With our late-summer dry spell continuing into October and showing no signs of cooling off, it was time to head south and finally pay the Sangre de Cristos a visit in 2020. Down to just seven 13ers left in the range, I decided on Mt. Herard and “Medano Peak” from the Wet Mountain Valley side via Medano Pass. Medano and Herard reside about four miles to the northeast and a vertical mile above the Great Sand Dunes. Read more…
A few summers back Steve and I packed into Slate Lake intent on climbing Peaks Q and L, but a freak mid-September storm dropped several inches of snow on both peaks the night we arrived. Through sheer stubbornness we managed to eke out a summit of “Peak L” despite the snow, but packed out a day early leaving what would’ve been my Gore 13er finisher for another day. Read more…
After running the Sheep Mountain 50k in August, I knew wasn’t quite ready to wrap up my season just yet. Originally, Ben, Brian, and I had planed to run the Devil on the Divide 50k in September. But, well, you know the drill. That race got cancelled, just like all the rest. Or, should I say, almost all the rest. Keep Reading…
The Mummy Mania Traverse (aka the Mummy Kill, aka the Mummy Marathon) is one of those routes that had been on my list for years and years, but I had just never gotten around to actually doing it. I neglected it for so long, in fact, that it sort of took on a life of its own in the time I ignored it. What was once an obscure, all-day challenge in a remote area of the park has turned into somewhat of a classic the past few years. Keep Reading…