A few weeks back Brando and I took the morning off from work to climb and ski “The Fly” (12,550 ft) up Booth Creek. It’s a somewhat reclusive Gore peak with a bit of an approach to get to, but the neat climb up its summit ridge and the south face ski route are well worth the price of admission. For me, The Fly had long been on the wish list and was fun to finally pay a visit. Read more…
At the tail end of winter Brandon, Dylan and I made the long skin up Booth Creek and climbed/skied “Peak P” down its long west-facing chute, known by some as the “Piney Plunge”. It was the sort of long, committing day out there that we dream of all winter, and given the current state of things in the world and local community, it might be one of the only such big days we get to experience all spring. I guess we’ll see… Read more…
It’s been a good snow year in Colorado so far. On the heels of the most recent January storm cycle, a wave of high pressure moved over the state for a few days and Brian and I decided to take advantage. After mulling over a few options we landed on Crystal Peak’s east face, a classic route on a friendly peak that Brian and I first skied back in 2012 and eventually went on to include as one of the 50 routes in our guidebook. Read more…
One of my only firm goals for this year was to finally wrap up the Colorado Bicentennial list, that is, the 200 highest peaks in our state. It’s a project I had technically been working on since 2003, dating all the way back to my first summit of Mt. Elbert when I was 18 years old. Well, last month Anna-Lisa and my long-time friend Stu Clark joined me on a gorgeous fall hike up Organ Mountain in the San Juans. And with that summit, I’m finally finished. Keep reading…