy track around the mountain almost feeling level at the time.
Once I arrived to where a "trail" was supposed to be according to my GPS and Topo map I saw no sign of any use in the recent weeks. It was time to see if the snow on this side was any better. Now imagine a elephant stepping onto a ice covered lake. You got it, this time my pack is the only thing that saved me. That took me some time to get out of. Once free I went for the bear-crawl, rolling approach. I finally made it to some rock and was thankful all my zippers were still zipped.

Finally on rock, that was a good feeling. At first I wasn't sure if I was going to be able to make it up this one, but my stubbornness proved valuable again. I was able to go in a more direct approach to the summit by following some rock bands and avoiding any snow I could. The rock here is amazing, nothing like the ranges in Idaho. Seems to be a lot of quarts and mica, it's really interesting to check out as the area's change. After passing what resembled a couple cougar dens I came underneath a huge rock formation. Looking up into the cracks I notice some climbing gear. I still wonder how those guys do that stuff. Does gravity not affect skinny people like it does fat people? Not my kind of climbing that's for sure.

After meandering through some of the crazy rock formations I finally made the summit. These would be so easy to climb in the summer time, but I have never been known for doing things the easy way.
The sun was out and I was loving it. The wind was trying to piss me off, but I was so happy to thaw out in the ray's of the sun that I forgot about the wind all together. After my experience in the snow I knew I wasn't even going to attempt the third summit. I could see the route up but knew I would need a wet suit to fend off the damp snow. After my short break I headed down to the side track in as straight of a line as I could find. Got into some more deep snow, but for the most part I was just marveling in the views of the Rockies. By now the clouds had lifted and the snow covered peaks were crystal clear. I started pointing, I'm going to climb you, and you, and you and so on.

After another bear-crawl rolling escapade I made it back on the track leading to the road. I sat there and dug snow out from spots I probably shouldn't say, then I realized how good Smartwool sock's are. They were covered with snow and my feet were dry and warm. I love it when gear works. It wasn't long and I was back to the car. A few others were on their way up Squaw, but other than that I had another day of solitude in the mountains. I'm loving 4-day weekends and having Monday's and Tuesday's off. It keeps everyone in Denver and lets me enjoy the mountains like I did in Idaho. I hope to climb something tomorrow as well, I will just see how the body feels after a few beers.

Date: 3/20/2012
Starting Elevation: 10,648ft
Squaw Summit: 11,523ft Papoose Summit: 11,205ft
Distance: 5.05miles (bear-crawl included)

Bergen Peak

Bergen Peak - Front Range, Colorado

It's been a long while since I have been able to get out on peak, so I made a plans to climb Bergen Peak. My old climbing buddy Mike recommended this earlier in the fall, but since the length of the hike is almost 10 miles I just put it off.

Bergen is located near the town of Evergreen, CO. This is only about a 40 minute drive from home, so not to bad for getting up a good sized peak. The weather reports around here are so shoddy, you basically just go to climb and see what happens. It was supposed to be a 30% chance of rain/snow and turned out to be a blue sky day with mild winds. Not too bad, I was able to go without the fleece on the way up then put on while coming down.

The trail up was great, mostly in the woods of aspen and lodge pole pine. Probably 60% of the trail was covered in snow and ice. On the way up I didn't use any traction, but for the trip down I put on the micro spikes to avoid any idiotic injuries. The trail was about 5 miles each way, so that was fun watching my footing most of the day. On a few occasions I ran into some deer and they took pleasure in scarring the crap out of me.

It took about about 2.5hrs to summit. I set a goal to be there by noon and arrived minutes before. I was impressed to say the least. It was a good climb over 2,000ft, just very long which I tend to avoid.

The summit was covered in trees, but there were gaps that looked over towards the Evans group of 14ers and the sun was out so that was nice. I spent a bit writing and having lunch, then went out looking for a geocache. I looked for two up there and assume they are either below the snow or gone.

The way down was uneventful, just strolled down the mountain feeling all the aches from not getting out recently. Overall it was a good day out in the hills. The plan is to do a 13er tomorrow, we will see how that goes.

Date: 3/19/2012

Starting Elevation: 7,606ft

Summit Elevation: 9,708ft

Distance: 9.7miles

Time: 5hrs

Evergreen Mountain

This post is the first one from a climb day. I had to do some searching to find a mountain nearby that wasn't too high since the snow has been falling like crazy around here. Evergreen Mountain is located in the Alderfer/Three Sisters Park near the town of Evergreen. This was only a 45minute drive from home so the summit wasn't too high.

I headed out on the East Evergreen Trail and looped it into the West Evergreen Trail. This was a simple class 1 trail covered in a little snow and a lot of ice. I was hoping to get a snowshoe in, but I left them in the car and went with the micro spikes. The micro spikes get my seal of approval, they were very good on the trail. By the end of the trip my toes were a bit sore since these don't grip to your boot as well as crampons, but for these short hikes they were a great piece of gear to have.

The trail did some giant traverse switchbacks through mostly lodgepole pine areas. There was also some neat geologic features near the trail. There was some interesting layered rock that I had not seen in Colorado yet. I may have to come back in the summer time for a closer study when it isn't so cold. Oh yes, it was a very cold day. The forecast was calling for 32 degrees and winds up to 10mph. I'm finding that I need an extra layer on my legs when the temp is this cold and I will have to start packing my down jacket for breaking at the summit.

While on the summit, for the whole of 30 seconds I remembered to plug the summit geocache into my GPS. The good thing was I was able to find that without any issue. Nobody had been there since August, I always like finding ones like that. The summit view didn't have much to offer since the snow was flying. The cloud line was probably around 9,500ft today so I decided to keep moving to stay warm.

On my way down the trail I ran into a guy running up the trail with micro spikes on his feet. Man, some people amaze me. It was freezing out and he was running in tights with spikes on his feet. The rest of the trip down the mountain was uneventful. I went down a side trail saying it was a "scenic view" but there was only a view of the town below no mountains.

It was another great day in the Front Range. Hopefully next week I can head up Bergen Peak. This is a bit higher and a longer hike, but I've been out enough I would feel good on a winter day with a thermos of coffee to join me.

Date: 1/24/2012

Starting Elevation: 7,480 Ft.

Summit Elevation: 8,533 Ft.

Distance: 6.26 Miles

Time: 2.5Hrs

Picture 1: Evergreen Mountain mid trail

Picture 2: Route Map