Category Archives: Hikes & Scrambles

The Giants of Glacier Gorge

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Rocky Mountain National Park is a region of contrasts. Its boundary is home to many ridge runs, including, but not limited to, the Mummy Mania, Cloud Traverse in the Never Summers, the frighteningly loose Mahler to Nokhu Crags, a 12er fest along the Continental Divide from Ida to Terrah Tomah, Elk Tooth to Ogallala and the Grand Slam around the Longs Massif. Each of these have their own unique characteristic and they all make life feasible for those insatiable peak baggers who find solace on narrow knife edges, deep in the heart of the range. Keep reading…

Laboring in the Grenadiers: The Trinity Traverse

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The Wham Ridge on Vestal was always the prize of this trip, and Arrow was undoubtedly priority number two. Having no idea how smoothly these two peaks would go for us, we made sure to keep our expectations in check regarding the Trinity Traverse. Well as fortune would have it, an unexpected turn in the weather allowed us to get Vestal and Arrow on the first day, leaving us free to go after some day two extra credit on the Trinity Peaks. It’s always nice when things go according to plan on a relatively committing trip like this one. Continue reading…

Laboring in the Grenadiers: Vestal and Arrow

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This trip had been in the back of my mind since the first time I saw Vestal and Arrow from the summit of Sunlight in 07′. These peaks are just spectacular from afar, and they reside in the heart of an equally spectacular wilderness area in the Weminuche. I always knew I would head in to climb them at some point, I just didn’t know when the opportunity would arise. Well with early September generally lending to good weather windows in Colorado, and the potential for four consecutive days off work, Labor Day weekend seemed like a good time to make this trip happen. Keep reading…

The Gore Range Grand Traverse

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For our second trip into the Gore Range in as many weekends, Brian and I decided on tackling the traverse between North Traverse (13,041′) and Grand Traverse (13,079′) peaks. This classic ridge, better known as The Grand Traverse, lies at the head of the Vail Valley, and marks the dividing line between Eagle and Summit Counties. I lived in Vail for thirteen years growing up, and my Dad still resides there, so needless to say I have gazed up at these peaks many, many times. I was excited to finally check them out up close. Read more…