Category Archives: Elk Range

Treasure and Treasury Mountains

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Treasure and Treasury Mountains are the high points of a long, curving ridge line extending from Whitehouse Mountain just south of Marble down to Yule Pass northwest of Crested Butte. The two peaks reside in the Raggeds Wilderness, and are separated enough from the rest of the high peaks of the Elks to feel as though they belong to their own little mini-range. And in many ways, they do. The peaks are named after an old fable of gold buried by a French mining expedition in the late-1700’s, and William Yule’s failed attempt to find the lost treasure many decades later. Keep Reading…

The “Three Pass Loop”: East Snowmass to Snowmass

With the Sheep Mountain 50K coming up on August 1st (possibly the only trail race I’ll end up running in 2020) it was time to ramp up the miles and get some longer days in. This summer I’ve really tried to take advantage of the diversity of trails accessible from relatively close to home and explore some new routes to keep things interesting. In the spirit of continuing that I decided to head over to Snowmass Village and check out a cool route known colloquially as the “Three Pass Loop”. Keep Reading…

“Siberia Peak”

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“Siberia Peak” resides about a mile to the northwest of Snowmass Mountain, and has got to be one of the least climbed thirteeners in Colorado. It’s short enough that it doesn’t make any of the popular lists, and it’s tucked away in one of the harder-to-access areas in the Elks (especially now with the upper leg of the Lead King Loop blocked by avy debris). If you do decide to climb Siberia, you’ll very likely have the mountain and the entire upper-drainage around Siberia Lake all to yourself. Read more…

Christmas Eve at the Fritz Benedict Hut

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For Christmas this year Anna-Lisa and I decided to change things up by heading over to Aspen and skinning into the Benedict Huts on Christmas Eve. Cozied up in a backcountry hut 6 miles from civilization made for a unique and seemingly appropriate way to spend the holiday. Nestled in the hills southeast of Aspen at 11,000 feet, the Fritz and Fabi Benedict Huts are some of the most recently constructed in the 10th Mountain Division Hut system. Built in 1997, they were named in honor of the late Fritz Benedict and his wife Fabi. Read more…