Before yestarday I had been eying the North Ridge route on Kit Carson for some time. After a few experienced climbers claimed it as their favorite route on any 14er, I felt like I had to climb it and see for myself. It did not disappoint. Ryan and I set off from Westminster at 11:40pm and arrived at the Willow Lake TH at 3:00am. Read more…
Firstly, you should know that this is my second 14er. Yes, my second 14er. As encouraged by Ben, I have complete confidence in my ability to conquer this mountain. I don’t remember much of the car ride….which could have something to do with the fact that I was dead asleep. What else is new? Read more…
I have always been looking forward to the day I would get to introduce the fourteeners to my wife Anna-Lisa. She had never been above 12,000 ft. before this trip and had never used an ice axe or crampons, or snow climbed. I figured the Cristo Couloir would be a great starter climb for her, I had no idea how things would go so we sorta just went for it. We left Westminster at 3:00am (with another friend of ours) and headed for Breck. We arrived at the Blue Lakes TH around 5am and were off by 6. The great thing about this climb is the fact that there is literally no approach whatsoever, we were on the snow in less than ten minutes. After a crash course in ice axe and snow climbing technique, we began to head up the Cristo Couloir. Read more…
Stu and I climbed out of the taxi into the cultured alleys of Tlachichuca around 4pm on December 29, 2007. Stu handed the driver three thousand pesos and he was on his way, leaving the two of us to our own devices in yet another unfamiliar Mexican town. We had not spoken a lick of English to anyone except each other for five days now, and our money was running out. Stu and I carried one hundred and twenty pounds of clothing and mountaineering gear on our shoulders, and we made a point to never let it out of our sight. We dropped our bags on the curb to consider our options, a donkey toting a hay cart plodded past. Read more…