The “Three Apostles” are a trio of rugged peaks in the central-Sawatch Range about 8 miles to the northeast of Taylor Park Reservoir. The most prominent peak in the trio, Ice Mountain, is one of Colorado’s Centennial 13ers and is perhaps best known for its classic snow/ski route, the Refrigerator Couloir. It is flanked on either side by North Apostle, also a Centennial, and “West Apostle” peaks. The three of them together make for a fun scramble traverse that was only first completed in 1954 according to Roof of the Rockies. Keep reading…
I have tried, and failed, to run the San Juan Solstice ever since I got into trail running. Ben always talked about what a great race it is, and I certainly knew it went through some of the state’s best areas, so I was keen to try it for myself. But year after year, it just kept not happening. Suffice it to say, this was a long-awaited race that I was very excited to finally run. Last year we actually still made it down to Lake City on the days of the cancelled race. We had our reservation in an Airbnb saved, so we figured why not make the best of it? Keep Reading…
The month of April has come and gone and it feels like things are rapidly heading towards summer below 12,000 ft around here. Statistically, despite Denver and the Front Range being above 100% SWE on the season, we’re at 71% of the median for the state as a whole. Though truncated spring seasons can be frustrating, they can also make for a good excuse to return to reliable lines on peaks close to home and just enjoy the skiing for what it is, while it lasts. Read more…
With our late-summer dry spell continuing into October and showing no signs of cooling off, it was time to head south and finally pay the Sangre de Cristos a visit in 2020. Down to just seven 13ers left in the range, I decided on Mt. Herard and “Medano Peak” from the Wet Mountain Valley side via Medano Pass. Medano and Herard reside about four miles to the northeast and a vertical mile above the Great Sand Dunes. Read more…
