Because snow can be a tough commodity to come by in Rocky Mountain National Park, it pays to be patient and take advantage when conditions are right. A week ago the Longs massif was as stacked as we’d ever seen it, so Rick, Marc, Brian and I decided to go for the Dragon Egg Couloir on Mt. Meeker. Keep reading…
As almost anyone who has ever climbed a 14er knows, Gerry Roach’s Colorado’s Fourteeners book is pretty much the bible for all things high in Colorado. It is the book that started it all for many of us and it guided us on many early trips during our mountaineering journeys. The second edition I own shows all the signs of nearly 15 years of use: the cover is coming off, nearly 50 pages are loose, the pages have been written on, and a good chunk of the material is now outdated. Keep reading…
Gerry Roach describes the South Ridge route on Meeker as “one of Colorado’s finest tours” that is seldom done due to its length. He goes on to say that after decades of mountaineering, this mountain remains one of his favorite places. With that paragraph and a willing climbing partner in Andrew, I already had both feet out the door. We set out from the Copeland Lake TH in Wild Basin at about 4 AM. Keep reading…
With my hiking partner Stu on a vacation in Yellowstone, I found myself sitting in Boulder, bored and anxious to do some hiking. I was flipping through the Longs Peak section of Roach‘s book and noticed the “Longs Grand Slam” which collects Longs and its four surrounding thirteeners. I have always wanted to summit Longs via the Loft route and I figured I could get some thirteeners along the way. I left Boulder at 3:00am on Sunday and arrived at the Longs Peak Ranger Station at 3:45, the parking lot was completely full as expected, I parked along the road and left the trailhead at 4:00am. The trail to the Chasm Lake turnoff was heavily populated, I passed probably fifty people along the three mile hike to the turnoff. Keep reading…