Category Archives: Thirteeners

A Nice Fall Day in the Tenmile

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Is it ski season yet? Although for some the answer to this question may be “yes”, what realistically awaits the Colorado skier at this stage of the game is either rocks and core shots in the BC, or low-angle, man-made ice ribbons at the resort. As much as I wanted to try to ski somewhere on Saturday I just couldn’t quite bring myself to do it. Last year I was the first one on the lift at A Basin (on October 10th I believe it was), and I remember getting a few marginal turns and then having to wait a legitimate five weeks before finding anything worthwhile. Keep reading…

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…