I had never been this nervous before a big event before. Prior to 50-60+ mile trail runs I’d been calm and confident. However the Elk Mountain Grand Traverse had me scared. The event is an unsupported backcountry ski race that starts in Crested Butte and ends in Aspen roughly 40 miles away and over a [...]
Archive for March, 2009
Elk Mountain Grand Traverse
Posted in skiing, tagged backcountry skiing, Crested Butte, Death Pass, Elk Mountain Grand Traverse on March 30, 2009 | 5 Comments »
Mount Yale
Posted in hiking, tagged Avalanche Gulch, East Ridge, hiking, Mount Yale on March 23, 2009 | 1 Comment »
Eight of us meet at Bongo Billy’s in Buena Vista for lunch and last minute planning for our imminent climb of Mount Yale. After calculating the division of tents, stoves and shovels we drove to the Avalanche Gulch trailhead to implement the last minute packing. We followed the Colorado Trail north and up a sunny [...]
South Noddlehead
Posted in climbing, hiking, tagged hiking, scrambling, South Noddlehead on March 17, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
Even on way too little sleep I found myself enjoying the drive from Crested Butte to Aspen Park through the mountains at sunrise. After meeting Pete at our standard rendezvous location I re-packed and then jumped in his truck for the hour drive through the South Platte’s winding back roads. Following the map closely I [...]
12 Hours of Crested Butte
Posted in skiing, tagged 12 Hours of Crested Butte, Crested Butte, Crested Butte Nordic Center, nordic skiing on March 17, 2009 | 1 Comment »
It’s 5 degrees at 6am when my brother Grant and I are rushing around to load skis, food and clothes into my car. I’m thankful for the spare down jacket he’s lent me since I left mine at home on a couch where I would be sure not to forget it when I ran out [...]
Centennial Cone Park
Posted in hiking, tagged Centennial Cone Park, hiking on March 10, 2009 | 2 Comments »
I decided to take another post-work Monday hike and summit another peak in the process. The unnamed peak known as 7,814 for it’s elevation was my goal and was too easily accessible from the western most trailhead at Centennial Cone Park. Instead, I stopped off US 6 in Clear Creek Canyon and hiked up the [...]
Long Scraggy Peak
Posted in hiking, tagged hiking, Long Scraggy Peak on March 8, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
Pete, Ryan and I had planned a more ambitious day involving a little technical climbing and a lot of driving. Fresh snow and a realization that alpine starts weren’t best combined with losing an hour of sleep due to daylight savings had us reconsider our outing and eventually heading toward Long Scraggy Peak. From the [...]
Breckenridge ski touring
Posted in skiing, tagged Boreas Pass Road, Breckenridge, ski touring, skinning on March 7, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
On the day before daylight savings takes away our morning light I took advantage of the earliest sunrise possible to skin up the Breckenridge Ski Resort. Once again I started at the base of Peak 9 and went to the top of the Mercury chair. Had a nice sunrise looking across the Blue River Valley [...]
Marshall Mesa loop
Posted in hiking, tagged Community Ditch Trail, Doudy Draw Trail, Greenbelt Plateau Trail, High Plains Trail, hiking, Marshall Mesa on March 5, 2009 | 1 Comment »
In preparation for some upcoming longer adventures I set out for a post-work hike of about 15 and a half miles starting at the Marshall Mesa Trailhead near Boulder. I’d worked out a clockwise loop hike with a few out-and-back spurs and started hiking around quarter to four. The sun was out, but contemplating setting [...]
South Boulder Peak
Posted in hiking, tagged Bear Peak, Mesa Trailhead, Shadow Canyon, South Boulder Peak on March 3, 2009 | 2 Comments »
It’s late Monday afternoon with beautiful, warm weather so I figure I’ll blur the normally sharp edges between weekend and work week with a post work hike. I drive up towards Boulder and turn off towards Eldorado Springs and find a spot at the busy Mesa Trailhead. 3:30pm and I start hiking up the Homestead [...]
Sheeprock
Posted in climbing, tagged Cheeseman Mountain, climbing, Sheeprock on March 2, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
Pete and I again teamed up to attempt some of Jefferson County’s peaks. Our first objective was Sheeprock were we danced across an ice slick log then got plenty lost on the approach hike. We found some minor technical terrain on our approach to Sheeprock’s south side and ended up breaking out the climbing shoes [...]
