Colorado’s spring couloir season is my favorite time of the year. Long hours of daylight and a stable snowpack allow some great climbs. Some of my favorites include:
- Dreamweaver
- Peak C’s Southwest couloir
- Flying Dutchman
- East Face of Castle Peak
- Fair Glacier on Apache Peak
- Cross Couloir
- Skywalker
- Pacific Peak’s North Couloir
- Dead Dog Couloir
For rock climbs I tend to prefer easy to moderate multi-pitch climbs in the mountains. A few of those favorites:
- South Six-Shooter in Utah
- Turret Peak in Wyoming
- The Castle in Jefferson county
- Crestone Needle’s Ellingwood Ledges
- Wham Ridge of Vestal Peak
- North Ridge of Spearhead
- Keiners Route on Longs Peak
I also enjoy 3rd and 4th class scrambles on solid rock with some exposure. Favorites in that class include:
With a mix of scrambling, rock climbing, canyoneering, a couple of rappels and some beautiful scenery, I don’t know how to classify Elephant Butte in Arches National Park, but it highly deserves a mention.
As a fun backpacking loop with lots of off-trail travel, scrambling and Lost Creek rock formations the McCurdy Creek loop was one of my favorite adventures from 2008.
My favorite time of the year may be Colorado’s couloir season, but my favorite day of the year is the first Saturday in December when I sweep the Tecumseh Marathon.
I’m not much of a skier, but every winter deserves a hut trip such as Skinner Hut. One of my favorite backcountry skiing outings was a June trip with perfect spring corn snow to Mount Guyot.
I have some great memories of trips with family members including my dad (Mount Princeton and Grays and Torreys Peaks) and brother Grant (US Grant Peak). I’m looking forward to many more such trips!
