It wound up to be sort of a lean year for me on the spring ski objective front. A combination of life, work schedule, weather and snowpack made it so. But one of the half-dozen days I was able to get out and ski a new peak was certainly one to write about. In late-April Dave Bourassa and I realized a dream ski of ours after talking about it for years but never getting around to pulling the trigger until this year. Namely, a ski descent of the northernmost peak in the Gore Range, Eagles Nest A. We ended up picking a perfect day with everything falling into place, allowing us to ski two different lines off opposite sides of the peak.
In terms of skiing, Eagles Nest is about as obscure of a descent as they come in a range that’s already known for obscure descents. There’s not much that’s been previously written about this one, and neither of us know anyone else who has skied it either. That’s not to say it’s never been done, this is Colorado after all. But regardless we knew we were in for an adventure into the relative unknown. Keep Reading….
Almost 20 years ago I took a family vacation to the Big Island. I love my memories from that trip. The Big Island is a very, very unique place. Between its scale, oceans, beaches, resorts, rainforests, culture, history, mountains, and active volcanoes, it has almost everything you could ever want in terms of both relaxation and adventures. I had always wanted to go back.
The chance came early this year thanks to some killer direct flight deals from Denver to Kona. The prospect of a week away sans children (something that’s literally never happened since we had kids) in Hawaii sounded pretty dang great to Katie and I. At the top of the adventure list was a trek up Mauna Kea. There is a lot to love about this remarkable mountain. Keep Reading…
A few weeks back I took Jax down to the Winfield area and ticked off the “new” LiDAR 13er that sits to the south of Huron Peak. It was a nice day out, and one of the only peaks I’ve hiked up to this point in the summer. A few years back a group of us scrambled across the Apostles Traverse, hitting West Apostle along the way which happened to be my final 13er in the Sawatch Range (at the time). Fast forward a few years and LiDAR elevation adjustments have added/removed a few dozen peaks to the list, including several additions in the Sawatch and even one in the Gore. Keep reading…
Twelve years ago lordhelmut put up one of his old legendary TR’s about a trip into the Gores. Their crew did a series of ridge runs that day, culminating in a connection between Peak Z (13,327′) and the “barnacle attached to Z’s backside,” Peak Z Prime (12,975′).
Times were much simpler back then. And as such, the unbridled enthusiasm of virgin Gore summits combined with the pre-apocalyptic internet era inspired Brian to publicly christen Peak Z as “Deion Sanders Peak.” This was due to the fact that since Deion believed he “deserved a salary that equaled a QB’s, Z-Prime probably feels it deserves just as much respect and attention as its larger, ranked neighbor.” And so naturally, the connecting ridge between Z and Z Prime became “The Prime Time Traverse.” Keep Reading…
