I felt the urge to write this trip report for two reasons. First, because the southwest ridge up Ellingwood is a very cool route. But we don’t really have any documentation of it on the site. So, this felt like a good chance to highlight its many enticing features. And second, because the Lake Como road is NOT a cool route. And in spite of how much documentation exists in the world about how much it sucks, I still feel the need to remind everyone of what a nightmare that road still is.
Read more…
Scot, no stranger to well planned out adventures (he’ll be the first to admit they aren’t always well executed), sent out a feeler email earlier this year for a 4 day loop in the Grand Canyon. With the inevitable kid #2 on the way, I knew my chances of pulling a trip like this off in the near future wasn’t going to be as easy, so I bit. My buddy Jeff, an old friend of at least 30 years, had just moved to Denver (great timing) and was up for an adventure. Keep reading…
At the beginning of September, Kyle Knutson and I headed south for a four day peakbagging romp in the San Juans. Our plan – hit as many 13ers as we could, focusing on the mini-range to the west of Silverton and south of Ophir. We had spent a little bit of time in this range previously, both having climbed Vermillion and Golden Horn, but beyond that would be new terrain. This area of the San Juans is notorious for bad rock and loose scrambling. Throw in a handful of lesser traveled routes and we knew we were in for an interesting one. Read more…
The Sangres are an area of wild contrasts. A linear range running from Salida all the way to Albuquerque, New Mexico, the mountains are characterized by prominent, jagged conglomerate masses, rising straight out of the San Luis Valley. Much has been mentioned throughout this site of the intimidating nature of its mountains, and long, arduous approaches to the alpine. Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve is a nice change of pace from this and is the perfect place to exercise your inner child for a weekend, or longer. Keep reading…
