August 2009 Recap

In the beginning of August I got serious about climbing all of the 14ers in Colorado within the next year, and the frequency / intensity of my hiking really picked up. The month started off with an incredible weekend backpacking trip up to Lake Como, in the heart of the Sangre de Cristos, to climb Blanca Peak, Ellingwood Point, and Little Bear Peak. The latter of these three was my first class 4 climb. At some point I'll need to write a full trip report of that weekend; for now - here are the pictures.

The following weekend I made a couple daytrips to Mt. Yale and Snowmass Mountain (photos). Snowmass Lake and that whole area are among the most beautiful places I have ever been. I did that in a long, 20+ mile, 12 hour day, but had perfect weather throughout.

The final trip in September was back to Aspen to tag South Maroon Peak and Capitol Peak (photos). After getting Maroon peak on a Saturday, I drove to the Capitol ditch trailhead and hiked into Capitol Lake, where I spent the night, and then climbed the peak the following day. From K2 to the summit of Capitol was the most exposed scrambling and climbing I'd ever done.

July 2009 Recap

Climber a few of the easier 14ers in July - Quandary (saw some goats), another round on the Decalibron (during my sister's visit), Sherman (with my parents), and Huron (also with my parents). We also did a few hikes back in the Missouri Lakes area off Homestake Road (south of Minturn). That's one of my favorite day hike areas around here, and I'd love to get back there and do some backpacking.

June 2009 Recap

June 2009 started off with the Teva Mountains Games and ended with jump turns on a 48 degree couloir under a nasty overhanging cornice. These trips were my first experience with "real" ski mountaineering.

Trip Reports on 14ers and my photo albums:

La Plata: http://www.14ers.com/php14ers/tripreport.php?trip=6140 (Photos)

Harvard / Columbia: http://www.14ers.com/php14ers/tripreport.php?trip=6233 (Photos)

Missouri: http://www.14ers.com/php14ers/tripreport.php?trip=6236 (Photos)

Conundrum / Castle: http://www.14ers.com/php14ers/tripreport.php?trip=6331 (Photos)
















Running at the Teva Mountain Games
















Andrea on La Plata Peak's ridge































Ben and I with the Conundrum Couloir behind us, after we skied it






























Climbing Conundrum Couloir

May 2009 Recap

I got my first two 14er ski descents this month, Mt. Bierstadt and Mt. Massive. Trip reports are posted on 14ers:

Mt. Bierstadt: http://www.14ers.com/php14ers/tripreport.php?trip=5937

Mt. Massive: http://www.14ers.com/php14ers/tripreport.php?trip=6028 (Photos)

April 2009 Recap

April was a solid month. We got a bunch of snow, saw Bruce Springsteen in Denver, hiked up for sunrise mass on Easter, closed down Vail with some incredible outfits, tore up Aspen Highlands for only $19, started biking up the Vail Pass, skied the East Wall chutes at A-Basin, and even got Mike D and the Shiner Dog up Vail moutain for some post-season hiking/skiing.

March 2009 Recap

March started with no snow (and therefore lots of park skiing). Then I crashed really bad (not skiing park) and ended up with a bunch of bruised ribs and a concussion. THEN, the month ended with a TON of powder, which allowed me to ski pain-free again!

First months in Colorado

I moved to Colorado at the end of August 2008, and since my car was stolen a few weeks before, it wasn't easy to get to many trailheads for the first couple months. Still, I hiked several of the 14ers close to Vail: Holy Cross, Grays/Torreys, Elbert, Democrat/Lincoln/Cameron/Bross. I had my bike, so I was able to ride to several of the popular trailheads in East Vail: Deluge Lake, Booth Lake, and Gore Lake. This was a nice introduction to hiking in Colorado.

Photos: Holy Cross and Booth Lake - Decalibron and Mt Elbert - Grays and Torreys

AZ/UT Trip

In June 2008 my parents and I set out from Phoenix towards the Grand Canyon. On the first day of the trip, I hiked from the south rim to the north rim, while they drove around and picked me up on the other side. From there we spent a week making our way across southern Utah: Zion, Bryce, Capitol Reef, Canyonlands, Arches. We camped and hiked and had a pretty damn good time. After this trip, which came right after my first trip to Colorado, I was simply blown away with the SCALE of everything out west. I sensed that perhaps this was the part of the country that I was meant to live in.

Photos: Grand Canyon - Zion 1 - Zion 2 -Bryce - Arches - Canyonlands

First trip to Colorado

In May 2008 I headed out to Colorado for the first time in my life to visit my friend Rachel. Other than California (where I was born), I had never even been to ANY state west of the Mississippi River. Needless to say, this trip was the beginning of a big transformation in my life. Little did I know that when I arrived in Vail at the beginning of that trip, I'd be moving there a few months later. Rachel also took me skiing during this trip... I was TERRIBLE (it was the first time I had ever been skiing in my life). Its funny to think about how it wasn't too long before skiing became an incredibly important part of my life.