Sunrise from the summit of “Cupid” – December 29, 2012.
Peaks: Point 12,915, “Cupid” (13,117′), Grizzly Peak D (13,427′), Torreys Peak (14,267′), Grays Peak (14,270′)
Date Climbed: December 29, 2012
Trailhead: Loveland Pass
Distance: 12 miles
Elevation Gain: 6,300 ft.
Participants: Ben Shulman, Dillon Sarnelli
Time: 11 hours
On Friday night Shulman sent me a texter that said “KC and Challenger?”, to which I responded, “Grays and Torreys, it’s closer?”.
Nine hours later he was shivering on my doorstep and we were moseying on over to Loveland Pass. At about 6:30 AM we exited the warm comforts of the jeep and headed for Point 12,915. This point is about a mile and 1,000 feet vertical from the pass and the remainder of the trek is along the Continental Divide.
One very important note: You have to reascend all of these peaks to get home. Eat your Wheaties!
The ridge to Grizzly (middle) as seen from the summit of Cupid. Torreys (L) and Grays (R) in the distance.
Descending Cupid.
Torreys, Grays and the Grizz (L to R).
Ben en route to Grizzly. Gives you some perspective. 🙂
From the low point the ascent up Grizzly’s north face is steep, gaining approximately 650 feet.
Summit of Grizzly Peak D – December 29, 2012.
Beginning the descent off Grizzly.
We stayed along the ridge line for a good distance as there was less snow cover up top. There was even a little scrambling to be had in spots.
Ben taking a breather!
The definition of post-holing.
Shenanigans on the Grizzly / Torreys saddle. Nice camera work, Shulman!
Nice cornice.
Once at the low point in the saddle, the ascent up Torreys is about 1,400 feet.
Ascending Torreys, the summit ridge comes into view.
Summit of Torreys Peak – December 29, 2012.
Summit of Torreys Peak – December 29, 2012.
Kelso Ridge looking spectacular.
Grays / Torreys saddle.
Summit of Grays Peak – December 29, 2012.
Torreys on the descent off of Grays.
Rather than reascend Torreys on the return, we opted to aim for the low knob along the Torreys ridge (pictured above) from the saddle. There is still some reascending to do, but probably only a couple of hundred feet or so.
Now repeat BACKWARDS.
Sunset over Loveland Pass.
Back before dark and in time for dinner. This was a long solid day and we were beat. Smokin Yards BBQ in Idaho Springs never tasted so good.
Thanks for reading and HAPPY NEW YEAR!
This is good info. Thanks!
Glad I could help, Terry! Be safe, good luck and Happy New Year!
Fantastic TR and great shots! Did you feel confident just wearing spikes? Would crampons be overkill? Was the trail up Grizzleys and Torrey’s fairly easy to see despite the snow cover?
Valerie – Thanks for the kind words and thanks for reading! Microspikes were fine. I think I wore them the whole day. I’m not sure how much snow is out there this year, but I couldn’t really see you ever needing crampons. As for the last question, I’m not sure there is an actual trail to Torreys. The route is obvious, though. We stayed high on the ridge to the Grizz/Torreys saddle to avoid any post holing. You’ll have a great time out there. It was quite a day. Good luck! Let us know how it goes.