14ers/13ers

“The mountains are calling and I most go” – John Muir

 

Seems to happen every March.  Maybe it’s just the season.  Maybe it’s the newness of  annual goals losing luster 2 months in & the reality of day-to-day training/the struggle for balance sets in.  Whatever the itch, HUGE need for a mental reset.

Plan of attack: Snow hike in the high mountains.

4 weekends of marathoning.  4 different states, 3 different time zones.  Body held up/only superficial injuries, just a matter of making peace with the travel.  Out Friday nite/Saturday morning, home again Sunday evening.  Amazing life opportunity to see so many new places (that little gem isn’t lost on me).  Tired but SUPER appreciative.  #luckyinlife

Saturday: mountain snow & wind.  Hung with the pup; postponed my high peak retreat.

Sunday 4am: showered/backpacked, pup walked/everybody fed.  West on I-70, turnoff just before the tunnel.  Day’s climb goal: Mount Sniktau, directly across from Loveland Pass.

Gonna be a beautiful one.  Sunrise not yet crested the first false summit.  Light wind on a notorious windy peak.  Attempted to snow-summit this peak in November 2013.  Turned around in white-out conditions/blowing snow on the 2nd false summit.

Mile UP to the first false summit.  Good way to get your head back in the mountains.  Three-quarters UP, morning sun peeped over the looming peak ahead.  Stunning.

11/23/2013:  Top of the first false summit – BEAUTIFUL!   Quiet, stunning, everything WHITE.  A-Basin, Keystone, Breckinridge & Loveland all visible.  Grizzly Peak & Torreys too.  Better than a class reunion – I missed you guys!

Switched out my water, downed half a burrito, repositioned the iPhone [camera] to my pants front pocket (battery was fast freezing in the backpack, now warmed against my right quad).  Temp: 23 above.  Light wind.  Perfect day.

Easy hike.  High wind from yesterday’s storm blew the ridge line free of snow.  No crampons, no snow shoes – just stuck to Sniktau’s craggy rock ridge.  Nice view of Grizzly Peak’s single track from the trail split below.

High above, quiet & alone.

Followed hoof tracks the last mile.  Goat or sheep – too small for elk, elevation too high for deer.  Lost 15 degrees fast, shielded my face from intermittent wind gusts/bitter cold.  Sunshine blasted above.  Pull down my bandana, nothing but SMILE 🙂

Slow summit push.  Nothing crazy technical but weather conditions limited hand holds.  Ice on Sniktau’s shady side, heavy snow where the sun cast.  Slow & steady.  AMAZING solo hike – only human on today’s snow SUMMIT.  Cold thin air, surrounded by white.

360 degrees, every high peak, SNOW  ❄❤⛄

 

 

Mount Sniktau 13,240ft

 

 

97 degrees.  Been a hot week at 5500ft.  Solution?  Go higher 🙂

5 days after my disappointing Bighorn retreat, HIKE weekend.  Chicken soup for the brain.

Friday drive after work, 3 hours to Leadville on the Continental Divide.  (first time ever) Rented a Ro-friendly cabin just north of town.  Pup & I would hit it hard early a.m. – but not too early.  Taking advantage of the area’s cool mountain air, good sleeping weather.

Backpack, boots, multiple shirts (I hike in layers), whole lotta water.  8am start, trailhead parking already FULL.  Found a spot quarter-mile away on the road to Massive.  Today’s hike destination: Mt. Elbert, first 14er of 2017.  FAAANNNTASTIC!

Summitted this peak in 2012.  Not a technical hike, but remember it being one of the longest.  Tallest peak in Colorado, 2nd highest in the lower 48.  This early in the season (mid-June), just happy to ferret out a hikeable peak.  Heavy snow season.

3 false summits, whole lotta up-n-down.  Challenging but doable, did my online research.  Almost 4 miles of treed wildlife: ground squirrels, chipmunks & (surprisingly) a flock of prairie hen.  Kept Ro tethered to my belt – he’s a big FAN of chicken ❤

UP UP UP, water break.  Different set of muscles used [vs marathoning].  UP UP UP, ‘nother water break.  the Scenery?  No comparison.  Thin air, wildflowers, intermittent tuffs of green – life finding a way above 12,000ft.

False summit snacked.  Took in the panorama, circled by mountains & snow pocked tundra.

1100ft of vertical to go.  UP UP UP, ‘cross a large snow field.  Teeny tiny people visible high above, our first summit view.  Let Ro romp in last winter’s remnants but kept Pup leashed.  Season change/high altitude sun, unexpected crevasses/cornice breaks.

400ft more, SUMMIT SUCCESS!

Pulled a jacket out of the backpack & hunkered behind a large boulder.  Chicken jerky for Pup, Turkey avocado for Dad.  Long hike back – best part?  No return drive ‘til morning.  Weekend cabin rental, highly recommended – even Ro got a bath 🙂

 

 

Mt Elbert 2017

 

 

my annual ‘thin air’ reset

Sleep struggle, labored morning runs, work deadlines & pre-wedding [family] squabbles — been a tough first week home from New Zealand.  Wednesday, Ash asked if I could scope out potential wedding pic locations for her Silverthorne wedding in May.  Full day in the mountains…absolutely, sign me up!  Crisp thin air, snow surrounded – PERFECT!

Early a.m. start – 4 mile run (‘cause every day’s a run day), followed by a 2-hour drive in the Rockies.  Half day scouted photo locations, half day hiked HIGH altitude.

Bridge near Ash’s Silverthorne venue – easy, done.  8 miles toward Breck on Swan Mountain Road checked-out Sapphire Point in Dillon.  Ample parking, short packed-path, mountain overlook – wedding money shot.  Exactly what the bride-to-be ordered: snow-capped Colorado peaks [without the pre-wedding hike].  No wildlife stains on Ash’s pricey East Coast wedding gown GUARANTEED.

Completed the loop in nearby Frisco.  While ALL are counting on sunshine for Ash’s big day – just in case, scoped out an alternate venue (May in Colorado/could be snow). Covered pavilion (backed against mountains), historic rustic cabins & the town’s first jail (log cabin, circa 1881).  Nabbed a large handful of county maps at the Frisco Hotel.  Route-marked today’s 10-mile loop in bold Sharpie.  Task complete 🙂

 

Silverthorne Pavilion (wedding venue)

Sapphire Point (Dillon CO)

Frisco Museum, covered Pavilion & Historic Jail

 

Saturday Part II – retraced steps to Idaho Springs, I-70 exit 240.  30 minute drive, just past Echo Lake…my annual spring pilgrimage up Mount Evans.  Off loaded Sno’ Ro – couldn’t have been more excited.  Leashed for a mile while we passed lodgepole pine, packed with squirrel & chipmunk (makes my pup crazy uncontrollable).  2 miles UP, path now contained by 10-15ft snow drifts, I let Ro run & run & run.  Up-n-back: exploring ahead, returning for hand treats.

3-mile marker, passed a stretch of wind-stunted pine.  Visually stunning.  Wind started to blow, cold stung my face 🙂

Matched my website photo inlay 4 ½ miles UP.  5 years ago, Ro tethered to my leg, snapped that shot & broke for lunch.  Soaked in the moment today.  Open armed, took in thin air.  LOVE LOVE these mountains!

9 miles roundtrip.  Sandwich shared with Ro on the hike return.  Pup’s eyes rolled 10 minutes into our drive home.  Good day.  Mentally back, ready for Bighorn.  Training hard April & May – 52 miles, bring it!

 

Mt Evans spring pilgrimage