Joel, a friend I met through another friend, was visiting his parents in CO from his home in Switzerland, and wanted to chip away at the centennials during his stay. I convinced him to accompany me to get not only Rio Grande Pyramid, but also its less lofty neighbors outside of the top 100 or even 200 or 300, for that matter. Read more…
After the end of ski season and a few trail races in June, it was time to switch gears and start focusing on bagging some peaks around the state. As is the case most years, the month of July went by in a flash. Between working, heading to the hills, a road trip to Sante Fe with Anna-Lisa, and starting a few projects on the house, I simply wasn’t able to keep up with writing trip reports. So I figured a quick recap with some of the better photos from the month would be a good way to catch up. Read more…
On Memorial Day Rick and I managed to pull off a near-perfect climb and ski of Maroon Peak outside of Aspen. This one had eluded both of us for awhile and it felt good to finally get it done. The Maroon Bells are classic peaks and the ski options available off both of them are as interesting as they come in Colorado. While the north face of North Maroon may take the cake in terms of historic Aspen test pieces, its southern neighbor offers up just as much vertical and challenge. Read more…
Making an attempt to keep the streak of long, but iconic Gore slogs going, sights were set on the elusive Straight Arrow Couloir off Peak H. Sadly enough, the easiest way to approach and ski this line is from the Booth Falls TH in Central Vail, since Piney is snow covered late in to the summer and Black Creek is, well, no explanation really necessary there. Nonetheless, we were salivating for another Bone Tomahawking cause Peak N a few weekends earlier wasn’t painful enough. Keep reading…